• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RocketGeek

Home of WP-Members, The Original WordPress Membership Plugin

  • WordPress Plugins
    • WP-Members
      • FAQs
      • Quick Start
      • Documentation
      • Extensions
    • Advanced Options
      • Documentation
      • Purchase the Plugin
      • Get the Pro Bundle
    • Download Protect
      • Documentation
      • Purchase the Plugin
      • Get the Pro Bundle
    • Invite Codes
      • Documentation
      • Purchase the Plugin
      • Get the Pro Bundle
    • MailChimp Integration
      • Documentation
      • Purchase the Plugin
      • Get the Pro Bundle
    • PayPal Subscriptions
      • Documentation
      • Purchase the Plugin
      • Get the Pro Bundle
    • Salesforce Web-to-Lead
    • Security
      • Documentation
      • Purchase the Plugin
      • Get the Pro Bundle
    • Text Editor
      • Purchase the Plugin
      • Get the Pro Bundle
    • User List
      • Documentation
      • Purchase the Plugin
      • Get the Pro Bundle
    • User Tracking
      • Documentation
      • Purchase the Plugin
      • Get the Pro Bundle
    • Memberships for WooCommerce
    • WordPass
  • Blog
    • Basics
    • Tips and Tricks
    • Filters
    • Actions
    • Code Snippets
    • Shortcodes
    • Design
    • Release Announcements
  • Store
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • Contact
  • Log In
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Home » Plugins » PayPal Subscriptions » PayPal Subscriptions Documentation » Offering a Trial Period

Offering a Trial Period

There may be instances where you want to give a trial period to users prior to the actual subscription period.  You can offer free trial, or you can charge for it.  Either way, the trial period offers you separate settings for period and price from the regular subscription period.

Free Trial Period, Basic vs Recurring Billing

The primary thing to consider with a free trial is the difference between how trials are handled with basic transactions versus recurring billing.

When “basic” is the transaction type, the trial is handled onsite.  If it is free, then the user does not need to go to PayPal to begin and a trial period expiration date will be set for the user immediately upon registration.  Once the trial period ends, the user does not need to do anything if they wish to cancel. Their access will simply expire, at which point they can pay to continue, or do nothing.  (Note: if expiration notifications are turned on, the user will receive an email notification indicating their access is about to expire.)

The difference with recurring billing is that the trial period is managed via PayPal – even if the trial is free, the user will need to log into PayPal and provide payment information.  If they wish to cancel, they will need to do so via PayPal prior to the end of the trial period (same as if they were in a paid subscription period).  If they do not cancel, they will be billed and billing will continue until the subscription is canceled – hence “recurring” billing.

WP-Members PayPal Subscriptions

Plugin Info

Current Stable Version: 0.9.9.1
Minimum WordPress Version: 5.0
Tested up to WordPress Version: 6.8
Last Updated: 2025-04-17

Documentation

    • Registration and Payment Flow
    • Setup
    • Offering a Trial Period
    • IPN Log File
    • Manage Users
    • PayPal IPN Configuration
    • PayPal Developer Tools
    • Filter and Action Hooks
    • Templates
    • Customization Examples
    • Change Log
    • FAQs

Get the Plugin

  • Purchase the Plugin
  • Get the Pro Bundle

Ready to get started?

Join Today!

© 2025 · butlerblog.com · RocketGeek is built using WordPress, WP-Members, and the Genesis Framework

  • butlerblog.com
  • WP-Members Support Subscription
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund Policy