Trial Memberships
The two kinds of trial, when you are eligible, when a trial ends and what happens to your access and billing afterwards.
By the end of this page, you'll understand the two types of trials Subscriby supports, when you're eligible for a trial, and what happens when one ends.
A trial is a period where you have access to a creator's content without paying. If the trial converts, you continue as a normal subscriber. If it doesn't, your access ends automatically — no surprise charges.
Two types of trials
No payment method required up front. You pick a plan, tap through a short confirmation, and you're in.
- You're not charged anything during the trial.
- When the trial ends, access stops automatically — you are not auto-enrolled into the paid plan.
- To continue past the trial, you'd have to subscribe again with a payment method.
Best for: trying a creator's community without commitment, with zero financial friction.
Am I eligible for a trial?
Not every plan offers a trial — that's the creator's choice. When a plan does have a trial, eligibility depends on:
| Rule | How it works |
|---|---|
| Trial type: "Once for project" | You get one trial across any plan in this project. If you've trialled before on a different plan, you're not eligible for this one. |
| Trial type: "Once for plan" | You can trial this specific plan once, even if you've trialled another plan previously. |
| Current status | You can't start a trial while you already have an active subscription on the project. Cancel or wait for expiry first. |
| Cardless trial flag | For a cardless trial specifically, the plan must have trial_cardless enabled. |
When you're not eligible, the trial option is hidden — you'll just see the plan's normal payment methods.
How to start a trial
Sign in to the portal
Sign in to the creator's portal.
Find a plan with a trial indicator
On the Plans page, find a plan with a trial indicator (e.g. "7 days free").
Click Start Free Trial
Click Start Free Trial (or equivalent) on the plan card.
Review the cardless confirmation
If the plan is eligible for a cardless trial and you qualify, a simple confirmation screen appears — no card form.
Confirm and get access
Confirm. Your subscription is created with a Trialing status and access is granted immediately.
What "access" looks like during a trial
Access during a trial is identical to paid access:
- You're in every place the plan unlocks.
- Your subscription status reads Trialing instead of Active.
- The trial end date is shown on the subscription card on both the portal and the bot.
When a trial ends
Cardless trial
- You hit the end date with no payment method attached.
- Subscriby marks the subscription Expired.
- You're automatically removed from the places.
- You can subscribe again anytime through a paid payment method — but you can't trial the same plan again (eligibility rules).
Card-required trial
- You hit the end date with a payment method on file.
- The provider automatically charges your first billing cycle.
- On success, your status flips from Trialing → Active and access continues seamlessly.
- On charge failure, the provider retries per its own policy; if retries are exhausted, your subscription lapses to Past Due or Unpaid, then Expired.
Ending a trial early
If you don't want to continue, cancel before the trial end:
- Cardless trial — cancelling is optional (access ends automatically with no charge). Cancelling just marks the status Canceled for your records.
- Card-required trial — cancel before the end date to avoid being charged. See Cancel a subscription.
Common questions
Related
- Choosing a plan — spot plans that include trials.
- Making payments — what happens when a card-required trial converts.
- Cancel a subscription — cancel before a card-required trial ends.
How is this guide?
Last updated on
Contacting Support
Message the creator of a membership from the same bot you subscribed through; your message lands in their support inbox.
Follow-up Messages
Why a creator's project may message you after you looked without buying, left a checkout open, or started a trial without a card; where the messages arrive, what each one carries, and the Stop that ends them.