less than a minute read • Updated 2 hours ago

Set up a free trial on a subscription

How to offer a free trial period before a subscription's first billing date using the sub_startdate parameter.

To offer a free trial on a subscription, set a sub_startdate value in the future on your add-to-cart link or form. Foxy will create the subscription on the initial checkout but will not bill the customer until the start date you specify.


How to set it up

Add the sub_startdate parameter to your add-to-cart link or form alongside your sub_frequency. For example, to offer a 30-day free trial on a monthly subscription:

&sub_frequency=1m&sub_startdate=30d

Accepted values for sub_startdate

Format

Example

Description

YYYYMMDD

20260101

A specific date

DD or D

10

The 10th of this month, or next month if the 10th has passed

Nd

30d

N days from today

Nw

2w

N weeks from today

Nm

1m

N months from today

Ny

1y

N years from today


Forcing subscriptions to bill on a specific day of the month

You can use sub_startdate to align all subscriptions to a specific billing date — for example, the 1st or 15th of every month — regardless of when the customer signs up:

&sub_frequency=1m&sub_startdate=1

If the day you specify has already passed this month, Foxy will start the subscription on that day next month.


Notes

  • Subscription start and end dates are not tied to your store’s timezone settings. Test thoroughly before going live.

  • If a start date falls on a day that doesn’t exist in a given month (e.g. the 31st), Foxy will move it to the last valid day of that month.

  • If you are also setting a sub_enddate using a relative value (e.g. 13m), note that it is calculated from today’s date — not the start date. Adjust accordingly if your subscription starts in the future.


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