Ask HN: Why do people expect free trial on a $9/mo subscription
You know how people don't usually ask for free bites of food at restaurants? But when it comes to apps or online stuff, even if it's $9 a month, everyone wants a free trial. Why is that? Is it because we can't see or touch digital things like we can with food? Maybe they don't realize that it's expensive for companies to run and maintain software. Or do we just expect more freebies on the internet these days? It's kinda weird when you think about it.
11 comments
Your argument is similar to the “it costs less than a cup of coffee” subscription defence, and just as flawed. Not everyone drinks coffee or goes to restaurants, and the prices and experience of restaurants and coffee aren’t the same around the world. Don’t try to make comparisons between digital and physical purchases with no analogue.
If I go to a restaurant I can pay cash or do it securely with a card. If I don’t like it, I’m free to never return and not think about it again. When I pay for a subscription, unless it’s via the App Store’s in-app purchases I’m giving you a name and credit card number, and have to remember to cancel it if I don’t like it, but even if I do I have to trust you with the information I already gave, or send an erasure request then trust you’ll honour it, and, and, and.
It’s a fundamentally different experience. No, you don’t go to a restaurant and ask for free bites, but after visiting a restaurant you don’t have to spend months fighting them to stop sending spam, or worrying that they charge you again even if you didn’t eat there, or worry they’re selling your data to other unscrupulous companies, or, or, or.
It’s not about the cost. Your subscription could be $0.01 a year and it would still demand more trust than a restaurant.
If I go to a restaurant I can pay cash or do it securely with a card. If I don’t like it, I’m free to never return and not think about it again. When I pay for a subscription, unless it’s via the App Store’s in-app purchases I’m giving you a name and credit card number, and have to remember to cancel it if I don’t like it, but even if I do I have to trust you with the information I already gave, or send an erasure request then trust you’ll honour it, and, and, and.
It’s a fundamentally different experience. No, you don’t go to a restaurant and ask for free bites, but after visiting a restaurant you don’t have to spend months fighting them to stop sending spam, or worrying that they charge you again even if you didn’t eat there, or worry they’re selling your data to other unscrupulous companies, or, or, or.
It’s not about the cost. Your subscription could be $0.01 a year and it would still demand more trust than a restaurant.
Providing another meal uses up human labour, ingredients, and seating. One-off costs, like designing the menu, typically make up a smaller portion of the business's costs.
Providing another subscription for an app is often just a flip of a bit. One-off costs, like developing the app, typically make up a larger portion of the business's costs.
It's therefore generally (though not always) more feasible to provide a free trial of digital services/apps than of physical goods.
Providing another subscription for an app is often just a flip of a bit. One-off costs, like developing the app, typically make up a larger portion of the business's costs.
It's therefore generally (though not always) more feasible to provide a free trial of digital services/apps than of physical goods.
> But when it comes to apps or online stuff, even if it's $9 a month, everyone wants a free trial. Why is that?
Because offers of apps and online stuff regularly prove themselves less trustworthy than offers of food?
Because offers of apps and online stuff regularly prove themselves less trustworthy than offers of food?
Question that answers your question:
Why should I pay $9 to try it for 5-10 minutes and never use it again? I realised i never intended to use it at all.
It then becomes the $9 can be easily refunded.
On that basis its even easier to commit to a free trial.
Why should I pay $9 to try it for 5-10 minutes and never use it again? I realised i never intended to use it at all.
It then becomes the $9 can be easily refunded.
On that basis its even easier to commit to a free trial.
This is my POV.
I want to know if I can use the service, if it is performant, if it's worth $9.
I work in £, but that's over £5 pcm.
Some people balk at that. It's a pint of beer, yes. That's in #firstworld land. For some people, and there will be some in your market, or target demographic who fit this; that £5 is genuinely important every month.
I want to know if I can use the service, if it is performant, if it's worth $9.
I work in £, but that's over £5 pcm.
Some people balk at that. It's a pint of beer, yes. That's in #firstworld land. For some people, and there will be some in your market, or target demographic who fit this; that £5 is genuinely important every month.
> You know how people don't usually ask for free bites of food at restaurants?
If restaurants had anything like the tech industry’s track record of delivering either nothing whatsoever or actual shit instead of food, you’d better believe we’d all ask to try before we buy.
Offering me a subscription, no matter how cheap, for a product I don’t know I want, don’t know I need, and don’t know for certain you can even deliver doesn’t, in any way, establish trust in your audience. A free tier or trial does.
Also consumers know that companies have to pay money to run and maintain software, they just don’t care, and they shouldn’t. It’s called Cost of Doing Business and it’s the business’s job to pay that money, even if they can’t secure enough interest or trust in their product to continue to pay the costs they have incurred.
So, no, if you put much thought into it at all, it’s not weird.
If restaurants had anything like the tech industry’s track record of delivering either nothing whatsoever or actual shit instead of food, you’d better believe we’d all ask to try before we buy.
Offering me a subscription, no matter how cheap, for a product I don’t know I want, don’t know I need, and don’t know for certain you can even deliver doesn’t, in any way, establish trust in your audience. A free tier or trial does.
Also consumers know that companies have to pay money to run and maintain software, they just don’t care, and they shouldn’t. It’s called Cost of Doing Business and it’s the business’s job to pay that money, even if they can’t secure enough interest or trust in their product to continue to pay the costs they have incurred.
So, no, if you put much thought into it at all, it’s not weird.
Why would I buy something if I don't know if it will meet my needs? Particularly if it involves a subscription.
The price point doesn't really enter into it. I also don't expect a free trial at all, but if one is offered, then it makes it much more likely that I'd take it for a spin.
The price point doesn't really enter into it. I also don't expect a free trial at all, but if one is offered, then it makes it much more likely that I'd take it for a spin.
The same reason why you test drive a car before you buy it. I would pose it’s only weird from a business point of view.
A restaurant visit is not a long term commitment. The subscription transaction is.
A restaurant visit is not a long term commitment. The subscription transaction is.
I do not want to hand over early my payment and other sensitive details to a counterparty that I do not know or trust (yet).
(I built a whole business around helping other people avoid this too.)
Yes, freebies are nice, but so is privacy and not having to fight bad card charges.
(I built a whole business around helping other people avoid this too.)
Yes, freebies are nice, but so is privacy and not having to fight bad card charges.
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Because you can expect the food to taste a certain way.
It's kinda weird that YOU think this way. What company do you run so I can avoid it?