Free Tier

A permanent, free‑of‑charge version of a product that offers enough value to be genuinely useful on its own but is limited in ways that encourage expansion. Unlike a free trial, which expires after a set period, a free tier is ongoing. The purpose of a free tier is to serve as a low‑friction adoption engine, turning users into active participants who may later convert to a paid plan when their needs outgrow the free capabilities. The free tier must be generous enough to allow the user to experience the core value — the activation moment — without payment, but it must also create natural upgrade pressure through usage limits or feature gates.

Example: Figma’s free tier allows unlimited personal files and up to three team projects, giving designers a fully functional tool while ensuring that teams eventually hit the project limit and consider an upgrade.