GrowthMetric 21 of 35
Trial-to-Paid Conversion
What share of trials become paying customers.
The percentage of trial users who become paying customers. Segment by trial type (opt-in, opt-out, reverse trial, freemium) — the numbers are not comparable across designs.
Formula
Trial Conversion = Paid Customers from Trial ÷ Trials StartedWorked example
200 trials in May, 50 convert → Trial Conversion = 25%.
Benchmark
By trial typeOpt-out trial
40–60%
Opt-in trial
10–25%
Freemium
2–5%
Why it matters
Trial conversion is the lever with the highest leverage in product-led growth. A 5-point improvement (e.g. 18% → 23%) is equivalent to a 27% lift in paid acquisition — without spending more on ads. Activation, onboarding, and first-value moments live or die here.
Common mistakes
- Counting unconverted trials immediately at trial-end instead of waiting for the deferred conversions.
- Comparing opt-in and opt-out conversion rates directly (one auto-converts cards, the other doesn't).
- Optimising the headline rate by making the trial worse for low-intent users — improves the math, hurts the brand.
Tracked in FlowMRR
Conversion → trial-to-paid conversion rate, tracked from real Stripe trial events.
