Startups · by Emir Kaya · 2026-09-24

we killed the free tier and support got 10x quieter

Not because free users are bad people. It was just wildly asymmetrical. Tons of account edge cases, password reset noise, and feature requests from folks who understandably had zero budget. We replaced it with a time-limited trial and the sky did not fall. Wish I'd stopped being sentimental about vanity signups sooner.

22 sparks · 6 comments

Comments

Noah Miller · 7 likes

This was us. 18k signups, 94 paying customers, inbox on fire.

Sleepy Baker · 2 likes

Did conversion from trial improve?

Emir Kaya · 1 likes

A bit, but even if it hadn't, my team stress level alone was worth it

Priya Nair · 2 likes

Vanity signups is the phrase people need to hear.

Haruto Sato · 0 likes

Free tier is amazing when you have product-led scale. Otherwise it's a hobby tax.

Noah Miller · 0 likes

The emotional attachment founders have to big signup numbers is soooo real.