--- title: Offer a free or paid trial description: "Give new members a free or discounted start on a recurring Membership: set the trial price, then a trial length in days, weeks or months, or a number of billing cycles." url: "https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/set-trial-level/" updated: "2026-10-18" category: Memberships --- # Offer a free or paid trial 3 minBeginnerUltimate Membership Pro 14.2+ In Ultimate Membership Pro, a membership trial is a special first payment on a [recurring Membership](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/features/subscriptions/): free, or at a lower price, for a set time. When it ends, the member pays the regular price every cycle. Trials lower the barrier to sign up and let people try your content first. This guide sets up a 7-day free trial, then shows the second kind: a lower intro price for the first few billing cycles. Before you start - The Membership exists and its Access Type is **Recurring Subscription**. Trials don't exist for LifeTime, Limited Time or Date Range Memberships. See [Create your first Membership](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/step-2-create-levelssubscriptions/). - A payment gateway that supports your kind of trial is enabled. See [Connect a payment gateway](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/step-4-set-payment-gateway-if-applicable/) and the limits below. ## Open the Membership's billing settings 1. Go to Ultimate Membership Pro*›*Memberships and edit the Membership. 2. In the **Membership Billing** card, set **Payment Type** to **Payment** and enter the **Membership Price**. The **Trial/Initial Payment Settings** box appears under the price. The plugin's own hint sums it up: fill it in only if you want a trial; otherwise leave the fields empty. ## Set up a free trial [![Trial/Initial Payment Settings box with the price 0, Trial Period Type Certain Period and a Trial Certain Period of 7 Days, numbered 1 to 3](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ump-trial-01-free-trial.png)](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ump-trial-01-free-trial.png) A 7-day free trial on Pro Monthly. 1Trial/Initial Payment Price What the member pays at the start. Enter 0 for a free trial, or an amount for a paid trial. The currency is the one set under Payment Settings. Default: **Empty (no trial)** 2Trial Period Type How long the trial price applies: - **Certain Period**: a fixed length of time. - **Couple cycles subscription payments**: a number of normal billing cycles. See the next step. Default: **Certain Period** 3Trial Certain PeriodCertain Period A number from 1 to 31 and a unit: Days, Weeks, Months or Years. Example: 7 Days. Click Save Changes. New sign-ups now start with the trial; members who already hold the Membership aren't affected. ## Or charge an intro price for the first cycles Instead of a time-based trial, you can discount the first few payments. With a monthly Membership, $9 for 3 cycles means the member pays $9 for each of the first three months, then the regular price. [![Trial/Initial Payment Settings with the price 9, Trial Period Type Couple cycles subscription payments and Trial Couple Cycles set to 3](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ump-trial-02-intro-price.png)](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ump-trial-02-intro-price.png) An intro price of $9 for the first 3 monthly cycles. Trial Couple CyclesCouple cycles subscription payments How many billing cycles are charged at the trial price. The cycle length is the Membership's Subscription Cycle. Default: **1** ## Check what members see at checkout The checkout page shows the trial as the initial payment, followed by the regular price: [![Checkout summary for Pro Monthly: Initial Payment Free for 7 days, then 19.00USD every month](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ump-trial-03-checkout.png)](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ump-trial-03-checkout.png) The checkout summary for the 7-day free trial. After sign-up, the member's **Subscriptions** table in the [Member Portal](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/set-up-the-member-portal/) has a **Trial Period** column that shows whether the subscription started with a trial. You can hide the column in the Subscriptions Table showcase; see [Customize the Subscriptions and Payments tables](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/customize-the-subscriptions-and-payments-tables/). Payment gateway limits for trials - **[Authorize.net](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/set-up-authorize-net/)** and **[2Checkout](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/payment-2checkout-setup/)** don't support the Certain Period type; use Couple cycles subscription payments. - **2Checkout** allows at most 1 trial cycle. - **[Braintree](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/set-up-braintree/)** supports only free (0) trials, and the trial period must also be set in your [Braintree Plan details](https://developer.paypal.com/braintree/docs/guides/recurring-billing/plans). Tell members when the trial ends - Turn on the **Customer Trial Subscription has expired** email under Ultimate Membership Pro*›*Email Notifications. It's checked every 12 hours. See [Set up email notifications](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/how-to-send-notifications/). ## Example: 7 days free, then monthly **Pro Monthly**New members get 7 days free, then pay $19 every month until they cancel. **Access Type** : Recurring Subscription, 1 Months **Payment Type** : Payment **Membership Price** : $19 **Trial/Initial Payment Price** : $0 (free) **Trial Period Type** : Certain Period **Trial Certain Period** : 7 Days **Checkout shows** : Initial Payment: Free for 7 days. Then: 19.00USD every month ## Troubleshooting Why don't I see the trial fields on my Membership? The Trial/Initial Payment Settings box only appears when the Access Type is Recurring Subscription and the Payment Type is Payment. How do I offer a free trial in Ultimate Membership Pro? Edit the recurring Membership, set Trial/Initial Payment Price to 0, choose Certain Period and enter the trial length, for example 7 Days, then save. Can I charge a lower price for the first months instead of a free trial? Yes. Enter the lower amount as Trial/Initial Payment Price, choose Couple cycles subscription payments and set Trial Couple Cycles to the number of discounted cycles. Why does Braintree reject my trial? Braintree supports only free trials, and the trial must also be configured in the matching Plan in your Braintree account. ## What's next [**How renewals, cancellations and expiry work**What happens after the trial.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/how-renewals-cancellations-and-expiry-work/)[**Build your pricing page**Show the trial on your plans.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/set-custom-subscription-plan/)[**Create coupon codes**Another way to discount the start.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/how-to-set-a-coupon-code/)[**Create your first Membership**Every setting of a Membership.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/step-2-create-levelssubscriptions/)