Trials
How trial periods work and what your customers experience
You can offer a trial period on any paid plan. During the trial, your customer uses the product without being charged. They provide their card upfront, and Commet charges them automatically when the trial ends.
What Your Customer Experiences
| Regular checkout | Trial checkout | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | They're charged immediately | Their card is saved, no charge |
| Button they see | "Pay" | "Start Free Trial" |
| After checkout | They see the amount charged | They see a trial confirmation |
How It Works
1. You create a subscription with a trial-enabled plan
→ Your customer receives an email with a checkout link
2. They open checkout and enter their card
→ No charge — their card is just saved for later
→ Their trial begins
3. Trial period ends
→ They're automatically charged the current plan price
→ Their subscription becomes activeIf your customer's card requires 3D Secure verification, they complete it during checkout. The trial starts once verification succeeds. The experience is the same — just one extra step.
What Happens if You Change the Price During a Trial
Your customer pays the price at the time the trial ends, not the price when they started.
Example
Your customer starts a 14-day trial on January 1.
On day 10, you raise the price from $99/mo to $129/mo.
On day 15, the trial ends.
Your customer is charged $129/mo.A trial is a test period, not a price commitment. Your customer hasn't paid anything yet, so the current price applies when billing begins.
During the Trial
Your customer gets the plan's features and included limits, with a few differences from an active subscription:
| Behavior | Active subscription | During trial |
|---|---|---|
| Overage | Charged at period end | Blocked — usage stops at included limits |
| Buy credits, balance, or add-ons | Yes | Yes — card was captured at checkout |
| Metered usage resets | Every billing cycle | Monthly, on the billing day (for trials longer than a month) |
| Included balance / credits | Granted each billing cycle | Granted once when the trial starts — not re-granted during the trial |
Monthly resets are anchored to the billing day, so a reset period runs 28–31 days depending on the month. Only metered usage resets during a trial — balance and credits don't.
Your customer can use the product normally and even make purchases, but they won't accumulate surprise overage charges during a trial.
Related
- Free Plans — An alternative way to let customers try your product
- Payment Failures — What happens if the first charge fails
- Invoices — What invoices your customers receive
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