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 Started

Worked example

200 trials in May, 50 convert → Trial Conversion = 25%.

Illustrative comparisons

By trial type

These unsourced ranges are illustrative scenarios, not measured industry benchmarks, percentiles or recommended targets. Their qualitative labels are editorial interpretations. Compare your own cohorts using the same segment, period, currency and measurement basis.

Opt-out trial

40–60%

Opt-in trial

10–25%

Freemium

2–5%

Why it matters

Trial conversion is a major lever in product-led growth. Moving from 18% to 23% is a 5-percentage-point improvement, or about 28% more paying customers from the same trial volume. Activation, onboarding, and first-value moments live 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.

Track Trial Conversion in FlowMRR