What Happens When a Free Trial Ends: The First Charge

When a free trial ends, the service usually charges the payment method you saved at sign-up for the plan you chose, at that plan’s current price. Checking the plan, the price, the payment method and the end date beforehand shows what the first charge will be.

What usually happens on the last day of a free trial

On the last day of a typical free trial, nothing new is asked of you. The subscription moves from trial to paid on its own, and the first regular charge is made for the next billing period. Most trial offers are set up this way: the trial is the start of a subscription, not a separate product.

In practice, the switch often looks like this:

• The trial end date passes, usually at a set time that the provider defines.
• The provider attempts the first charge on the payment method stored in the account.
• If the charge goes through, access continues without a break and a receipt is often sent by email.
• The date of that first charge commonly becomes the renewal date for later charges.

The details differ between providers. Some charge at the very end of the trial, some shortly before, and the clock may run in a time zone other than yours. The provider’s trial terms and the account or billing page are where the exact end date is shown.

Which payment method gets charged

The first charge usually goes to the payment method you entered when you started the trial. Many providers ask for a card or other payment details at sign-up for exactly this reason, even when the first period costs nothing. If you later added or changed a payment method in the account, the charge often goes to whatever is set as the default at the moment of billing.

Who sends the bill

The company that collects the money is often, but not necessarily, the company whose service you use. How this works depends on where you signed up, so the billing terms of whoever took your payment details are the ones to check.

• Signed up on the provider’s website: in many cases the provider charges the card or account entered there directly.
• Signed up inside an app on a phone or TV: the charge is often handled by the app store account linked to that device. The statement line may then show the store rather than the service, and the subscription is usually managed in the store’s settings rather than on the provider’s site.
• Signed up through a partner: some trials come with a phone plan, an internet plan or another subscription. In that case the partner may bill you, sometimes as a line on its own invoice. The partner’s terms usually describe who handles the charge.

Some providers also place a small temporary check on a card at sign-up to confirm it works. Whether that happens, and how it appears on a statement, varies by provider and by bank.

Which plan the first charge belongs to

The first charge usually belongs to the plan you selected when the trial started, including its billing period. If you picked a monthly plan, the first charge is typically one month of that plan. If the trial was attached to an annual plan, the first charge is often the full annual price at once.

A few points tend to decide which plan is billed:

• The tier you chose. Many services offer several tiers, such as a plan with ads and one without. A trial is often tied to one specific tier.
• The billing period. Monthly and annual versions of the same plan are billed differently. We compare the two in our guide to monthly versus annual billing.
• Changes during the trial. If you switched plans while the trial was running, many providers bill the plan that is active when the trial ends. Some end the trial early when you switch.

The plan name and billing period are usually listed on the account page and in the sign-up confirmation. Introductory and promotional prices that follow a trial are a separate topic, which we cover on its own.

What the first charge costs: recorded prices of common plans

The first charge is usually the plan’s regular price at the time of billing, plus any sales tax that applies. The prices below are the latest US prices in our records for several common plans. They illustrate what a first charge for those plans could look like; they do not show what any service charges after its trial, since trial terms differ.

The dates mean different things. An “effective” date is the day a price took effect; a “recorded” or “reported” date is the day the price was seen or reported, so it may have applied before that day.

Why the date of the first charge matters

A trial can begin under one price and end after a new price has started. In general, the first charge reflects the price in force on the billing date, not the price shown when you signed up, though providers’ terms on this differ. Two examples from our records show how much a plan’s price can move between two dates. They are illustrations of recorded prices, not statements about any service’s trial terms.

• With effective dates: the Disney+ Premium plan (No Ads, monthly) in the US was $18.99, effective October 21, 2025, and rose to $21.49, effective September 23, 2026. That is a change of 2.50 USD a month.
• With observation dates only: for Netflix Standard (monthly) in the US, our records show $17.99 recorded on January 22, 2025 and $19.99 recorded on April 14, 2026, a difference of 2.00 USD. These are two observations, not effective dates, so our records do not show the exact day the price changed. The price increases we have recorded for Netflix are listed by date on our Netflix price increases page.

What to check before the trial ends

A few minutes with the account page and the sign-up email usually answer every question about the first charge. These checks show what will happen; what you do with that information is your decision.

1. Find the exact end date and time. Look on the account or billing page, or in the confirmation email. Note whether a time zone is given.
2. Confirm the plan and billing period. Check the plan name, whether it has ads or not, and whether it bills monthly or yearly.
3. Read the price that will be charged. Compare the price on the account page with the provider’s current pricing page and with the recorded prices above. Allow for sales tax.
4. Check the payment method on file. See which card or account is set as the default and whether it is still valid.
5. Identify who bills you. If you signed up through an app store or a partner, the charge and its settings are usually there, not on the provider’s site.
6. Keep the confirmation. Save the sign-up email or a screenshot of the trial terms, so you can match the first receipt against what was offered.