# How the Free Trial Works

> Try a Minecraft server free for 2 days. No card needed to start, and you choose whether to keep it.

Source: https://www.beaconhosting.org/knowledgebase/how-does-the-free-trial-work
Category: Getting Started
Last updated: 2026-10-22

You can try a Beacon Minecraft server free for **2 days**.

## Start a trial

1. Go to the [Minecraft store page](/store/games/minecraft) and click **Start Free Trial**.
2. Sign in or create an account, and confirm your email address.
3. Choose how to start:
   - **Start now, add billing later** (the default): no card needed.
   - **Add a payment method now**: save a card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal, so the server carries on after the trial without anything more to do.
4. Confirm. Your server is set up within a couple of minutes.

Nothing is charged today either way.

## During the trial

Your trial server works like any other: install Paper, mods or modpacks from **Package Manager**, invite friends from **Users**, and so on.

## When it ends

- **With a payment method saved**, the server continues on the plan, and the first charge is taken when the trial ends. Cancel before then if you don't want to keep it.
- **Without one**, the trial ends. Add a payment method from the service page in **Billing** before then to keep your server.

We email you before the trial ends.

## Rules

There's one free trial per person: one per account, and one per network.