TrialGrave

The trial journal that remembers why you left — so you don't re-subscribe to regret

Before starting any free trial, enter the service name, trial length, and your honest 'why' — TrialGrave sets a graded countdown (Day 1 excitement check, Day 5 usage check, 48h-before-charge warning) and on cancellation logs your verdict so you never blank on why you left when the upsell email arrives 6 months later. Switch trigger: unlike calendar reminders or Truebill, TrialGrave tracks the qualitative reason you left each trial, not just the charge date, so the next remarketing email gets your own past verdict instead of a fresh amnesia click.

Score breakdown

Pain intensity

3/5

CNBC Select coverage of subscription tracker apps confirms mass consumer spend and awareness; the 'trial converts to charge' pain is universally reported. Users are already paying $2.99–$5.99/mo for passive trackers — a proactive, qualitative trial journal is a gap incumbents don't fill. Guardrail: reduced by 1 because quote origin is mostly builder/vendor and direct user pain evidence is limited.

Existing spend

4/5

CNBC Select lists multiple subscription tracker apps at $2.99–$5.99/mo. Rocket Money (formerly Truebill) at ~$6–12/mo. Users demonstrably pay in this category and still complain about unwanted trial charges — stacked spend signal.

Build speed

5/5

Core loop: trial entry form → scheduled email reminders (Day 1, Day 5, 48h) → cancellation verdict logger → personal history view. Auth + CRUD + email delivery. Shippable web v1 in 1–2 days.

Reach

3/5

r/personalfinance (~18M), r/frugal, r/mildlyinfuriating (surprise charges), CNBC Select readership. Subscription charge complaints are a perennial top post type in personal finance communities.

Monetization

4/5

CNBC Select documents $2.99–$5.99/mo as proven price range. TrialGrave can price at $2.99/mo or $19/yr; the 'verdict history' becomes a moat over time (users won't want to lose their log). Annual prepay likely.

Evidence quotes

“50% off limited-time offer: $2.99 per month for the first year, then $5.99 per month (billed annually). Standout features. Users can run customizable reports...”

Source

“Signup count is noise. What matters: a few people wrote in asking about specific bills they're watching. Those are the people who have the problem today.”

Source

Competitors

Rocket Money

$6–12/mo

Passive subscription detection and cancellation

Detects charges after the fact; no proactive trial countdown or qualitative verdict log

Bobby App

$1.99/mo

Manual subscription tracking with calendar view

Reminder-only; no 'why I left' history; no graded trial-phase check-ins

Apple Screen Time / Google reminders

Free

Calendar-based trial reminders

No qualitative capture; no usage-check ritual; no personal verdict log

Market size

~4.5 per household (2024)

Average US consumer active subscriptions

$2.99–$12/mo

Subscription tracker app category (CNBC-listed pri

~18M

r/personalfinance subscribers

~$2.5B

Estimated annual spend on unwanted trial conversio

Risk note

Differentiation from ChurnDiary (already explored) must be maintained: TrialGrave is pre-cancellation / during-trial ritual, not post-cancellation ledger. The graded countdown mechanic (Day 1 / Day 5 / 48h alert) is the distinct mechanism. If this collapses to 'another reminder app', the switch trigger disappears.