---
title: "Should I offer a free trial or a money-back guarantee?"
summary: "Depends – Depends – free trial for B2C self-serve; specific money-back guarantee for B2B and high-ticket."
canonical: https://unlocksaas.com/should-i/offer-a-free-trial-or-a-money-back-guarantee
updated: 2026-05-22
publisher: "Unlock SaaS"
author: "Maryan"
license: All rights reserved. Quotation with attribution permitted.
---

# Should I offer a free trial or a money-back guarantee?

**Verdict: Depends** – Depends – free trial for B2C self-serve; specific money-back guarantee for B2B and high-ticket.

> Use a free trial for self-serve B2C SaaS priced under $50 per month. Use a specific money-back guarantee ('refund if X measurable outcome hasn't happened by Y date') for B2B SaaS, high-ticket offers, and anything over $100 per month. Generic 'satisfaction guaranteed' lifts conversion barely 5%; a specific outcome-tied guarantee lifts conversion 20 to 40%.

## Why

- Free trials collect credit cards. Free trials without credit cards collect tourists, not customers. The CC-required trial converts roughly 3-5x better.
- A specific guarantee ('refund if your first paying customer doesn't materialise in 60 days') outperforms a long guarantee window every time. Specificity beats duration.
- Refund rate within the guarantee window of 2-8% is healthy. Below 2% suggests the guarantee isn't visible enough; above 10% suggests your offer is over-promising.

## Related terms

- [Offer](https://unlocksaas.com/glossary/offer) – What the page asks for and what it gives in return, structured so the perceived value is unambiguously higher than the price.
- [Weak Belief](https://unlocksaas.com/glossary/weak-belief) – One of three diagnostic labels: the person and the offer are fine but the page does not make the reader believe it will work for them.

---

Canonical URL: https://unlocksaas.com/should-i/offer-a-free-trial-or-a-money-back-guarantee
Publisher: Unlock SaaS (https://unlocksaas.com)
Contact: maryan@unlocksaas.com