Trial configuration

Trials help you showcase your app’s value while building trust with potential customers. Mantle gives you flexible control over how trials work, from global defaults to plan-specific configurations.

Understanding trials

When someone installs your app, you can offer them a trial period to explore your features before being charged. Before setting up your trials, you’ll need to decide when they should begin and how long they should last.

Trial start behavior

There are two ways trials can begin:

On install: Trial starts as soon as the merchant installs your app
- Pros: Immediate access to features
- Cons: Trial time might be wasted if merchant isn’t ready to explore
On subscription: Trial starts when merchant selects a plan
- Pros: Trial time used more effectively
- Cons: Extra step before merchant can start testing

Choose based on your app’s complexity and how much setup time merchants need. For more details about configuring trial settings accurately, check out our trial configuration guide.

Configuring plan trials

For each plan, you can customize:

Trial duration (e.g., 7 days, 14 days, 30 days)
Whether the plan offers trials at all
When trials start (on install or subscription)

For example, you might configure:

7-day trial for basic plans
14-day trial for pro plans
No trial for enterprise plans (demo instead)

Pro tips

A few things to keep in mind when configuring trials:

Match trial length to your app’s learning curve
Consider your onboarding process when choosing trial start behavior
Monitor trial conversion rates to optimize your settings
Use the Trials report to track performance

Remember: Well-designed trials give merchants enough time to discover value while maintaining urgency to convert. Focus on making it easy for merchants to experience your app’s benefits during their trial period.

FAQ

Do trials reset if you uninstall and reinstall?

No. A trial begins when a customer first starts it and continues regardless of uninstalls or plan changes. If a customer has a 7-day trial, uninstalls, then reinstalls within those 7 days, the trial continues with the remaining days. After the trial period ends, resubscribing won't grant any new trial days.

Does usage reset when a trial ends?

Yes. While usage is tracked during the trial with `currentBillingPeriodValue`, a new billing period starts when the trial ends. Any usage during the trial will be included in that period's calculations.

Is the trial period a separate billing period?

Yes. The trial has its own `currentPeriodStart` and `currentPeriodEnd` dates. When the trial ends, a new billing period begins with its own start and end dates.

Can I charge a customer during a trial?

You can't charge a customer a recurring application charge as that only charges after a trial is over but you can charge usage and one-time charges.

Can I charge usage during the trial period?

Shopify allow you to charge usage during trial. The way it works with Mantle is:

If you charge straight usage (meaning usage without a feature entitlement), it will charge during trial
If you have a feature entitlement and your usage is within that entitlement or you haven't set up overage usage pricing, you won't be charged usage
If you have a feature entitlement but have set up usage with overage, you can charge usage during the trial for the amount that's over the entitlement

If I switch plans during a trial, does my trial period change?

No. When you subscribe to a plan with a trial and then switch to a different plan (even one with a different trial length), you remain on the same trial from your original plan. The trial period is tied to the customer, not to individual plans.