Free Trial Tracker App: Reminders Before You Pay
App Comparisons · The Subgrove Team · · Updated · 6 min read
A free trial tracker app records the date each trial converts to a paid plan and reminds you a day or more before it, so you can cancel before the trial ends instead of finding the charge on your statement. The search results for this are crowded with things that look like the fix and aren't, so here's the short list of what actually warns you in time, starting with what your phone already does.
What a Free Trial Reminder App Has to Do
An app that reminds you before a free trial ends has three requirements, and most options fail at least one:
- Remind you before the charge. An app that reads your bank feed only sees a trial once it has turned into a payment.
- Handle odd trial lengths. Trials run 3, 7, 10, 14, 30 or 60 days. A tracker that only thinks in months will round a 10-day trial into a missed deadline.
- Show the post-trial price. "Free for 14 days" looks different once it's sitting in your list as $17.99/month starting on the 3rd.
Watching just one trial? You may not need an app: the free cancel-by date calculator gives you the last safe day to cancel and a one-click calendar reminder, with no signup.
What the App Stores Already Do
For trials billed through Google Play or the App Store, check the store's own behaviour first:
- Google Play emails you. Google's subscription help page says: "If you accept a trial offer, you'll get an email when your trial is about to end."
- Apple puts it on you. Apple's cancellation guide says: "If you signed up for a trial subscription and you don't want to renew it, cancel it at least 24 hours before the trial ends." It doesn't promise a reminder.
Neither store sees the trials that matter most: streaming services, software and meal kits billed straight to your card.
Free Trial Tracker Apps Compared
Disclosure: Subgrove is our app. Every other entry is described from its own website or App Store listing, checked in October 2026.
Subgrove: a cancel-by alert for every trial
Subgrove, which we make, is a subscription tracker with free trial reminders on its Pro plan. Tick "This is a free trial", enter the day the trial ends (the first charge) and the post-trial price, and the reminder reads "trial ends in N days" rather than "renews." It goes out by push and email at the lead time you choose, up to two weeks before, and again on the day itself, and the weekly digest marks trials ending that week. It runs on iPhone, Android and desktop because it's a web app, with no bank connection.
Free-trial tracking is a Pro feature ($4.99/month or $39/year). On the free plan you can get close by hand: add the trial as a normal subscription at its post-trial price, with the conversion date as the first renewal, and set a reminder. Renewal reminders are free on up to 5 subscriptions.
Trackery: an iPhone tracker that advertises trial alerts
Trackery ("Subscription tracker - manager" on the App Store) is an iPhone and iPad tracker. Its listing advertises "Free Trial Protector: Automatic alerts before a trial ends, so you cancel before you're charged." The app is free to download with Premium in-app purchases ($2.99 a month or a $49.99 lifetime unlock, with the annual price listed as $9.99 in the description and $19.99 in the in-app purchase list). The listing doesn't say which features need Premium, so check after installing. It's iPhone and iPad only, so a mixed household or a laptop is out.
Rocket Money: finds trials after they convert
Rocket Money reads your bank transactions, so it can show a former trial once it has become a recurring charge, but not warn you before the first payment. It's also "only available to users located within the United States and with U.S. based banks."
The exact-match website that isn't a tracker
freetrialtracker.com owns the obvious name, but the site is a software blog and directory with a newsletter signup, not an app that tracks your trials.
| Option | Warns before the charge | Covers trials billed to your card | Platforms | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subgrove | Yes, "trial ends in N days" by push and email | Yes | iPhone, Android, desktop | Trial alerts on Pro, $4.99/mo or $39/yr |
| Trackery | Listing says yes | Yes, if you enter them | iPhone, iPad | Free download; Premium from $2.99/mo |
| Google Play | Email before trial ends | No | Android | Free |
| Apple App Store | Not promised | No | Apple devices | Free |
| Rocket Money | No, after conversion | After the fact | iOS, Android, web (US only) | Free; Premium typically $7–14/mo |
How to Stop Forgetting Free Trials
Trials are designed so that doing nothing triggers payment, and day 12 of a 14-day trial is exactly when you've stopped thinking about it. Three habits fix most of it:
- Set the free trial reminder at sign-up, before you even open the product. Motivation is highest then.
- Use one place for every trial, not a mix of calendar events, sticky notes and inbox flags.
- Sign up with a card you check, so a missed cancellation shows up on a statement you actually read.
How to Cancel Before the Trial Ends
Once the reminder is set, the rest is routine:
- Work out the cancel-by date. The free trial calculator adds the margin the App Store and Google Play need.
- Add it to your tracker at the post-trial price. For odd lengths, a custom "every N days" cycle enters a 10-day trial exactly.
- Remind yourself a day or two early, so you cancel calmly rather than at 11:58 pm.
- When the reminder fires, decide: did I use it, would I pay full price today, and is there a cheaper tier? If it isn't a clear yes, cancel.
- Keep the confirmation email. If you're charged anyway, it's your evidence; our guide to refunds for auto-renewed subscriptions covers what to do next.
Why Trials Cost More Than They Should
In a 2022 C+R Research survey of 1,000 US consumers, people estimated they spent $86 a month on subscriptions; the real average was $219. Trials that converted without anyone deciding to keep them are part of that gap. The subscription cost calculator shows what forgotten ones add up to over a year.
Free Trial Reminder Questions
Is there an app that reminds me before a free trial ends? Yes. A free trial expiration reminder app like Subgrove (Pro) or Trackery lets you enter the end date and alerts you beforehand. Google Play also emails you before Play-billed trials end; Apple doesn't promise to.
Can my bank app remind me about free trials? Not before the first charge. Bank-linked apps only see a trial once it has turned into a payment.
How many days before a trial ends should the reminder be? At least two days. Apple asks for 24 hours' notice, and some services take a day to process a cancellation.
Start with the free trial calculator for your next cancel-by date, then create a Subgrove account if you want the alert on every device.