Add members to paywall trial using invitation methods

Last updated: August, 2026

Providing a free paywall trial with community invitations can be a powerful strategy for attracting and retaining members. This article covers the essential elements of providing a paywall trial via invitation methods.

Our paywall trial feature, integrated with the invitation methods, allows you to create a free trial on behalf of new and existing members. These methods include:

• Invite: Invite members to your community by manually entering their information or importing a CSV file.

• Invitation link: Create an invitation link that allows members to join the community.

This feature is particularly useful when you want to offer free access to public spaces along with a paywall trial for premium content. It gives members the chance to experience the benefits before committing to a paid membership. 

Additionally, you can utilize it to migrate your member payments over to Circle and provide members with a custom trial duration to onboard them to Circle paywalls.

ℹ️ Note: You can only offer a free trial to members using the invitation method. 

Let's explore the essential aspects of configuring a paywall trial.

When creating a paywall trial on behalf of members, they do not have to go through the paywall checkout page. Here’s how the trial initiation works:

• Invite: The paywall trial begins for members as soon as you send the invites. New members only need to accept the invitation and join the community, while existing members automatically get access without any action. Note that the trial period starts when the invites are sent, regardless of when new members accept them.

• Invitation link: New members gain access to the paywall trial as soon as they sign up using the invitation link, while existing members get access immediately upon logging in through the link. The trial period starts when each member signs up or logs in via the invitation link.

• Paywalls: For invites, you can choose between published and archived paywalls. For invitation links, you can only choose published paywalls.

• Terms: You can select subscription or installment pricing without upfront payments for both types of invitation methods.

ℹ️ Note: If a paywall only has a one-time fee price, it will not appear in the paywall list.

By adding a coupon to the trial configuration, you can offer members a discount on paywall purchases after the trial ends. 

• For invites, you can select from active or inactive coupons.

• For invitation links, you can only choose active coupons.

Regardless of the paywall’s trial configuration, you can provide an overridden custom trial period of up to 730 days for the invitation method.

This custom trial duration won’t interfere with your paywall’s original trial configuration or vice versa. 

ℹ️ Note: You do not need to enable the Offer a trial period toggle on the Pricing tab of the paywall setup in order to create a paywall trial for invites.

When the paywall trial is created via invitation methods, members are not required to add the credit/debit card, regardless of the paywall’s original trial configuration.

Since you are creating a paywall trial on behalf of members, new members won’t be taken to the thank you page or custom redirect URL regardless of its configuration on the Post purchase tab in the paywall setup. 

When you add members to a trial paywall via invitation methods, their previous invite access to any space in the paywall automatically switches to paywall access.

For example, John is an existing community member and already a member of the “Welcome” space (via invite access). You are adding him to a paywall trial that also has a “Welcome” space under its access configuration. When you add John via an invite, their access to the “Welcome” space will switch from invite access to paywall access.

Similarly, for new members, if you configure your invitation method to grant access to a space or space group that is also included in the paywall trial you are offering through the same invitation method, the access to the space or space group will automatically change from invite access to paywall access.

Members must add their payment details to continue their paid membership after the trial ends. 

If the member fails to provide valid payment information within the retry schedule set in your Stripe account, their access to paywalled spaces will be revoked. 

ℹ️ Note: If a member's paywall trial expires or they cancel their paywall membership, they can still access the spaces to which you granted free access, as well as any other open spaces visible to non-space members.

When setting up a paywall trial for your members using the invitation method, you have the following options:

• Paywall: Choose your desired paywall for the trial.

• Term: Select a price from the eligible prices on the paywall.

• Coupon (optional): Choose a coupon code if you want to automatically apply a discount when a member’s paid membership starts.

• Trial days: Specify a custom trial duration of up to 730 days.

📚 For an in-depth guide on using invitation methods, see:

• Invite members to your community

• Set up an invitation link

💡 Tip: You can also create a paywall trial for a member via their profile. To learn more, refer to Create and manage paywall subscriptions from member profiles.

When creating a paywall trial on behalf of members, the notification process varies depending on the invitation method used:

• Invite: When using the invite method, you can enable the Send members an email confirmation toggle to notify members that a trial has been started for them. Please note that members added to a paywall trial via the invite method will not receive a post-purchase thank-you email.

• Invitation links: When members use an invitation link, you can notify them that their trial has started by configuring a custom post-purchase thank-you email in the paywall setup.

• Understanding paywall notifications

• Create and manage paywall subscriptions from member profiles

• Automatically remove member's access from paywalled content after trial ends