To cancel a free trial, cancel it in the same place you started it, and do it before the trial ends. Most trials ask for a card up front, and the Federal Trade Commission’s guide to free trials, auto-renewals and subscriptions explains why: it lets the company charge you if you do not cancel in time. This guide shows how to cancel a free trial by billing channel, when to do it, and what happens after you cancel.
First, find out who bills the trial
The cancel button lives with whoever will take the first payment, not necessarily with the app or show you are trying out.
- Started in an iPhone or iPad app: usually billed by Apple.
- Started in an Android app: usually billed by Google Play.
- Started on a company’s website: billed by that company.
- Started on Amazon or a Roku device: often billed by Amazon or Roku, even for another company’s channel.
If you are not sure, find the confirmation email. Apple suggests searching your inbox for “receipt from Apple” or “invoice from Apple”; Google Play sends its own receipts from Google. A receipt from anyone else means that company is the one to cancel with.
How to cancel a free trial by billing channel
App Store (iPhone and iPad)
Apple’s instructions are to open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, select the trial and tap Cancel Subscription. Apple says that if you do not want a trial to renew, you should “cancel it at least 24 hours before the trial ends.” If there is no Cancel button, or you see an expiration message in red text, the subscription is already cancelled. Full steps, including Mac and Windows, are in our App Store cancellation guide.
Google Play (Android)
Open your subscriptions in Google Play, select the trial, tap Cancel subscription and follow the instructions. Google’s page on subscribing to services or content is clear about the timing: “To cancel a trial subscription and avoid charges, cancel your subscription before the trial period ends.” At the end of the trial, the first billing period begins and you are charged automatically. Google also says you will get an email when a trial is about to end. See our Google Play guide, and our Android guide for trials billed by the Galaxy Store, PayPal or your carrier.
A company’s website
If you started the trial on a company’s site, sign in there and look for the account, plan, membership or billing page. Cancel there, then keep the confirmation email or a screenshot. The FTC advises keeping a copy of your cancellation request and notes from any conversations. Our cancellation guides link to each service’s own account page.
Amazon
Amazon handles trials in a few ways:
- Prime. Amazon’s Prime free trial page says you will not be charged for the trial, but you are upgraded to a paid membership automatically at the end of the trial period. To stop that, end the membership from your Prime membership page. If you signed up in the Android shopping app, Amazon says to manage it through Google Play instead. See our Amazon Prime guide.
- Digital subscriptions. In Your Memberships and Subscriptions, select Manage Subscription. Amazon’s subscription help page says you can use the Auto-Renew option, on select digital subscriptions, “to stop the recurring charge for your subscription or free trial before the renewal date.” Cancel Subscription sits under Advanced Controls on the same page.
- Software trials. On the cancel page for a software free trial, End on keeps the rest of the trial but prevents the upgrade, while End Now ends the trial straight away.
Channels you add through Prime Video are separate subscriptions; our Prime Video guide covers them.
Roku
For a trial billed by Roku, Roku’s help page says to go to my.roku.com/subscriptions, choose the subscription under Active subscriptions, select Manage subscription, then Turn off auto-renew. On the TV, press Home, highlight the app, press the Star button and choose the same options. Roku’s rule: “You must cancel free trials before they end to avoid recurring subscription charges.” Disney+, Hulu and Sling TV are exceptions: even when Roku processes the charge, Roku says those services manage the subscription, so you cancel with them. More in our Roku guide.
When to cancel a free trial
The safe answer is as soon as you know you will not keep it. A few details decide the real deadline:
- Know the exact end date. It is on the confirmation email and on the subscription page in your account. Note the time zone if one is shown.
- Allow a margin. Apple asks for at least 24 hours before the trial ends. Google and Roku say before the trial ends. Websites set their own terms, so read them when you sign up.
- Cancelling early does not always cost you the trial. Amazon’s End on choice for software trials is designed for this. Other providers may end access as soon as you cancel, so check the confirmation screen before you tap.
- Set a reminder. The FTC’s advice is to “make a note on your calendar to remind you to cancel before the trial ends.”
What happens after you cancel a free trial
If you cancel in time, the trial does not convert into a paid plan and the first charge does not happen. Beyond that, providers differ:
- Access may continue or stop. Roku says you keep access until your current billing cycle ends. Amazon’s End Now option for software trials ends the trial immediately. Apple’s and Google’s general help pages do not promise either way for trials, so read the message shown when you confirm.
- Another trial is not guaranteed. Amazon, for example, says new members can try Prime free, and that if you are not offered a free trial you can still sign up as a paid member.
- Deleting the app does nothing to billing. Google states that uninstalling an app does not cancel its subscription. The same logic applies everywhere: the trial belongs to your account, not to the app on your phone.
If you were charged anyway
Cancel the subscription first so the next renewal does not happen too, then ask for a refund where the charge came from. Our refund guides cover the App Store, Google Play and other providers. If a company will not let you cancel or keeps charging you, the FTC suggests asking your credit card company to stop the payments, disputing the charge, and reporting it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Keep the trial end date in front of you
The hard part of a free trial is remembering the date three weeks later. Subex has no separate trial tracker, but it handles this with a plain workaround: add the trial by hand as a subscription and enter the trial end date as its renewal date. Choose a reminder 1 or 3 days before, and Subex sends a push notification in time to decide. From the reminder you can open the step-by-step cancel guide for that service, then cancel with whoever bills you. Subex does not detect trials or cancel them for you. Get Subex on Google Play.
FAQ
Can you cancel a free trial right after you start it?
Usually yes. App stores and most websites let you cancel at any point during the trial. Whether you keep using the rest of the trial depends on the provider: Amazon’s End on option for software trials keeps it, while other services may end access when you cancel.
Will I be charged if I cancel a free trial on the last day?
You may be. Apple asks for at least 24 hours before the trial ends, and Google and Roku say to cancel before the trial ends. Cancelling a day or more early is the only way to be sure.
Does deleting the app cancel a free trial?
No. Google states that uninstalling an app does not cancel its subscription. Cancel in the App Store, Google Play or your account with the company.
How do I know my free trial is cancelled?
Look for a confirmation email and check the subscription page again. On an iPhone, Apple says a missing Cancel button or an expiration message in red text means the subscription is already cancelled.