Choose the outcome before the trial expires
A card-free trial needs an explicit exit policy. One public developer question asks how to cancel rather than generate an invoice when a trial ends without payment details; another asks what Stripe does when no default source exists.[3][4] Those historical questions establish the operational need, not today’s API behavior.
This guide covers trial_settings.end_behavior.missing_payment_method for existing trial integrations. Stripe now labels the retrieved trial_end guide a legacy integration path and recommends trial offers for new integrations.[1] Do not transfer this policy to another field merely because it is also named end_behavior.
Three settings, three different results
cancel: the subscription cancels immediately at trial end if no payment method is available. A returning customer can receive a new subscription later.[1]pause: the subscription stops cycling and generating invoices until resumed. It can remain paused indefinitely, and the same subscription can be resumed after the customer adds payment details.[1]create_invoice: Stripe creates an invoice despite the missing payment method. If no method is provided when the invoice finalizes, the subscription moves topast_due.[1]
Editorial recommendation: choose cancellation when the intended relationship ends, pause when you want a recoverable waiting state, and invoice creation only when invoicing without stored payment details is deliberate. Record the actual configured value; this article does not infer a default from an example response.
This pause is not pause_collection: a paused subscription generates no invoices, whereas collection pausing continues invoicing and advances billing periods.[1] There is no draft-invoice backlog procedure in this guide.
Configure the right object and inspect payment defaults
Stripe documents setting the missing-payment-method policy when creating or updating a subscription. For Checkout, place it inside subscription_data[trial_settings][end_behavior][missing_payment_method]; payment_method_collection=if_required makes payment-information collection optional in the documented free-trial flow.[1] Making collection optional is not itself a cancellation or pause policy.
Do not classify a subscription as card-free from one empty field. Stripe checks default_source and default_payment_method on the subscription and customer when deciding whether a method is missing.[1] Recommended review fields are the subscription ID, trial end, configured policy, relevant payment defaults and observed status. Keep your access policy separate from those billing fields.
Prepare the conversion and recovery paths
Listen for customer.subscription.trial_will_end and offer a way to provide payment details before expiry. Stripe documents the customer portal for collecting them, plus customer.subscription.deleted for trial-end cancellation and customer.subscription.paused for trial-end pausing.[1] Recommended control: reconcile the resulting subscription rather than interpreting a reminder as proof of conversion.
Adding a payment method and restoring paid service are separate steps. The resume endpoint is available only for charge_automatically collection and initiates resumption; if no resumption invoice is generated, status becomes active immediately. If one is generated, the endpoint reference says payment or marking it uncollectible activates the subscription; manually voiding it leaves the subscription paused.[2] Active status therefore does not always prove cash collection.
The trial guide describes invoice payment as the reactivation gate, while the endpoint reference additionally documents the no-invoice and uncollectible cases.[1][2] Inspect the actual invoice and subscription, and validate against your pinned API version before restoring access. Do not promise automatic recovery merely because a card was saved.
Acceptance checks and boundaries
Recommended test cases: no payment method under each of the three policies; a customer-level default despite an empty subscription field; a method added before expiry; and a paused subscription resumed with an unpaid invoice. Record invoice and subscription states separately. These are proposed checks, not executed Stripe tests.
Sources were retrieved on 2026-09-23. Official publication and update dates were not stated. This is documentation research, not a PayIn feature claim or legal or accounting advice. Geographic availability, local obligations and the newer trial-offer model are outside scope.
Sources and dates
Official documentation supports behavior; community questions demonstrate qualitative demand only. Retrieved 2026-09-23; retrieval is not publication. Documentation research, not live-account testing, a PayIn feature claim or financial advice. Regional availability and account eligibility must be checked separately.
- [1] Use free trial periods on subscriptions · Publication date not stated; update date not stated; checked 2026-09-23.
- [2] Resume a subscription · Publication date not stated; update date not stated; checked 2026-09-23.
- [3] How to configure end of trials · Published: 2023-01-06; update date not stated; checked 2026-09-23.
- [4] How does stripe handle subscription with no payment in customer · Published: 2019-05-04; update date not stated; checked 2026-09-23.