Freemium Optimization

Overview

"Free" gets users. "Free" doesn't pay the bills. The gap between free and paid is where most PLG companies die — and the common mistake is optimizing conversion rate in isolation rather than full-funnel math. Kyle Poyar's 2026 Free-to-Paid Conversion Report (200 B2B products, with ChartMogul and ProductLed) shows that freemium drives roughly 90 signups per 1,000 visits vs 45 for free trials, meaning a lower per-signup conversion rate (8-12% GREAT for freemium vs 10-15% for no-CC trial) can still produce more customers end-to-end. Optimizing conversion rate in isolation causes teams to abandon freemium prematurely.