Choosing a Subscription Type

Breeze supports four subscription types. Use this guide to pick the right one before integrating.

Quick reference

If you want to...	Use
Charge the customer immediately on signup, then every billing cycle	Plain recurring
Give customers a free trial before the first charge	Free trial
Collect payment details now, start billing on a future date	Scheduled
Offer a reduced-price introductory period before full-price billing	Discounted trial
Free trial that begins on a future date	Free trial + Scheduled

Plain recurring

The default. The customer's card is charged on signup, then again every billing cycle (e.g. monthly, weekly).

Subscription starts as: INCOMPLETE → ACTIVE on first payment

Use when: No trial period needed, billing starts immediately.

See Quick Start for setup.

Free trial

Payment details are collected at signup but no charge is made until the trial ends.

Subscription starts as: TRIALING → ACTIVE after trial ends

Use when: You want customers to experience the product before committing — e.g. "7 days free, then $9.99/month."

See Scheduled & Free Trial for setup.

Scheduled

Payment details are collected now, but billing doesn't begin until a specified future date. The card is not charged until the scheduled start date.

Subscription starts as: SCHEDULED → ACTIVE at start date

Use when: You're launching a product on a specific date, running a campaign, or migrating customers from another billing system.

See Scheduled & Free Trial for setup.

Discounted trial

The customer is charged a reduced amount during a trial period, then automatically transitions to full-price recurring billing. Prevents free-trial abuse while still lowering the barrier to entry.

Subscription starts as: DISCOUNTED_TRIALING → ACTIVE at full price after trial

Use when: You want a low-commitment entry price — e.g. "$0.99 for the first month, then $9.99/month."

See Discounted Trial for setup.

Free trial + Scheduled

Combines both: payment details collected now, trial begins at a future date, billing starts after the trial ends.

Subscription starts as: SCHEDULED → TRIALING at start date → ACTIVE after trial

Use when: You're launching on a specific date and want to offer a trial from launch day.

See Scheduled & Free Trial for setup.