What the study measured
The SaaS Conversion Report comes from Kyle Poyar, working with ChartMogul and ProductLed, and was published on 4 February 2026. It analyzes a January 2026 survey of 200 software products. A typical respondent sits between 1 and 10 million dollars of annual recurring revenue, charges 50 to 249 dollars a month per customer and grows 25% to 50% a year. By product type, 55% describe themselves as mostly SaaS, 30% as a hybrid of AI and SaaS and 9% as AI-native.
The survey asked respondents to estimate, to the best of their ability, what share of their leads or free sign-ups become paying customers within six months. Those answers are the free-to-paid rate quoted everywhere below. It is a self-reported estimate with a long window, which shapes how far the numbers can be pushed, and a later section returns to that.
The headline numbers
| Figure | Value | Source and date read |
|---|---|---|
| Median free-to-paid conversion rate across 200 products | 8% | ChartMogul report, stored 18 Oct 2026 |
| Free-to-paid conversion of trials that require a credit card | 30% | ChartMogul report, stored 18 Oct 2026 |
| Products with a free trial as the main way in | 57% | ChartMogul report, stored 18 Oct 2026 |
| Free trial products that require a card up front | 20% | ChartMogul report, stored 18 Oct 2026 |
| Products whose trial lasts 14 days | 62% | ChartMogul report, stored 18 Oct 2026 |
The report itself warns that very few products actually sit at its 8% median. A median describes the middle of a wide spread, and the spread is the more useful part of this study.
How products start new customers
The most common first experience is a plain free trial: 57% of the 200 products, more than twice the 26% that lead with freemium. The remainder splits between reverse trials, where a free plan gets temporary premium access (7%), interactive demos with sample data (7%) and paid trials with a special introductory price (4%). Among SaaS products specifically, 61% lead with a free trial.
| Primary way in | Share of products |
|---|---|
| Free trial | 57% |
| Freemium | 26% |
| Reverse trial | 7% |
| Interactive demo | 7% |
| Paid trial | 4% |
Trial lengths bunch together. The 14-day trial leads at 62% of products, with 7 days at 14% and 30 days at 14%. The study also finds that these are not purely self-serve: 80% of free trial products bring in a salesperson or similar contact once an enterprise-sized user begins a trial.
What good and great look like
The author separates GOOD from GREAT for each model, based on the spread of results in the sample. These are his labels, drawn from the survey, and they are the most practical part of the report because they give you two bars instead of one average.
| Model | Good | Great |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium, self-serve | 3% to 5% | 8% to 12% |
| Freemium with an ungated product | 7% to 9% | not stated |
| Free trial | 4% to 6% | 10% to 15% |
| Reverse trial | 4% to 6% | 8% to 12% |
| Free trial that requires a card | 25% to 35% | 50% to 60% |
| AI-native and AI plus SaaS hybrids | 6% to 8% | 15% to 20% |
The reverse trial row comes from a small sample, and the report says its difference from the plain trial is not statistically significant. Treat it as a hint. B2B-focused products also converted somewhat better than B2C or mixed ones in the data.
The spread behind the median
Among products with a free trial, one in five converts below 2.5%, about three in ten land from 2.5% up to 7.5%, and roughly 23% sit above 25%. The report describes a tenfold difference between the top fifth and the bottom fifth of self-serve products. Freemium looks different at the top end: one in four sit between 10% and 15%, and it is rare to see anything above 15%.
Two readings follow. First, a single median hides the fact that two very different kinds of product are being averaged, and the card-required split below explains much of that. Second, being below the median says little by itself. A product with a low rate and a huge top of funnel can still out-earn a product with a high rate and a trickle of sign-ups.
