A study analyzing over 17,000 mobile subscription apps from August 2025 to July 2026 found that annual SaaS plans with 30-day free trials convert 44.6% of users, nearly doubling the 24% conversion rate for trials lasting four days or less, according to saastr.com. The data also shows that conversion rates increase steadily with longer trial periods, peaking at 44.6% for trials between 17 and 32 days.
The dataset, provided by RevenueCat—which powers subscription management for more than 60% of mobile subscription apps—includes both B2C and B2B apps, such as fitness, photo editing, streaming, games, and productivity tools. SaaStr Fund was the first investor in RevenueCat in 2018 and has tracked the dataset's growth from a few hundred apps to over 17,000. The study highlights that annual plans behave similarly to B2B contracts, where longer trials lead to higher conversion and renewal rates.
The findings suggest that SaaS companies offering annual subscriptions should consider 30-day free trials to maximize user conversion and retention. Conversion rates for annual plans rise from 24% with very short trials to 47.5% for first renewals at the longest trial lengths. Monthly plans, by contrast, see optimal trial lengths capped at two weeks, and AI-focused apps face a conversion plateau at 16 days, indicating different dynamics across subscription types.
RevenueCat’s comprehensive dataset on mobile subscription apps provides actionable insights for SaaS businesses aiming to optimize trial strategies. The full dataset covers a full year ending July 2026, making it one of the largest analyses of free trial behavior in the SaaS sector to date, as detailed on saastr.com.