Intro Offer
A discounted or free first period on an app subscription, such as a free trial or a reduced first month, offered to new subscribers through the App Store or Google Play.
Definition
An intro offer, or introductory offer, is a special price for the beginning of an auto-renewable subscription, available to people who have not subscribed before. On the App Store there are three types: a free trial, pay as you go (a reduced price for several billing periods) and pay up front (one reduced payment for a set duration). Google Play offers free trials and introductory prices through offers attached to a subscription's base plan. After the intro period, the subscription renews at the regular price unless the user cancels.
Why It Matters
Most subscription apps rely on intro offers to turn installs into paying users, and the choice between a free trial and a paid intro, and its length, changes both conversion and refund rates. The period also defines the lifecycle: a free trial creates a fixed deadline where reminders, onboarding and value-proving messages matter most. Teams that do not message during the trial leave renewal to chance and see more cancellations right before the first charge.
How It Works
In App Store Connect you add an introductory offer to a subscription, choosing the type, duration and price by country. Apple allows one intro offer per subscription group per user, and StoreKit tells the app whether a user is eligible. Google Play lets you create offers with eligibility rules, such as new customers only. When a user starts the offer, the store sends a transaction and server notification marking the trial or intro period, with its end date. Paywall and subscription tools like Superwall and RevenueCat expose these as events such as trial started, trial converted or trial cancelled.
Example
A fitness app offers a 7-day free trial on its annual plan and sends:
- Day 0: "Your trial has started. Here is your first workout plan." (email and push)
- Day 2: In-app tip highlighting the feature trial users who convert use most.
- Day 5: "Your trial ends in 2 days. You will be charged $59.99 for a year unless you cancel." (email)
- Day 7: Purchase event confirms the conversion and starts the paid onboarding sequence.
Best Practices
- 1Remind users before the trial ends, clearly stating the price and date of the first charge
- 2Use the trial to drive the actions that predict conversion, not generic tips
- 3Test trial length and free vs paid intros, measuring revenue after refunds
- 4Check eligibility from the store before showing intro pricing on the paywall
- 5Track trial starts, conversions and cancellations as events in your lifecycle tool
Trial journeys from your subscription data
Sequenzy receives trial and purchase events from RevenueCat, Superwall and Adapty, including the trial end date, and ships journey templates for trial-to-paid conversion, billing recovery and win-back.
Learn MoreApp Store Introductory Offer Types
| Type | How it works | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | No charge for a set period | 7 days free, then $59.99 a year |
| Pay as you go | Reduced price for several periods | $1.99 a month for 3 months, then $9.99 |
| Pay up front | One reduced payment for a set duration | $19.99 for 6 months, then $9.99 a month |