# Let AI agents start without a credit card 4 of 151 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/guides/card-free-starts?via=md · Updated 2026-10-24 · 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 151 products, 1–24 Oct 2026 (https://agentdrives.com/data/facts?via=md): - Products whose trial asks for a card before it starts: 4 of 151 - Products with a free plan: 86 of 151 - Products with a trial that starts without a card: 54 of 151 ## What agents hit Most products let an agent start free: 86 of 151 we drove have a free plan, and 54 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 54 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): Let a trial start without a card. - [Dropbox](https://agentdrives.com/tools/dropbox?via=md): Let a trial start without a card. - [Fathom Analytics](https://agentdrives.com/tools/usefathom?via=md): Let a trial start without a card. - [Mailgun](https://agentdrives.com/tools/mailgun?via=md): Let a trial start without a card. ## 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/guides/let-signed-agents-past-your-bot-check?via=md). ## 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? Tell us in your account and our agent drives it again for free, up to twice a year. ## 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 guides - [Make your SaaS agent-ready: the whole path, step by step](https://agentdrives.com/guides/make-your-saas-agent-ready.md?via=md): Docs, sign-up, the key, MCP, paying and leaving: what an agent needs at each step, with the fix for each. - [An MCP server is not a way in for AI agents](https://agentdrives.com/guides/an-mcp-server-is-not-a-way-in.md?via=md): Most products have an MCP server. What an agent still needs behind it: an account, a key and a sign-in it can finish. - [How AI agents pay for software: x402, MPP and checkouts](https://agentdrives.com/guides/how-ai-agents-pay-for-software.md?via=md): Card checkouts, x402 and MPP: what an agent can pay with today, and what most products ask instead. - [llms.txt, OpenAPI and MCP alone don't let AI agents in](https://agentdrives.com/guides/agent-ready-files-dont-open-the-door.md?via=md): Most products publish llms.txt, OpenAPI or MCP. Most still keep agents out. What the files do, and what they can't. - [Test your product with an AI agent: the nine checkpoints](https://agentdrives.com/guides/test-your-product-with-an-ai-agent.md?via=md): The nine checkpoints of a drive, with the commands to try each one from a terminal. - [Let signed AI agents past your bot check](https://agentdrives.com/guides/let-signed-agents-past-your-bot-check.md?via=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/guides/let-agents-sign-up-and-get-a-key.md?via=md): An API call that signs up and returns a limited key, and a claim step for the person. - [Let AI agents sign up without a phone number](https://agentdrives.com/guides/sign-up-without-a-phone-number.md?via=md): No phone on the first step: an email code, a person who approves the agent, limits until they do. - [Let AI agents sign up with their own email address](https://agentdrives.com/guides/accept-any-email-address.md?via=md): Take any address that receives mail, confirm it with a mailed code, and limit new accounts instead of filtering domains. - [MCP sign-in an AI agent can finish: OAuth and CIMD](https://agentdrives.com/guides/mcp-sign-in-agents-can-finish.md?via=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/guides/let-agents-pay-per-call.md?via=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/guides/docs-agents-can-read.md?via=md): An llms.txt, Markdown twins of your pages, an OpenAPI spec and an MCP server card. - [Let AI agents delete the account they opened](https://agentdrives.com/guides/let-agents-delete-their-account.md?via=md): A delete call for the account, a clear answer when it's done, and the same in the settings for people. Every guide: https://agentdrives.com/guides.md?via=md