Answer in brief
In a 30-day attribution trial, verify six things: a test install is credited to the right link, your key events arrive with the right values, revenue matches your store or billing data, the ad platform receives conversions back, links open the right screen, and the projected bill fits your budget. Decide the pass mark for each before you start.
Set the pass marks before day one
A trial ends with a decision, so write down what a yes looks like before you sign up. For a small team the list is short: the numbers are right, the setup did not need outside help, and the price after the trial is one you can pay every month. Everything below tests one of those three.
Check one detail at signup too. A free trial has an end date, and tools differ on what happens when it arrives. Read the plan page for it, and put the date in your calendar.
Six checks and how to run them
| Check | How to run it | Pass looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Install matching | Steps 1 to 4 of the test-device procedure | The install appears under that link's channel and campaign |
| Events | Steps 5 and 6 of the same procedure | Each event arrives once, with the right name and value |
| Revenue | Compare a week of reported revenue with your store or billing data | Totals are close, and you can explain the gap |
| Conversions sent back | Check the tool's postback log after a test conversion, and the ad platform's event view where it has one | The postback shows as sent, and the platform lists it where it offers that view |
| Links | Steps 7 and 8 of the same procedure | Both routes end on the screen the link pointed at |
| Cost | Read your usage for the trial and project a full month | The projected bill is inside your budget |
The first, second and fifth checks need no ad spend. The procedure is in testing attribution before launch; run it in the first week. This page covers the three checks that need live data or a decision. The fourth check confirms that each postback reaches the ad platform, which is what lets its bidding learn from your results.
The cost check deserves real numbers
Trial usage is the best estimate of your bill you will ever get for free. Find the usage figure in the dashboard, scale it to a month, and compare it with what the paid plan includes. On a plan billed by data points, each tracked event adds to the count. Airbridge Core, for example, includes 500K data points and charges $0.0001 for each one after that.[1] If your projection lands far above the included amount, read about plan limits and overage and trim the event list before the trial ends.
What a trial cannot tell you
Thirty days shows whether the tool measures correctly. It does not show how the vendor behaves when something breaks at scale, or how your bill changes when traffic triples. Two partial answers are available inside the trial:
- Send one real support question and time the reply.
- Read the plan page for features you will want later and note which plan holds them. A feature that sits one plan up is a future cost.
A trial also says little about a channel you have not connected. If you plan to add an ad network in six months, confirm now that your plan supports it.
The last week of the trial
- Re-run the install and event checks on the released app, in case a later build changed something.
- Compare your projected bill with the plan price one more time.
- Read the billing terms: monthly or annual, and how you cancel. Monthly billing versus an annual contract explains what each one commits you to.
- Decide. If any of the six checks failed and you cannot explain why, do not pay yet.
What to do next
If you have not started, pick the tool and block out the first five working days using the first-week plan. A trial that begins without developer time booked can lose its first weeks to waiting.
Questions and answers
Is 30 days enough to evaluate an attribution tool?
Yes, if the SDK goes into a released build in the first week. Most of the checks need only a test device. The ones that need real traffic, such as comparing revenue totals, need about two weeks of live data.
What should I do before a free trial ends?
Read the plan page for what happens on the last day, compare your trial usage with what the paid plan includes, and decide whether you are staying. If you are leaving, remove the SDK in your next release so the app stops sending data.
Continue reading
Guide
Your first week with a new attribution toolA five-day plan for a small team's first week with a new attribution tool: account, SDK, events, links, a test install and the first report.
Guide
What the developer does and what the marketer doesWho does which part of an attribution tool setup: the developer's SDK and event work, the marketer's links and channel work, and the handoffs between.
Guide
Testing attribution before you spend on adsTest attribution before launch with one phone: tap a tracking link, install, trigger a purchase and confirm each step in the dashboard. Steps and fixes.
Guide
Self-serve signup versus a sales-led purchaseSelf-serve signup gets a small team to data in days at a published price. A sales-led purchase adds negotiation and help. How to tell which you need.
Guide
Monthly billing versus an annual contractMonthly billing lets a small team stop paying when plans change. An annual contract trades that freedom for a lower rate. How to choose between them.
Small teams
Best attribution tool for a team with no one to sit through demosWhich attribution tools a small team can sign up for alone, what the trial needs, and what you pay after it.
Sources
- Airbridge: https://www.airbridge.io/en/pricing Checked 2026-11-10.
Cite this page
Airbridge. “What to check during a 30-day free trial.” bestattributiontool.com. Reviewed 2026-11-10. https://bestattributiontool.com/what-to-check-in-a-free-trial