IMO asking for CC details upfront for a "free trial" in the hope that people forget to cancel is a very dark pattern. A customer friendly free trial will have

IMO asking for CC details upfront for a "free trial" in the hope that people forget to cancel is a very dark pattern. A customer friendly free trial will have some limitations (e.g. stops working after a while, inserts a watermark into report, etc.) but will not ask for CC details upfront.