“Instead of offering a 7-day free trial maybe you offer a 7-day pass that's two bucks and if there's a really low barrier to entry and the user sees a lot of value then you kind of get them in at this cheaper price and then if they do see a ton of value that's the on-ramp to the subscription.”

A $2 Paid 7-Day Pass Beats a Free Trial for High-COGS AI Apps

For apps with high cost of goods — particularly AI apps where inference costs are real — a 7-day paid pass at $2 replaces a free trial. It filters out users who would never pay, generates contribution margin to offset inference costs, and still provides the on-ramp experience. Users who complete a $2 week have already demonstrated willingness to pay before committing to an annual subscription.