History Main / ThirtyDayFreeTrial

* Free players of ''VideoGame/{{RuneScape}}'' can try a 14-day free trial of [[{{Freemium}} membership]] without having to pay.

If advertising plays up the trial version with phrases like "Play now for free!" while playing down the cost, it may be an AllegedlyFreeGame.

--> "1099 free hours!? THAT'S LIKE FOREVER!!!"\\
"Yeah! My new Frisbee!"

** There have been many instances of people making dresses decorated with the free [=CDs=] (because they're shiny) [[http://www.flickr.com/photos/95713026@N00/5153144420/lightbox/]].

* WinRAR subverts this trope. The trial version says you have 40 days until you need to buy it, but even after that it still works.

* America Online's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL#Direct_marketing_of_disks crazy free trial discs they sent out in the early 2000s]]... most people threw them away or collected them for fun. {{Smosh}} made several jokes about them:

Hello, TVT. I am here to say your wiki is fundamentally breaking down. It has lost some of the things that made it great, including: funny article titles, Fetish Fuel, Troper Tales, and just general funnieness. This attack will not stop until you do the following things: restore everything that made the wiki "fun", and unban two users, named PassTheWord and IstheCakeReallyaLie. They were both awesome, and friends of mine.

Help make TVT a democracy. For us. For my two fallen friends. For life. For liberty. For justice. Down with the tyrannical mods/admins! The, now deceased, creator wouldn't want this wiki as it stands today!

This attack will continue for a llllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg time. Prepare your anuses, because I'm behind Tor.

-A dedicated user.

A 30-day free trial gives you access to a game or service for a fixed, limited amount of time without having to pay for it until the time is elapsed. After that, the trial period ends, and you'll have to dish out the dough if you want to continue. If it's a subscription-based service, you'll often be billed automatically for another month once the trial is over.[[hottip:*:And if you want to cancel your subscription before the trial period expires, it's not unheard of for the vendor to make it difficult to actually cancel the service. They already have your credit card number, and may continue to charge you for services you no longer want until you go through the "proper" procedures, or dispute the transaction through the credit card company.]]

Thirty days is common, but any length of time counts.

Not to be confused with the {{Freemium}} model, where the free version of the game has limited content, but no time restrictions; Freemium services often include a 30-day free trial of the premium version. {{Shareware}} often uses this model as well.

If advertising plays up the trial version with phrases like "Play now for free!" while playing down the cost, it may be an AllegedlyFreeGame.
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!!Examples:

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Free players of ''VideoGame/{{RuneScape}}'' can try a 14-day free trial of [[{{Freemium}} membership]] without having to pay.
* ''Videogame/EVEOnline'' has a 14-day free trial. There are ways to get a 21-day trial, however.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsGalaxies'' offered new accounts a 14-day free trial of the game, rewarding those who subscribe at the end with a bonus item that boosts their ExperiencePoints temporarily.
* ''VideoGame/{{Rift}}'' has a seven-day free trial.
* Most of the games at Big Fish Games have a one-hour trial period. If you want to keep playing after the hour, you'll need to buy the game. (Since they're a CasualVideoGame company, not an [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame MMO]], one hour is usually enough time to see if you like the game or not.)
* [=GameHouse=], another CasualVideoGame site, works the same way as Big Fish Games: The games can be played for one hour free; to play longer you need to buy it.
* ''Videogame/PlanetSide'' once had a ''Reserves'' event [[hottip:*:Players were limited to level 6 (out of 25 at the time) and Command Rank 1 (out of 5)]] which included a ''one year long'' trial that [[WeHaveReserves stood up to its name]] by attracting a lot of players. The game also had a seven-day trial before and after the ''Reserves'', but a few years after the ''Reserves'' ended, the trials ended because they were very convenient for hackers - they'd get banned, then immediately make another trial account.

[[AC:Other]]
* America Online's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL#Direct_marketing_of_disks crazy free trial discs they sent out in the early 2000s]]... most people threw them away or collected them for fun. {{Smosh}} made several jokes about them:
--> "1099 free hours!? THAT'S LIKE FOREVER!!!"\\
"Yeah! My new Frisbee!"
:: Much more useful were the floppies AOL (and some of its competitors) used in the 1980s and '90s… which could be erased and used for your own data. Many people never had to buy a diskette of their own even once, thanks to the mountain of them flowing through their mail slot courtesy of AOL.
** There have been many instances of people making dresses decorated with the free [=CDs=] (because they're shiny) [[http://www.flickr.com/photos/95713026@N00/5153144420/lightbox/]].
* Netflix has many different avenues of giving new customers 30-day free trials.
* Skype has the seven-day free trial of group video calling.
* Some [[MatchmakerDotCom dating sites]] will have a "communicate for free this weekend" promo for new members.
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A ThirtyDayFreeTrial gives you access to a game or service for a fixed, limited amount of time without having to pay for it until the time is elapsed. After that, the trial period ends, and you'll have to dish out the dough if you want to continue. If it's a subscription-based service, you'll often be billed automatically for another month once the trial is over.[[hottip:*:And if you want to cancel your subscription before the trial period expires, it's not unheard of for the vendor to make it difficult to actually cancel the service. They already have your credit card number, and may continue to charge you for services you no longer want until you go through the "proper" procedures, or dispute the transaction through the credit card company.]]

Not to be confused with the {{Freemium}} model, where the free version of the game has limited content, but no time restrictions; Freemium services often include a ThirtyDayFreeTrial of the premium version. {{Shareware}} often uses this model as well.

