I Doubled My SaaS by switching the free tier to a free trial

Hey Hunters ✨ If you created a subscription based service (saas, agency, app etc.), you know that the best way to get more clients is offering free service. But the trick is you feel stuck between offering a free tier or a free trial. I've been there. I tried both so let me share how we nearly doubled our sales by making the leap from free tier to free trial. Our Starting Point: We had a free tier with limited features at Mentio. Lots of sign-ups, but conversions? Crickets. Users were comfy in freemium-land, with little motivation to upgrade. The Switch: About 2 months ago, we took the plunge. We introduced a 30-day free trial of our basic tier, complete with all the bells and whistles. Why? So many possible clients were turned off by how little the free trial offering at mentio and lots of our subscribers suggested that users needed to taste the full experience to see the real value. How We Made It Happen: Changed our marketing/outreach to showcase full-access perks Created a no-fuss cancellation policy (trust is key!) Set up friendly trial-end reminders (no sneaky auto-renewals here!) The Results: Everybody was happier. Customers could see the real product and assess the matter better. Our sales faced less resistance, as prospects were already familiar with the full feature set. Product development became more focused, as we received higher quality feedback from users who had experienced all aspects of Mentio’s offering. Full access = clear value = more subscriptions. User engagement went higher than I expected. The Big Lesson: Users will pay when they see real, tangible benefits. Clear communication about the trial terms is crucial to avoid headaches later. So, free tier or free trial? I ain’t saying there's one-size-fits-all answer, but understanding your users and being transparent can guide you to the right choice. Has anyone else here made a similar switch? I'd love to hear your stories and insights. 🚀