Boards and agencies still treat roughly 25% free-to-paid as normal or good. ChartMogul × ProductLed × Kyle Poyar's Conversion Report (survey of 200 software products, conducted January 2026) says the median is 8%. Rates above 15%, let alone 25%, are rare.
This B2Bcentr report separates the folklore bar from the surveyed median, shows how freemium, free trial, and card-required trials actually distribute, and pairs conversion with signup volume so you do not optimize the wrong half of the funnel.
Key Takeaways
- Median free-to-paid across 200 products is 8%. The distribution is bimodal; few products actually sit at 8%.
- Folklore ~25% is rare. The report says free-to-paid above 15%, let alone 25%, is uncommon.
- Credit-card-required free trials hit 30% free-to-paid, more than 5× trials that do not ask for a card.
- 57% lead with free trial; 26% freemium; 7% reverse trial; 7% interactive demo; 4% paid trial. Among trials, 14-day is most common (62%).
- Per 1,000 website visitors: freemium ~90 signups / 5 paying; free trial ~45 / 3.6; card-required trial ~35 / 10.5.
Folklore 25% vs the 8% median
Search "good free-to-paid conversion" and you will still hear 20–25% in agency decks. That number is a hope slide, not the 2026 private-product median.
The survey defined free-to-paid as the percentage of leads or free signups that become paying within six months. A typical respondent sits between $1–$10M ARR. Across all products, the median was 8%. Very few products actually sit at 8%. The distribution is bimodal.
Same study, secondary write-up: Growth Unhinged free-to-paid conversion report (4 February 2026). Primary tables live on the ChartMogul Conversion Report.
How free trials and freemium actually distribute
Do not average folklore 25% with the surveyed packs. Put the cuts on one table.
| Cut (Jan 2026 survey) | Share of products |
|---|---|
| Free trial: below 2.5% free-to-paid | 20% |
| Free trial: 2.5–7.5% | 30% |
| Free trial: above 25% | 23% |
| Freemium: below 2.5% | 25% |
| Freemium: 2.5–7.5% | 29% |
| Freemium: 10–15% | 25% |
| Freemium: above 15% | Rare |
| Median across all products | 8% |
That spread is why a single "industry average" misleads planning. Half the pack is stuck under roughly 7.5%. A thin tail prints the 25% slides everyone else copies.
What good and great look like in 2026
Bands from the same report (self-serve framing):
| Motion | GOOD | GREAT |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium self-serve | 3–5% | 8–12% |
| Free trial | 4–6% | 10–15% |
| Card-required free trial | 25–35% | 50–60% |
Credit-card-required free trials print 30% free-to-paid, more than 5× trials that do not ask for a card. Friction cuts signups. It can raise paying customers if the product warrants the ask.
Entry models: trials still dominate
Primary landing points in the sample:
| Primary entry | Share |
|---|---|
| Free trial | 57% |
| Freemium | 26% |
| Reverse trial | 7% |
| Interactive demo | 7% |
| Paid trial | 4% |
Among free trials: 20% require a credit card; 80% do not. 14-day is most common (62%). Among SaaS products specifically, 61% lead with a free trial.
Signup × conversion: freemium vs trial is the wrong question
Free-to-paid is only half the math. You can only convert users who sign up. Per 1,000 website visitors in the report:
| Motion (per 1,000 visitors) | Signups | Paying |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | ~90 | 5 |
| Free trial | ~45 | 3.6 |
| Card-required trial | ~35 | 10.5 |
Freemium wins adoption volume. Card-required wins paying customers per visitor. Classic free trial sits in the middle and often loses on both dimensions once signup rate is layered in.
Pair this with B2Bcentr's landing-page conversion report: top-of-funnel conversion without a free-to-paid clock is half a story. Pair it with LTV:CAC and CAC payback so you know whether converted customers are worth the spend and how fast cash returns. Retention still decides whether conversion compounds: see the NRR report.
B2Bcentr's take
This report does not work for teams that refuse to define free-to-paid on a fixed window (six months here) and the same signup denominator. Mix trial and freemium cohorts without labeling and the number is theater.
What to do Monday
- Lock the definition: % of free signups that pay within 6 months. Publish the window, not only the rate.
- Benchmark inside your motion (freemium / trial / card-required), not against folklore 25%.
- Put signup rate and free-to-paid on the same slide. Conversion without volume is half a story.
- If bottom quintile (under 2.5%), fix activation before scaling paid acquisition.
- If considering card-required, model signup drop vs paying lift before you flip the switch.
Next clock for the same unit-economics shelf: how much lifetime value you get per acquisition dollar.
FAQ
What is a good SaaS free-to-paid conversion rate in 2026?
GOOD freemium self-serve is 3–5% and GREAT is 8–12%. Free trial GOOD is 4–6% and GREAT is 10–15%. Card-required GOOD is 25–35% and GREAT is 50–60%.
What is the median free-to-paid conversion rate?
8% across 200 software products in the January 2026 ChartMogul × ProductLed × Kyle Poyar survey. Few products actually sit at 8%; the distribution is bimodal.
Do free trials convert better than freemium?
Slightly on free-to-paid alone, but freemium often wins once signup rates are included. Per 1,000 visitors freemium yields about 5 paying customers vs about 3.6 for classic free trial.
Should SaaS require a credit card for free trials?
Card-required trials hit about 30% free-to-paid (more than 5× no-card) but cut signups. Use it when the product warrants the friction and you optimize for paying customers per visitor.
How long should a SaaS free trial be?
14 days is the most common length (62% of free-trial products in the survey). 7-day and 30-day each sit at about 14%.
Is 25% free-to-paid realistic for SaaS?
Rare. The report says rates above 15% are uncommon, let alone 25%. Treat 25% as a stretch tail, not a planning median.
Primary source: ChartMogul SaaS Conversion Report. Same study: Growth Unhinged free-to-paid conversion report. Related shelf: B2B Market Report: September 2026.