Why I Chose Elixir Phoenix over Rails, Laravel, and Next.js

Re:Why I Chose Elixir Phoenix over Rails, Laravel, and Next.js by benterix on Thursday October 16, 2025 @03:37PM (#45609771)

It's a pity the author didn't decide to offer a trial without attaching a credit card. I get it, we had these discussions here many times. But as a person that could potentially subscribe, I'm baffled at the choice.

You could argue that I'm not really willing to subscribe if I'm not willing to provide my CC details yet. But it doesn't work this way. Before I subscribe to a new service, I really like to know it well, to have a kind of emotional relationship to understand what it is giving/saving me. "Give me you CC or get off" makes me not even want to try.

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Re:Why I Chose Elixir Phoenix over Rails, Laravel, and Next.js by cpursley on Thursday October 16, 2025 @05:15PM (#45610742)

Not everyone has VC funding where profit does not matter.

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Re:Why I Chose Elixir Phoenix over Rails, Laravel, and Next.js by shkkmo on Thursday October 16, 2025 @07:29PM (#45611904)

This isn't a debate about whether to offer a trial period or how of one to offer. This is a debate about forcing people to give you payment info for a free trial.

Requiring a credit card for a free trial is a technique to trick people into paying for a subscription when they normally wouldn't have chosen do do so after the trial period.

Not taking VC funding doesn't make this kind of dark pattern any less scummy. Fundementally you are trading some voluntary customers (people who don't like these tactics) or involuntary customers (distracted, busy or lazy people who forget to cancel.) When I see a company that does this, it tells me that they care about extracting value from the market than providing value to customers.

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Re:Why I Chose Elixir Phoenix over Rails, Laravel, and Next.js by akarshc on Thursday October 16, 2025 @11:23PM (#45613033)

I completely agree. Requiring credit card info for a free trial often feels like a dark pattern designed to trap users into paying. I’m taking a different approach with my product by offering a 3-day free trial that doesn’t require a card, and a 14-day free trial for serious users. I want users to try it without any pressure or tricks and make a decision based on the value they experience, not because they forgot to cancel.

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Re:Why I Chose Elixir Phoenix over Rails, Laravel, and Next.js by cpursley on Friday October 17, 2025 @09:14AM (#45616407)

No, it's to filter out the tire kickers and time wasters. I'm guessing you don't run an online business?

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Re:Why I Chose Elixir Phoenix over Rails, Laravel, and Next.js by akarshc on Thursday October 16, 2025 @08:48PM (#45612316)

you can opt in for a 3-day free trial without needing to add a credit card after signing up.

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Re:Why I Chose Elixir Phoenix over Rails, Laravel, and Next.js by coolThingsFirst on Thursday October 16, 2025 @11:32PM (#45613079)

Subscribe to what, it's a blogpost

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Re:Why I Chose Elixir Phoenix over Rails, Laravel, and Next.js by akarshc on Thursday October 16, 2025 @11:56PM (#45613196)

At the end of the article, I’ve highlighted the app I built with Phoenix, which is what he is referring to.

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