Why Isn't My WooCommerce Subscription Free Trial Working?

Why This Happens

A WooCommerce Subscriptions trial is a delay on the first charge, configured directly on the product (or, for a variable subscription, on the specific variation). There's no store-wide trial toggle — each subscription product manages its own trial length independently, which is exactly why one product's trial can work perfectly while another's doesn't.

Common Causes

• Trial length left at zero or blank on the product (or the specific variation, for variable subscriptions) — the single most common cause of a trial that doesn't actually delay the first charge.
• Trial set on the wrong variation. For a variable subscription, the trial field is per-variation; setting it on one billing option doesn't automatically apply it to the others.
• Sign-up fee confused with a trial. A sign-up fee still charges immediately even with a trial configured — that's expected, since a sign-up fee and a trial are two independent settings, not alternatives to each other.
• Trial-to-paid conversion failing due to a scheduler or payment issue once the trial period actually ends — at that point it behaves exactly like any other renewal, and the same causes covered in renewal troubleshooting apply.
• A coupon or other plugin altering the price calculation in a way that interacts unexpectedly with the trial logic, particularly free-trial-specific coupons.

How to Fix It

1. Check the trial field directly on the product (or the specific variation) under Product data → Subscription, confirming both a length and a unit (days/weeks/months) are actually set.
2. Place a test order and confirm the order total shown at checkout reflects $0 (or just the sign-up fee, if one exists) rather than the full recurring amount.
3. If the trial itself works but conversion to paid fails, treat it as a renewal problem — check Action Scheduler for the scheduled first-payment action the same way you would for any other missed renewal.
4. Test each variation independently if the product is a variable subscription, since trial settings don't propagate between variations automatically.

See custom WooCommerce development if the trial needs custom logic beyond a fixed length, such as extending it conditionally for specific customer segments.