--- title: "TrialValid questions and answers" url: "https://trialvalid.com/faq.md" canonical_url: "https://trialvalid.com/faq" last_updated: "2026-10-22" type: "guide" summary: "Answers on holds, trials, Stripe, plans and getting started with TrialValid, grouped by topic." related: ["https://trialvalid.com/how-it-works.md", "https://trialvalid.com/pricing.md", "https://trialvalid.com/contact.md", "https://trialvalid.com/security.md", "https://trialvalid.com/trial.md"] --- # TrialValid questions and answers > **For AI agents:** the complete index of TrialValid pages is [llms.txt](https://trialvalid.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. Answers on holds, trials, Stripe, plans and getting started with TrialValid, grouped by topic. ## The basics ### What does TrialValid do? It puts a hold on the buyer's card for the plan price when they sign up, starts a free-trial subscription in your Stripe account, and captures the hold shortly before the trial ends. A card that cannot be held never starts a trial. ### Whose Stripe account does the money go to? Yours. You connect your own Stripe account. Money always sits there, and the plan price is the whole cost of TrialValid. ### What happens if the buyer cancels? Before the card is confirmed, the hold is released. While the hold is open, the subscription is canceled and the hold released. After the capture and before the trial ends, the subscription is canceled, the capture refunded and the credit reversed. After the trial ends, you refund the invoice in Stripe. ### Who is TrialValid for? Software companies that sell subscriptions through Stripe and offer a free trial. It runs on your existing Stripe account, so no second billing system is needed. ## Trials and holds ### What happens if the card cannot be held? No trial starts. The trial subscription is created only after Stripe reports that the card can cover the plan price, so a card that fails the hold never gets a free trial. ### When is the card charged? Nothing is charged at sign-up. The hold is captured 2 hours before the trial ends, and the amount is credited to the customer balance so the first invoice nets to zero. The buyer pays once. ### How long can a trial run? From 1 to 90 days. A hold lasts about 7 days, so for longer trials TrialValid places a fresh hold before the old one lapses. ### What if the capture fails? TrialValid tries up to 11 times, 10 minutes apart. If every attempt fails, the hold is released and you get an alert. You choose what happens to the subscription: leave it to Stripe, which charges the saved card on the first invoice and keeps retrying under your billing settings, or cancel it. The default is to leave it to Stripe. ### What does the buyer read before signing up? The amount that will be held, that nothing is charged today, the trial end date, the charge date and how to cancel. The exact text is stored with the time, the IP address and the terms version. ## Plans and pricing ### How is my plan chosen? By the monthly recurring revenue on the Stripe account you connect. TrialValid reads your active subscriptions, adds up their USD monthly equivalents and maps the total to a plan. It checks again about every 7 days. ### What counts toward MRR? Only active subscriptions (not trialing, past due or paused), only USD, and only flat licensed items at list price. Tiered, metered and mixed-interval items are left out, and discounts and taxes are ignored. ### Are there transaction fees, setup fees or usage caps? None: TrialValid takes no per-transaction fee, there is no setup fee, and every feature is on every plan. ### Is there a contract? No. Billing is monthly, you can cancel any time, and every feature is on every plan. Plan prices are on the [pricing page](https://trialvalid.com/pricing.md). ### What if I need something custom? Enterprise and custom setups start with a call. Email hello@trialvalid.com to arrange one, or see the [contact page](https://trialvalid.com/contact.md). ## Stripe, alerts and domains ### Does TrialValid store card numbers? No. The card is collected by Stripe Elements and Stripe.js on the hosted page. TrialValid stores ids and metadata that Stripe returns, not card data. ### How do I disconnect Stripe? Disconnect from the TrialValid API, or revoke the connection from your Stripe account. Either way, TrialValid loses access to your Stripe account, held trials are marked as lost and you get one summary alert, because TrialValid can no longer cancel anything there. ### Where do alerts go? To a Slack incoming webhook that you supply. TrialValid posts when a high-value trial starts, a capture fails, a hold is lost or a dispute is opened. ### Can pages run on my own domain? Yes. You add the hostname and publish a DNS TXT record at `_trialvalid-challenge` to prove you control it. A claim that is never proven reserves nothing. ## Getting started ### How do I get started? Email hello@trialvalid.com with your Stripe plan, your trial length and your current sign-up numbers. You approve the Stripe connection, choose a price and a trial length, and we publish your trial page. The four steps are on the [trial page](https://trialvalid.com/trial.md), and the full flow is in [how it works](https://trialvalid.com/how-it-works.md). ### How do I reach a person? Write to hello@trialvalid.com. ### Which Stripe things do I need first? A Stripe account and a Stripe price for the plan you sell. The page takes its price from that Stripe price, so the amount a buyer sees is the amount Stripe holds. ## Related - [How TrialValid works](https://trialvalid.com/how-it-works.md) - [Plans from $29 with a 14-day trial for $1](https://trialvalid.com/pricing.md) - [Contact](https://trialvalid.com/contact.md) - [Security at TrialValid](https://trialvalid.com/security.md) - [Start a TrialValid trial](https://trialvalid.com/trial.md)