Trial Ending Email: How to Send Trial and Renewal Reminders
When to send a trial ending email, what to say, and how to have Claude Code build trial and renewal reminders for your SaaS, with sample emails to adapt.
Quick answer
A trial ending email tells a customer their free trial is about to finish, what happens next and what it will cost. Send it 3 to 7 days before the trial ends. Tell Claude Code when to send it and what to say, and it builds the email into your SaaS so it goes out on its own.
Last checked: October 2026
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If your SaaS offers free trials or paid subscriptions, two emails keep things fair for you and your customers: the trial ending email and the renewal reminder. Both tell people a charge or a change is coming, so nobody is caught off guard.
This guide covers when to send each one, what to say, what to tell Claude Code, and sample emails. Both are transactional emails: automatic messages about someone's own account, not marketing. You'll find the rest of the set in our list of transactional emails every SaaS needs.
When should you send a trial ending email?
Send the main trial ending email 3 to 7 days before the trial ends. That gives people time to decide, add a card or cancel. For longer trials, a short note the day before helps anyone who meant to act and forgot.
| Trial length | Main reminder | Optional second reminder |
|---|---|---|
| Under 7 days | When the trial starts | The day before it ends |
| 14 days | 3 days before it ends | The day before it ends |
| 30 days or more | 7 days before it ends | 1 to 2 days before it ends |
If you take payments with Stripe, it already does some of this:
- Stripe's own reminder. With the setting "Send a reminder email 7 days before a free trial ends" turned on, Stripe emails customers 7 days before the trial ends. If the trial is shorter than 7 days, it sends the reminder when the trial starts.
- A signal to your project. Stripe also tells your project when a trial is about to end, 3 days before by default. This is a webhook: an automatic message one service sends another when something happens. Claude Code can use it to send your own email at the right moment. Our guide to sending your own emails after a Stripe payment explains how these signals work.
Pick one main reminder. If both Stripe's email and yours go out, customers get two. Card networks have rules for trials that turn into paid plans, and Stripe's reminder is designed to help you meet them, so read Stripe's trial compliance guide before you switch it off.
What should a trial ending email say?
Lead with the end date and what happens next. A good trial ending email includes:
- The exact date the trial ends, not "soon".
- What happens then: the plan and amount they'll be charged, or that they'll lose access.
- How to keep going: one clear button, such as "Add your card" or "Confirm your plan".
- How to change plan or cancel, in a click or two.
- One line on what they've done, if your SaaS tracks it ("You've added 12 projects").
You'll usually need two versions: one for customers who added a card, and one for those who didn't. What the second says depends on your setup: Stripe can cancel the subscription, pause it, or create an invoice when a trial ends with no card, so make sure the email matches what happens.
What to tell Claude Code
These messages assume SimpleSends is connected to Claude Code. If it isn't yet, start with how to send emails from Claude Code.
I offer a 14-day free trial. Three days before a trial ends, send the customer a short, friendly email with the end date, the plan and price they'll be charged, and how to change plan or cancel. If they haven't added a card, send a different version asking them to add one and saying what happens if they don't. Show me both versions before you build them.
Claude Code checks how trials work in your project (for example, in Stripe), drafts both emails for you to approve, and connects each one to the right moment. Once your SaaS is live, the emails go out from your project on their own.
Then check them yourself:
Send me a test of both trial emails at my own address so I can check them on my phone.
Both arrive in your inbox. Our guide to testing emails before your users see them has a full checklist.
Later, if a customer says a reminder never arrived, ask about it in the chat. Claude Code can read your send logs through the SimpleSends connector (an MCP server, a standard way for AI tools to connect to other services) and tell you what happened.
A customer says they never got their trial reminder. Can you check whether it was sent, and when?
How do renewal reminder emails work?
A renewal reminder email goes out before a subscription renews, so the customer knows a charge is coming. It matters most for yearly plans, where the amount is larger and the date is a year away.
| Plan | When to send | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly | About 30 days before renewal | Add a second reminder 7 days before if you like |
| Monthly | Usually not needed | Send one if the price is changing |
Stripe has its own setting, "Send emails about upcoming renewals". You choose how many days before renewal it goes out, and it only works for subscriptions charged automatically. If both trial and renewal reminders are on during a trial, Stripe sends the trial one.
Rules on renewal notices vary by country and state, so check what applies where your customers live.
A renewal reminder should include the renewal date, the plan, the amount, the card it will be charged to (the last four digits are enough), and how to change plan or cancel.
For yearly subscribers, send a reminder 30 days before their plan renews, with the date, the amount, the last four digits of their card and a link to manage their plan. Monthly subscribers don't need one. Show me a preview first.
Sample trial ending and renewal reminder emails
Adapt these, or ask Claude Code to write versions in your brand's voice.
SubjectYour YourCompany trial ends on Friday, May 15
Hi Sam,
Your free trial of YourCompany ends on Friday, May 15. After that, we'll move you to the Pro plan at $29 a month, charged to your card ending 4242.
So far you've added 12 projects and invited 3 teammates. All of it stays where it is.
Want a different plan, or to cancel? You can change it in your account settings before May 15.
The YourCompany team
Subject3 days left in your YourCompany trial
Hi Sam,
Your free trial ends on Friday, May 15. To keep your projects and settings, add a card before then. The Pro plan is $29 a month and you can cancel any time.
If you don't add a card, your account will be paused and nothing will be charged. You can pick up where you left off whenever you're ready.
The YourCompany team
SubjectYour YourCompany plan renews on June 1
Hi Sam,
A quick heads-up: your yearly Pro plan renews on June 1. We'll charge $290 to your card ending 4242, and send a receipt once it's done.
Need to change your plan, update your card or cancel? You can do it in your account settings before June 1.
The YourCompany team
What comes after the trial ends?
Three more emails finish the job. When a trial turns into a paid plan, send a subscription confirmation email. If the first charge fails, a payment failed email helps the customer fix their card. And if a trial ends with no card, a short "your trial has ended" note with a way back is worth sending.
For a full timing plan across every email your SaaS sends, see when each transactional email should go out.
Frequently asked questions
Is a trial ending email transactional or marketing?
It’s transactional. It tells one customer about a change to their own account: a trial ending and a charge or loss of access coming. Keep it focused on those facts. A line about what they’ve done during the trial is fine, but a sales pitch belongs in a separate marketing email, if you send those at all.
Do I need my own trial ending email if Stripe already sends one?
Not always. Stripe’s reminder works and links customers to a page where they can update their payment details. Your own version lets you choose the timing, match your brand, and add details such as what the customer has set up. If you send your own, decide whether to keep Stripe’s too, so customers don’t get two.
Should a trial ending email offer a discount?
It doesn’t need to. The job of this email is to make sure nobody is surprised by a charge or a lost account. If you do run a discount, mention it in one line and keep the end date, price and cancel link as clear as before.
Can I test trial reminders before real customers get them?
Yes. Ask Claude Code to send test versions of each email to your own address from the chat. Stripe’s own reminders work differently in a sandbox, its test environment, and only reach certain addresses there, so follow Stripe’s docs to test those.
Can I change the wording or timing later?
Yes. Tell Claude Code what you’d like changed, for example “send the trial reminder 5 days before instead of 3” or “make the tone warmer”. Ask for a preview and a test send before the change goes live.
Sources (3)
- Configure trial offers on subscriptions(checked October 5, 2026)
- Manage compliance requirements for trials and promotions(checked October 5, 2026)
- Automate customer emails(checked October 5, 2026)
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