Guide
How to win back users whose free trial expired
Most free trial cancellations happen almost immediately: 55.4% of 3-day trial cancels happen on Day 0, and 84% by Day 1, according to RevenueCat's 2026 data. So an expired-trial user often barely used your app. Win them back with one short, personal message about the one thing they tried, sent through a channel you actually have (email, push or an in-app message), and add an offer only for people your rules say deserve one.
The data: trials end early
| Trial length | Trial cancels on Day 0 | Median trial-to-paid | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 days or less (3-day trials for Day 0) | 55.4% | 25.5% | RevenueCat SOSA 2026 |
| 5 to 9 days (7-day trials for Day 0) | 39.8% | 37.4% | RevenueCat SOSA 2026 |
| 14-day trials | 35.7% | not split out | RevenueCat SOSA 2026 |
| 17 to 32 days (30-day trials for Day 0) | 31.1% | 42.5% | RevenueCat SOSA 2026 |
Checked 17 Oct 2026. Day 0 shares are for 3, 7, 14 and 30-day trials; trial-to-paid medians are for the length bands shown. 84% of 3-day trial cancellations happen between Day 0 and Day 1 (RevenueCat SOSA 2026 part 2).
Read that table again. Over half of people on a 3-day trial who cancel do so on the day they start. Some people turn off auto-renew straight after starting a trial so they will not be charged, and keep using the app until the trial ends. So a cancel on Day 0 is not always a verdict on your app. Sometimes it is just caution.
That changes how you write to them. A person who cancelled on Day 0 and opened the app twice needs a reminder of what they started. A person who used it every day for a week and still did not pay needs a different message, maybe about price.
How do I message users who cancelled on the App Store if I never collected their email?
This is the real problem for most iOS apps. Apple does not give you the email of someone who subscribed through the App Store. Here is what you can actually use:
| Channel | Needs | Reach after trial ends |
|---|---|---|
| An address you collected yourself, for example at sign-up | Good if you have it | |
| Push notification | Push permission granted during the trial | Limited lost if they deleted the app |
| In-app message | The person opens the app again | Limited only reaches people who come back on their own |
| Apple win-back offer | iOS 18+, StoreKit 2, and the person meets your eligibility rules | Check rules include paid duration |
| Web checkout link | Any channel above to deliver it | Good as an add-on |
Apple win-back offer requirements from RevenueCat's guide, checked 17 Oct 2026. The reach column is our judgement.
Apple win-back offers set eligibility partly by how long someone paid (RevenueCat guide). A person who only ever had a free trial may not fit a paid-duration rule, so check your rules before you plan around Apple's offer for this group. See Apple win-back offers.
If you have none of these, the fix is upstream: ask for an email during onboarding, with a clear reason, and ask for push permission at a moment when it makes sense.
What to offer, and to whom
Discounting every expired trial teaches people that the trial is a step towards a discount. Set rules instead. Some starting points, all yours to change:
- Barely used the app. No offer. A reminder of the one thing they did, and a link back.
- Used it often, did not pay. Price may be the problem. A cheaper plan or a first-month discount, within your largest allowed discount.
- Started, got stuck. Help, not money. Point to the step they never finished.
- Already had one offer. No second offer inside your wait period.
Winback applies those limits before writing anything. If a person falls outside them, they get a message with no offer, or no message.
Example messages
Examples only. Real messages use what each person did in your app.
Subject: your first plan is still there
Hi Sam, you built a 3-day plan on Monday and then life happened. It is still saved. Want to try day 1 this week? Reply if something put you off, I read every reply.
Subject: 8 workouts in 7 days
Hi Ade, you did 8 workouts during your trial. If the price was the issue, here is 30% off your first month with code ADE-4F7Q. It is only for you and lasts 7 days.
The code in the second example is a made-up return code. Each real one belongs to one person, so the return can be counted fairly. See how returns are counted.
Timing
Send the first message soon after the trial ends, while they still remember the app. One follow-up at most. After that, stop. If they come back on their own later, that is not ours to count; Winback only counts a return that uses the person's return code, or the same customer id subscribing again within 60 days of the message.
Using RevenueCat or Stripe events
In RevenueCat, a trial that ends without a purchase arrives as an EXPIRATION event with period type TRIAL. In Stripe, it depends on your trial settings; the subscription is usually deleted or paused. Winback reads either and puts the person in the trial-expired segment. Details: RevenueCat, Stripe.
You can see your own trial-expired list today in the planner: upload a RevenueCat or Stripe export, and it sorts everyone into cancelled, billing failed and trial never converted, without uploading anything.
FAQ
When do most free trial cancellations happen?
On the first day. RevenueCat's 2026 data shows 55.4% of 3-day trial cancellations happen on Day 0 and 84% between Day 0 and Day 1. Longer trials spread cancels out more: 31.1% on Day 0 for 30-day trials.
Should I give everyone with an expired trial a discount?
No. Many barely used the app, and a discount will not fix that. Save offers for people who used the app often but did not pay, and set a wait period so nobody gets two.
Can I send a RevenueCat expired trial email?
Yes, if you stored an email as a subscriber attribute. RevenueCat sends an EXPIRATION event when a trial lapses. Winback reads it and writes one message per person. RevenueCat's own web win-back campaigns are beta and need RevenueCat Web.
Which trial length converts best?
In RevenueCat's 2026 data, trials of 17 to 32 days had the highest median trial-to-paid rate at 42.5%, against 37.4% for 5 to 9 days and 25.5% for 4 days or less.
Who is behind Winback?
AGUNA Wellness Ltd (RC 9590421), Abuja, Nigeria. We run Winback on our own app, AGUNA, first. Winback is new and has no customer results yet.
See who you could win back this month
Upload a RevenueCat or Stripe export to the planner. It sorts lost subscribers into cancelled, billing failed and trial expired, writes one message per person with a unique return code, and gives you a CSV. Files stay in your browser. Want us to set it up with you instead? Early access is open, and you pay nothing until someone comes back.