* ''VideoGame/{{Rift}}'' has a 7-day free trial.
* Most of the games at Website/BigFishGames have a one-hour trial period. If you want to keep playing after the hour, you'll need to buy the game. (Since they're a CasualVideoGame company, not an [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame MMO]], one hour is usually enough time to see if you like the game or not.)
* Website/{{Gamehouse}} (another CasualVideoGame site) works the same way as BigFishGames: The games can be played for one hour free; to play longer you need to buy it.
* Videogame/PlanetSide once had a ''Reserves'' event [[hottip:*: Players were limited to level 6 (out of 25 at the time) and Command Rank 1 (out of 5)]] which included a ''1 year long'' trial that [[WeHaveReserves stood up to its name]] by attracting a lot of players. The game also had a 7 day trial before and after the ''Reserves'', but a few years after the ''Reserves'' ended, the trials ended because they were very convenient for hackers - they'd get banned, then immediately make another trial account.

* {{AOL}}'s [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL#Direct_marketing_of_disks crazy free trial discs they sent out in the early 2000's]]... most people threw them away or collected them for fun. {{Smosh}} made several jokes about them:

"Yeah! My new frisbee!"
:: Much more useful were the floppies they (and some of their competitors) used in the '80s and '90s… Which could be erased and used for your own data. Many people never had to buy a diskette of their own even once, thanks to the mountain of them flowing through their mail slot courtesy of AOL.
** There has been many instances of people making dresses decorated with the free CDs (because they're shiny) [[http://www.flickr.com/photos/95713026@N00/5153144420/lightbox/]].

* Skype has the 7 day free trial of group video calling.

** There has been instances of people making dresses decorated with the free CDs (because they're shiny).

* This used to be the case with ''Videogame/WorldOfWarcraft'' (they offered both 1 month trials periodically and 10 day trials all the time); however, in 2011, they replaced it with a free-to-play model, and the trials are now indefinite (but level capped).

* ''Videogame/CityOfHeroes'' offered a 7 day trial before going FreeToPlay.

* Free players of ''VideoGame/{{RuneScape}}'' can try a 7-day free trial of [[{{Freemium}} membership]] without having to pay.

* Free players of ''{{Runescape}}'' can try a 7-day free trial of [[{{Freemium}} membership]] without having to pay.
* ''EVEOnline'' has a 14-day free trial. There are ways to get a 21-day trial, however.
* ''CityOfHeroes'' offered a 7 day trial before going FreeToPlay.

* ''{{Rift}}'' has a 7-day free trial.
* This used to be the case with ''WorldOfWarcraft'' (they offered both 1 month trials periodically and 10 day trials all the time); however, in 2011, they replaced it with a free-to-play model, and the trials are now indefinite (but level capped).
* Most of the games at BigFishGames have a one-hour trial period. If you want to keep playing after the hour, you'll need to buy the game. (Since they're a CasualVideoGame company, not an [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame MMO]], one hour is usually enough time to see if you like the game or not.)
* Gamehouse (another CasualVideoGame site) works the same way as BigFishGames: The games can be played for one hour free; to play longer you need to buy it.
* PlanetSide once had a ''Reserves'' event [[hottip:*: Players were limited to level 6 (out of 25 at the time) and Command Rank 1 (out of 5)]] which included a ''1 year long'' trial that [[WeHaveReserves stood up to its name]] by attracting a lot of players. The game also had a 7 day trial before and after the ''Reserves'', but a few years after the ''Reserves'' ended, the trials ended because they were very convenient for hackers - they'd get banned, then immediately make another trial account.

* PlanetSide once had a ''Reserves'' event which included a ''1 year long'' trial that [[WeHaveReserves stood up to its name]] by attracting a lot of players.

* ''CityOfHeroes'' offers a 7-day free trial.

** Much more useful were the floppies they (and some of their competitors) used in the '80s and '90s… Which could be erased and used for your own data. Many people never had to buy a diskette of their own even once, thanks to the mountain of them flowing through their mail slot courtesy of AOL.

--> "1099 free hours!? THAT'S LIKE FOREVER!!!"
--> "Yeah! My new frisbee!"
::Much more useful were the floppies they (and some of their competitors) used in the '80s and '90s… Which could be erased and used for your own data. Many people never had to buy a diskette of their own even once, thanks to the mountain of them flowing through their mail slot courtesy of AOL.

* ''StarWarsGalaxies'' offered new accounts a 14-day free trial of the game, rewarding those who subscribe at the end with a bonus item that boosts their ExperiencePoints temporarily.

--> "Yeah! My new frisbee!"\\
Much more useful were the floppies they (and some of their competitors) used in the '80s and '90s… Which could be erased and used for your own data. Many people never had to buy a diskette of their own even once, thanks to the mountain of them flowing through their mail slot courtesy of AOL.

--> "Yeah! My new frisbee!"
:: Much more useful were the floppies they (and some of their competitors) used in the '80s and '90s… Which could be erased and used for your own data. Many people never had to buy a diskette of their own even once, thanks to the mountain of them flowing through their mail slot courtesy of AOL.

** Much more useful were the floppies they (and some of their competitors) used in the '80s and '90s… Which could be erased and used for your own data. Many people never had to buy a diskette of their own even once, thanks to the mountain of them flowing through their mail slot courtesy of AOL.

:: Much more useful were the floppies they (and some of their competitors) used in the '80s and '90s… Which could be erased and used for your own data. Many people never had to buy a diskette of their own even once, thanks to the mountain of them flowing through their mail slot courtesy of AOL.

* ''StarWarsGalaxies'' offers new accounts a 14-day free trial of the game, rewarding those who subscribe at the end with a bonus item that boosts their ExperiencePoints temporarily.