Ask HN: Do you ask for credit card info for free trial signups?

5 points by sparkygoblue 13 years ago | 6 comments

I've been debating whether taking credit card info during free trial signups is the best way to go for my SaaS app. Obviously, asking for this information will turn some (many? too many?) possible users away, but it also seems like a good way to acquire paying customers smoothly (as opposed to trying to acquire credit card info once the free trial is up).

I've looked at how several other successful SaaS apps have handled this, and it seems to be a bit divided. Many ask for credit card info up front, while others are much more interested in just getting you to sign up and try them. I can see positives to both approaches.

I'd be curious what other think about this...

codegeek 13 years ago |

As a potential user, I would certainly not like this. I think if your product is good enough for me to pay, I will pay for it regardless of whether you got my cc info upfront or after the trial period ends. So keep it simple. Do not ask for cc info unless you are charging at that point. Like I said, the user who thinks your product is worth it, will pay for it later as needed.

Only use case I can think of asking for cc upfront is not related to payment. It is more related to checking authenticity if you own a critical website and want real users (may be). But again, definitely not for the case you mentioned.

MattBearman 13 years ago |

On http://bugmuncher.com I don't require CC details for the free trial, simply because it pisses me off when other sites do that.

I feel like sites that require CC info up front are trying to trick me into giving them money by forgetting to cancel.

sparkygoblue 13 years ago | |

Thanks for the feedback Matt. I think you're right. I'm going to remove the CC info fields from my sign up form.

By the way, bugmuncher looks cool. Congrats!

elewinso 13 years ago |

IMHO the whole purpose of the free trial is for the potential customer to see the value in your offering and build a certain level of trust with you. Asking for a CC as part of a FREE trial smells funny and doesn't go well with building trust.

ig1 13 years ago |

A/B test it. Your conversion rate from free -> paid will drop if you're not asking for CC upfront, but your signup rate for the the free trial will drop if you do ask for it. The exact rates will depend on your user-base though.

chill1 13 years ago |

I refuse to give CC info until I am actually paying for something. I definitely won't give it for just a trial period. Such a requirement stinks of scam to me -- or the very least shady business practices.