Trial periods and future price changes let you set a single price at the start of the subscription, then move customers to the regular recurring price later. This is a great tool to encourage users who may be on the fence to sign up for your subscription

This guide walks through how to set up those offers in PayWhirl for Shopify, what customers see at checkout, and what to test before launching.

We have a drop-down in the plan builder that makes this setup easy.

Use this setup when customers should pay nothing for the subscription product on checkout, then immediately switch to a normal paid subscription.

Default customer-facing labels:

To configure the offer:

After setup, the first checkout for the product attached to the selling plan will be free, while subsequent subscription orders will continue at the regular recurring price. If needed, you can customize the adjustment type so customers will be billed at a rate different from the normal Shopify product price. Useful if you still want the customer to get a discount vs the normal one-time product price.

We always recommend testing new subscription options before offering them to customers.

Introductory pricing works similarly to a free trial, but with more flexibility. You can choose how many billing cycles to keep the introductory pricing, and then switch customers to a different rate

For example, to offer 50% off the first two orders and regular monthly billing after that:

In this example, we have optionally decided to lock the customer in for two payments. This prevents customers from gaming the system and canceling immediately after checkout. This is done by selecting the Custom/Advanced plans and setting the minimum number of payments to two

Introductory pricing is a great way to highlight the value of your subscription without offering the product completely free. It helps encourage customers to take the first step while still setting clear expectations for the regular recurring price moving forward. If you are going to lock the customer in, we recommend clearly stating the terms so there is no confusion on the customer's part.

Future price changes are not only for free trials. You can use them whenever a subscription should change price after a specific billing cycle, including retention offers designed to encourage customers to stay subscribed.

Common examples include:

When configuring this type of offer, decide if the subscription begins with a discount, and which cycle the future price should start.

These can be combined with our workflows or additional actions to further customize the flow.

The plan builder also includes an 'add additional actions' link. This can be used for advanced subscription behavior, such as adding customer or order tags, adding a one-time free gift product, adding another product, or tying extra actions to a subscription offer.

Merchants can use these options for more advanced offers, such as a 7-day subscription that later turns into a monthly subscription. When an offer changes billing frequency or changes how the subscription behaves after checkout, test the full customer-facing flow carefully.

Note: Shopify's checkout was not originally built to handle mid-subscription frequency changes. Because Shopify controls the final checkout wording, some checkout language may not be exact for these advanced setups. PayWhirl is working with Shopify to improve how these offers are described at checkout.

Your product page should make the offer clear before the customer reaches checkout. The plan's description section is a great way to explain how everything works.

For example:

At checkout, Shopify should show the initial checkout price and recurring subscription pricing so customers understand what they are agreeing to.

The exact checkout wording can vary based on the Shopify theme, checkout configuration, etc. Because Shopify controls the final checkout display, always test the full customer experience before launching the offer to make sure everything is clear.

Before publishing the offer, test the full customer path:

Review the future price change settings. For a free trial that returns to regular pricing after the first cycle, the future price change should apply after cycle 1, and the future discount should return to 0%, unless you intentionally want another ongoing adjustment.

You may also want to review the wording on the product page. The subscription option should clearly explain that the free or discounted price applies only to the first billing cycle.

Confirm that the product is attached to the correct PayWhirl selling plan group.

Also check that:

If the product has variants, make sure the selling plan group is attached to the variants that should offer the trial or introductory price.

Check the product price, the first-cycle adjustment, and the future price change settings. If those look good, check other related settings, such as shipping rates.

A free trial may still require a subscription-eligible payment method at checkout. This allows Shopify and PayWhirl to create the subscription and continue billing after the trial ends.

We always recommend you test checkout before launch so you know what customers will experience.

If you have questions about your setup or want help choosing the best option for your subscription offer, reach out to PayWhirl support. We’re happy to help you review the plan settings and make sure everything is ready to launch.

Best,

Team PayWhirl