Create a free trial for your course

In this article: How to set up a free trial period on a payment plan or subscription price point, what students experience during the trial, and when they get charged.

All Plans

A free trial lets students enroll in your course and explore the content before their first payment is processed. It's a good way to lower the barrier to entry, especially for higher-priced courses or subscription-based programs where students want to see the value before committing.

Free trials are available on payment plan and subscription price points. They work through Stripe, which handles the billing automatically. When the trial period ends, Stripe charges the student's card for the first payment. If the student cancels before the trial ends, they're never charged.

Before you start

You need two things in place:

A connected Stripe account. Free trials use Stripe's billing system. If you haven't connected Stripe yet, see Connect Stripe for payments.
A payment plan or subscription price point. Free trials aren't available on free or single payment price points. If you need to create a price point first, see Create and manage price points.

Add a free trial to a new price point

Open your course and go to Manage Course → Price Points.
Click Add Price Point.
Choose either Payment Plan or Subscription as the type.
Fill in the payment details (amount, number of payments or billing cycle).
In the Free trial period field, enter the number of days you want the trial to last. For example, enter 7 for a one-week trial or 14 for two weeks.
Name your price point. Include the trial in the name so students know what they're getting. For example: "Try Free for 7 Days, then $49/month" or "14-Day Free Trial — 3 Payments of $99."
Click Create Price Point.

Your trial price point is now live. Students who enroll through this price point get immediate access to your course and won't be charged until the trial period ends.

Tip: 7 days is the most common trial length. It gives students enough time to explore your content without being so long that they forget they signed up. 14 days works well for courses with weekly content releases, so students can experience at least two modules before deciding.

Add a free trial to an existing price point

You can't add a trial to a price point after it's been created. To add a trial:

Go to Manage Course → Price Points.
Create a new payment plan or subscription price point with a free trial period (follow the steps above).
If you want to replace the old price point, delete it after creating the new one.

Students who enrolled through the original price point are not affected.

What your students experience

Here's what happens from the student's side when they enroll through a trial price point:

The student visits your sales page and sees the trial price point (with whatever name you gave it).
They click Enroll and enter their payment information. Stripe collects their card details but does not charge them yet.
The student gets immediate access to your course. They can go through lessons, participate in discussions, attend live sessions, and complete assignments just like any enrolled student.
When the trial period ends, Stripe automatically charges the first payment. For a payment plan, the remaining installments follow the regular schedule. For a subscription, billing continues on the normal cycle.
If the student cancels during the trial, they're never charged. Their access to the course is removed when the trial ends.

Students receive a confirmation email from Ruzuku when they enroll and a receipt from Stripe when their first payment processes.

When to use a free trial

Free trials work well in a few specific situations:

Subscription programs. A monthly membership where students pay as long as they stay. A trial lets them see the value of ongoing access before paying.
Higher-priced payment plans. If your course costs $500+ spread over installments, a trial reduces the perceived risk. Students can start the course and confirm it's what they expected.
New course launches. When you don't have testimonials or social proof yet, a trial gives potential students a risk-free way to experience your teaching style.

Free trials are less necessary for lower-priced courses or one-time purchases, where the financial commitment is already small. For those, consider offering a coupon or discount instead. See Offer discounts and free trials using coupons.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if a student's card is declined when the trial ends?

Stripe will attempt to charge the card again over the next few days. If the payment ultimately fails, the student's enrollment is handled according to Stripe's retry settings. You can see failed payments in your Stripe dashboard and follow up with the student directly.

Can I offer a free trial on a single payment price point?

No. Free trials are only available on payment plan and subscription price points. For single payments, you could create a separate free price point to give people a preview, or use a coupon to offer a discount.

Can the student access all content during the trial, or can I limit it?

Students get the same access during the trial as any enrolled student. If your course uses drip-release scheduling, students will only see the content that has been released so far, which naturally limits what they can access during a short trial.

Do I need PayPal for free trials?

No. Free trials require Stripe. PayPal does not support trial periods through Ruzuku because PayPal only handles single payments, not recurring billing.

Can I change the trial length after creating the price point?

No. You can't edit the trial length on an existing price point. To change the trial period, create a new price point with the updated trial length and delete the old one. Students who already enrolled through the original price point keep their existing terms.