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When does a free SaaS trial start charging you?
Summary
A free trial can lead to a bill without another purchase click. Semrush's card-backed paid-plan trial does this unless you cancel; HubSpot's trial ends without automatic billing. With Asana and Shopify, what happens next depends on whether you added payment details or chose a paid plan during the trial.
How the six trials end
| Service and offer | Trial and card conditions | End of the trial |
|---|---|---|
| Semrush paid-plan trial | The public trial page offers seven days. Its billing help describes card verification and a one-time trial. | The first subscription payment is automatic unless you cancel beforehand. This differs from a limited free-level account. |
| HubSpot tool trial | 14 days; no card or commitment required on the linked offer. | No automatic charge. The account returns to its previous plan and loses trial features. Trial-data deletion terms still apply. |
| monday.com Pro trial | 14 days, no card required; the help says it cannot be extended. | Without upgrading, the account deactivates and there is no charge. A Free-plan downgrade is another option where available. |
| Asana paid-feature trial | No card required. The signup help does not give a universal duration; record the expiry shown in your account. | No manually added payment details: the trial expires without billing. Added payment details: the selected subscription starts afterward unless canceled. |
| Shopify store trial | The public signup offer says three days without a card. The help says duration can vary with the offer and signup route. | Without choosing a paid plan, the store pauses. If you choose one during the trial, subscription charges begin after the trial. |
| Squarespace website trial | 14 days without a card; a seven-day extension can be available. | Without upgrading, you lose trial-site access and content is marked for permanent deletion. A paid domain-and-site package can start immediately with no trial. |
On a small screen, scroll the table horizontally.
Sources: Semrush trial and billing FAQ; HubSpot offer and trial-end behavior; monday.com trial; Asana's signup and cancellation help; Shopify's signup offer and trial conditions; Squarespace trial.
Choosing a plan during the trial changes what happens next
You can begin a trial without a card and still arrange a paid subscription before it ends. In Asana, manually adding payment details starts the selected subscription afterward unless you cancel. In Shopify, choosing a paid plan means you must manually pause or deactivate the store to prevent the plan charge. App-related charges incurred during a Shopify trial can also appear on the next invoice. A discounted paid introduction therefore belongs in the budget even if it follows a free trial.
HubSpot explicitly says the trial alone does not create automatic billing. A separately purchased paid subscription follows its own start date and contract. Its terms allow trial data to be permanently deleted at trial end if you do not purchase, so no invoice does not mean guaranteed data preservation. HubSpot Terms §2.12.
Semrush cancellation needs the email confirmation step
For the Toolkit cancellation route, submit the form while logged into the correct account, then click the confirmation-email link within 24 hours. Without that click, the request is not processed and billing continues. The policy says cancellation is confirmed within three business days after a properly submitted request. Leave time to complete the process before the charge date and verify recurring status; do not treat an unsent draft or form submission alone as completion. Semrush cancellation steps and cancellation policy.
Semrush's $1 or equivalent card authorization validates the payment method. Its billing FAQ also says later trial attempts become paid monthly purchases. If you have tried it before, the order confirmation matters more than the trial button: it tells you whether this signup actually grants free time.
Does cancellation also return your payment?
No. Ending renewal and requesting a refund are separate. Semrush's online credit-card policy covers an initial commitment of at least 12 months and qualifying initial incremental add-ons, with a written request within seven calendar days. Monthly subscriptions are excluded, and signed-order purchases have separate terms. Do not assume the trial charge can be recovered.
monday.com's help offers new first-time customers a 30-day written-request window for a prorated unused-time refund; existing renewals are excluded. Squarespace's Standard annual website plans allow a full-refund request when canceled within 14 days of purchase, but the free-domain cost can be deducted. Monthly website plans are excluded and mobile purchases use Apple's refund route. These windows do not make annual purchase the right choice for every evaluation. monday.com refunds; Squarespace website refunds.
Plan the test before the trial clock starts
Start with the work you want to test: a project workflow, a report or a store page. Then note the expiry and timezone shown in your account, along with the selected plan and any first charge. If the test will roll into a paid contract, the billing period and commitment belong beside that date. Keep the completed cancellation confirmation with those details.
Use sample data where possible and decide what you need to test before the clock starts. Trials may limit publishing or exports; for example, Squarespace's site-content XML export is unavailable for trial sites. Retain your original assets and record essential settings separately. Squarespace export prerequisites.
Official pages checked 10 October 2026. Use the offer you selected and its order confirmation for the dates and prices, since account, region and signup route can change them. A trial with no automatic billing needs a plan for retaining your work; one that starts a paid subscription also needs enough time to finish cancellation.
What changed on this page
- correction10 October 2026 Free trial billing — Offer-specific billing and refund scope
Card entry treated as automatic billing for every vendor; all monthly fees deemed nonrefundable; annual Squarespace cancellation always immediate → Separate trial from purchased subscription, verify actual expiry and completed cancellation, apply refund exclusions by offer
Official pages checked 10 October 2026. - scope change6 September 2026 The English edition — currency and tax assumptions
yen prices, Japanese consumption tax and a card issuer’s foreign transaction fee → US published prices in US dollars; sales tax is described as determined by the billing address and no rate is assumed
Buying from Japan is covered in the Japanese edition, which keeps the yen figures.
Where: When do Shopify payment rates make Grow cheaper than Basic?, Do ten people using a SaaS tool need ten paid seats?, What should you add to a SaaS price when budgeting for a year?, Which support channels can you use, and is Japanese supported?, Where is your SaaS customer data stored, and can you change the region?, monday.com or Asana: which fits your team and its annual budget?, How do you calculate SaaS payback without counting costs twice?
Every recorded change to this site is in the change log.
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