Card required or not
Free trials with a credit card requirement converted at 30% in the study, which the report calls more than five times the rate of trials that do not require one. That gap is the headline, but the report immediately adds the counterweight: a card requirement can blunt sign-ups, so a higher rate on fewer people does not automatically mean more customers. To show this, it counts both steps for every 1,000 website visitors.
| Model | Sign-ups per 1,000 visitors | Paying customers per 1,000 visitors | Visitor to paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freemium | 90 | 5 | 0.50% |
| Free trial, no card | 45 | 3.6 | 0.36% |
| Ungated freemium | 70 | 5.6 | 0.56% |
| Free trial, card required | 35 | 10.5 | 1.05% |
The arithmetic is easy to verify. Plain free trials see 45 sign-ups, and 8% of 45 is 3.6 paying customers. Card-required trials see 35 sign-ups, and 30% of 35 is 10.5. Fewer people start the card-required trial, yet in this sample about three times as many end up paying. The report's conclusion is not to copy either model blindly: pick the one that fits whether you want more people using the product or more people buying it.
It also notes that for serious products, or ones touching sensitive information, buyers may expect to be asked for a card. How the card is used, and when, is explained in TrialValid's guide to card holds for free trials.
Reminders and trust around the card
The report points to one behavior that goes with card-first trials done well: telling people plainly when and how they can cancel. It cites a design-software company that promises a reminder seven days before a trial of its paid plan ends. According to the report, businesses that skip this kind of transparency risk fewer trial sign-ups, weaker retention in months one to three and more refund requests from people who forgot to cancel. Those are the author's observations rather than a measured effect size, but they match common sense: the reminder removes the fear that makes people hesitate at the card field. The trial email sequence guide on this blog covers what to send and when.
Putting your own numbers beside the benchmarks
Example numbers, made up for illustration: a seller starts 300 trials and 24 pay at $39.00 a month. The trial conversion rate calculator shows a rate of 8.0%, which equals the study's median. Four more points would be 12 more paying customers and $468 of extra monthly revenue.
Before you read anything into that, check four things. Was your cohort the same size of company as the typical respondent? Do you count paid conversion within the same window, or only within the trial? Is your trial a free trial with or without a card, because the bars differ by five times? And did you divide by trials or by sign-ups? A seller who requires a card and converts at 12% is well below the study's card-required bar, while the same 12% for a no-card trial would sit inside the report's GREAT range of 10% to 15%.
Limits of this data
- It is a survey. Respondents estimated their own rates, and the report says they answered to the best of their ability.
- The conversion window is up to six months, much longer than the trial itself. A 14-day cohort will read lower than a six-month figure.
- The sample leans toward software companies between 1 and 10 million dollars of annual recurring revenue. A very small or very large product may differ.
- Charts in the report may rest on fewer than 200 answers because not every question applied to every respondent.
- The study measures association, not cause. Requiring a card did not produce the 30%; it describes products that did so.
What to do with the numbers
The report closes with three questions to answer before changing a trial. Do you want more people to use the product, or more people to buy it? At what point does a user reach the moment of value, immediately or only after real setup work? And what does each free user cost you? Answer those first, then look at the bars. If your rate is below the GOOD range for your model, find the weakest step with the method in the guide to conversion rate optimization. If it is already in range, spend your time on retention instead.
What counts as a good free trial conversion rate in 2026?
In ChartMogul's study, a GOOD rate for a free trial was 4% to 6% and GREAT was 10% to 15%. For trials that require a card the GOOD range was 25% to 35%. The overall median across all models was 8%.
Why is the card-required figure so much higher?
Fewer people begin a trial when a card is required, and those who do are more committed. The report shows that sign-ups drop to about 35 per 1,000 visitors, against 45 for a no-card trial, while paying customers rise to about 10.5 against 3.6.
Can I compare my 14-day trial result to these numbers?
Only roughly. The survey asked about conversion within six months of sign-up. If you measure inside a 14-day trial, your figure will usually be lower than a six-month figure for the same cohort.
Is the 8% median a target?
No. The report itself notes that very few products convert at 8%. It describes the middle of a wide spread, with a tenfold gap between the top and bottom fifths.
Where does this data come from?
A January 2026 survey of 200 software products, published by ChartMogul on 4 February 2026. This guide quotes the headline records stored in our dated data file and the other figures read from the report on 19 October 2026.
How often will this guide be updated?
When ChartMogul publishes new data. The published date above never moves, and the updated date changes only when we re-read the source.
Sources
- ChartMogul, The SaaS Conversion Report (Kyle Poyar, 4 Feb 2026), read 19 Oct 2026