## TL;DR

Stripe trials can start without a card, but then trial end has nothing to charge. Require a payment method at signup by creating the customer with a payment method first (setup intents or checkout in setup mode), then create the trialing subscription on that customer. At trial end the first real invoice charges the stored card automatically.

## Steps

1. Decide the trial model: card upfront (higher conversion friction, higher paid conversion) vs card-free (more signups, more failed conversions).
   Expected: The business tradeoff is explicit before you build.
2. For card upfront, collect the payment method first: Checkout in setup mode or a SetupIntent on your own form.
   Expected: A payment method is attached to the customer before any subscription exists.
3. Create the subscription with trial_end set and the customer already carrying a default payment method.
   Expected: The trial starts with a chargeable method on file.
4. Set payment_behavior so a declined card at trial end follows your chosen dunning path instead of silently failing.
   Expected: Trial-end failures route somewhere visible.
5. Send a trial-ending reminder a few days before trial_end using invoice.upcoming.
   Expected: Customers are not surprised by the first charge.

## When to use

- You want a card on file before trial start
- Trial-end conversions fail for missing payment methods
- You need setup-mode Checkout for trials

## When not to use

- Your growth model depends on frictionless card-free trials
- You bill the trial itself (that is not a trial, it is a discounted period)
- Local regulations restrict pre-trial card collection (check first)

## Compatibility

Stripe Billing; SetupIntents, Checkout setup mode, trial_end on subscriptions. All official SDKs.

## Variant phrasings

### ### Stripe trial require payment method upfront

### ### setup intent before trial subscription

### ### trial without card Stripe conversion

## Root cause

Trials and payment collection are decoupled by design: trial_end only schedules the first real invoice, and invoicing only succeeds against a stored payment method. Card-free trials optimize signup volume at the cost of a payment-method gap that first shows up exactly when money is due.

## Edge cases

- 3DS regions may need the customer to authenticate at trial end anyway
- Attaching a card does not validate it has funds; consider a zero-amount verification
- Changing trial length per customer is fine, but keep trial_end timestamps consistent for reminders

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_7oO7ADiRg7qij9-AmbS7ZQ