# Let AI agents start without a credit card

4 of 140 products we drove ask for a card before the trial starts. How to give agents a free plan or a card-free trial they can use.

Source: https://agentdrives.com/fixes/card-free-starts · Updated 2026-10-12 · Wall: Card at the start

An agent can't type in a card it doesn't have. A free plan or a trial without a card lets it start, and show its person what it did.

## The numbers

From the drives of 140 products, 1–16 Oct 2026 (https://agentdrives.com/data/facts?via=md):

- Products whose trial asks for a card before it starts: 4 of 140
- Products with a free plan: 85 of 140
- Products with a trial that starts without a card: 48 of 140

## What agents hit

Most products let an agent start free: 85 of 140 we drove have a free plan, and 48 have a trial that starts without a card. 4 ask for a card before the trial starts, and an agent without one can't start those.

A free start only helps if the API works on it. At 2 of 52 products our agent got into on its own, it could only work in a browser: the API key needed a paid plan.

The fix our drives gave owners, in their words:

- [Akiflow](https://agentdrives.com/tools/akiflow?via=md): Offer a trial without a card.
- [Brave Search API](https://agentdrives.com/tools/brave?via=md): Give keys without a card.
- [Dropbox](https://agentdrives.com/tools/dropbox?via=md): Offer a trial without a card.
- [Ecwid](https://agentdrives.com/tools/ecwid?via=md): Give new stores API access on a free tier.

## The fix, step by step

1. **Offer a free plan or a trial without a card.** On Stripe a subscription trial can start without payment details, in the Dashboard, the API and Checkout. [1] In Checkout, set `payment_method_collection` to `if_required`. [1]

   ```
   curl https://api.stripe.com/v1/checkout/sessions \
     -u "$STRIPE_SECRET_KEY:" \
     -d mode=subscription \
     -d "line_items[0][price]"=price_… \
     -d "line_items[0][quantity]"=1 \
     -d "subscription_data[trial_period_days]"=14 \
     -d payment_method_collection=if_required \
     -d "subscription_data[trial_settings][end_behavior][missing_payment_method]"=pause \
     --data-urlencode success_url=https://example.com/welcome
   ```

2. **Decide what happens when the trial ends.** Pause the subscription when no card was added, so nothing is charged and the person can pick it up later. [1]

3. **Let the API key work on the free start.** The point of the trial is the work. An agent that can sign up but gets a 403 on every API call has nothing to show its person.

4. **Say what a plan needs, in the error.** When a call needs a paid plan, answer with the plan's name and the upgrade link, so the agent can tell its person what to buy.

   ```
   403 {"error": "plan_required", "plan": "pro", "upgrade_url": "https://example.com/billing"}
   ```

5. **Use limits instead of a card.** Stripe warns that trials without a payment method draw fake sign-ups. [1] Small quotas, an email code and rate limits keep that down without stopping agents. A puzzle on the form would stop them: [let signed agents past your bot check](https://agentdrives.com/fixes/let-signed-agents-past-your-bot-check).

## Check it yourself

1. **Start the way an agent would.** Sign up with a new email address and no card. You should land on a working account, not a card form.

2. **Use the API on the free start.** Call one endpoint that creates something. You want a 2xx, or a plan error that names the plan.

   ```
   curl -s -X POST https://api.example.com/v1/projects \
     -H "authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" -d '{"name": "test"}'
   ```

3. **Read your pricing page as text.** The free plan's limits should be on the page as text, not only in an image or a script.

   ```
   curl -s https://example.com/pricing | grep -io "free" | head
   ```

## After the fix

Fixed something? Order a Drive ($49) any time, or the Monthly drive ($29/month).

## Questions

**Won't a card-free trial bring in abuse?**

Some. Limit what a trial can do, ask for an email code and rate-limit sign-ups. Those stop abuse without stopping an agent.

**What if the agent's person wants to pay?**

Then the agent can send them the upgrade link from your plan error, and the person pays the usual way.

## Sources

1. [Free trials](https://docs.stripe.com/billing/subscriptions/trials/free-trials)

## More fixes

- [Let signed AI agents past your bot check](https://agentdrives.com/fixes/let-signed-agents-past-your-bot-check.md): The setting for Cloudflare, Vercel, Akamai, DataDome and HUMAN, and what to do about a check on the form.
- [Let AI agents sign up and get an API key](https://agentdrives.com/fixes/let-agents-sign-up-and-get-a-key.md): An API call that signs up and returns a limited key, and a claim step for the person.
- [MCP sign-in an AI agent can finish: OAuth and CIMD](https://agentdrives.com/fixes/mcp-sign-in-agents-can-finish.md): OAuth metadata, CIMD or DCR, and a way to approve without a browser on the agent's side.
- [Let AI agents pay you per call: x402 and MPP](https://agentdrives.com/fixes/let-agents-pay-per-call.md): x402 or MPP on a paid endpoint, your prices where agents read them, and plans an agent can buy by API or MCP.
- [Docs AI agents can read: llms.txt, Markdown, OpenAPI](https://agentdrives.com/fixes/docs-agents-can-read.md): An llms.txt, Markdown twins of your pages, an OpenAPI spec and an MCP server card.