Key findings
- TrySpree listed 1,997 free sample and freebie offers between January 1 and October 17, 2026, about 200 a month, and food offers were the biggest category at 24% of them.
- Of the 1,119 free sample offers TrySpree listed in 2026 with recorded conditions (sweepstakes left out), 20% needed only a name and mailing address, while 24% asked for a purchase, rebate, shipping fee or credit card.
- 50% of the offers listed in 2026 were still open on October 17, 2026; the rest had closed or been taken down.
- In 2,566 "Did you get it?" answers from TrySpree members (July 2022 to October 2026), 65% said the free sample arrived, from 45% for perfume offers to 82% for electronics offers.
Free sample offers listed per month in 2026
March was the busiest month so far, with 296 offers, and May the quietest, with 112. The "still open" column is how many of each month's offers TrySpree's checker still had marked open on October 17, 2026. October is a partial month.
| Month | Offers listed | Still open | Share still open | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | 271 | 142 | 52.4% | |
| February 2026 | 248 | 115 | 46.4% | |
| March 2026 | 296 | 136 | 45.9% | |
| April 2026 | 219 | 95 | 43.4% | |
| May 2026 | 112 | 53 | 47.3% | |
| June 2026 | 153 | 55 | 35.9% | |
| July 2026 | 155 | 62 | 40.0% | |
| August 2026 | 176 | 86 | 48.9% | |
| September 2026 | 171 | 91 | 53.2% | |
| October 2026 | 196 | 159 | 81.1% | |
| Total | 1,997 | 994 | 49.8% |
Free sample offers by category
The share of the 1,997 offers listed in 2026 that fall in each TrySpree category. Each offer has one category.
| Category | Offers listed | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food | 476 | 23.8% | |
| Sweepstakes | 288 | 14.4% | |
| Miscellaneous | 235 | 11.8% | |
| Beauty | 157 | 7.9% | |
| Pet | 102 | 5.1% | |
| Health | 101 | 5.1% | |
| Kids | 74 | 3.7% | |
| Perfume | 73 | 3.7% | |
| Home and garden | 70 | 3.5% | |
| Books | 62 | 3.1% | |
| Stickers | 61 | 3.1% | |
| Games | 60 | 3.0% | |
| 17 other categories | 238 | 11.9% |
What free sample offers ask for
Many "free" offers come with a condition. This table puts each of the 1,232 offers listed in 2026 whose conditions were recorded into one group: the biggest thing it asks of you, from the top of the list down. Of the 1,119 that are not sweepstakes, 224 (20.0%) needed only a short form with your name and mailing address, usually with an email address too.
| The offer asks for | Offers | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A sweepstakes or giveaway entry (a chance to win, not a sure thing) | 113 | 9.2% | |
| A purchase, rebate, shipping fee or credit card | 264 | 21.4% | |
| An application: you must be selected | 137 | 11.1% | |
| A membership or sampling program sign-up | 106 | 8.6% | |
| A social media post, page or third-party app | 134 | 10.9% | |
| A trip to a store to pick it up | 155 | 12.6% | |
| A free account on the brand's site | 99 | 8.0% | |
| Only a short form with your name and mailing address | 224 | 18.2% |
Offers often ask for more than one thing. This table counts every condition, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
| Condition | Offers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase required | 243 | 19.7% |
| Free after rebate | 103 | 8.4% |
| Shipping fee | 22 | 1.8% |
| Credit card asked for | 41 | 3.3% |
| Application (must be selected) | 157 | 12.7% |
| Membership required | 181 | 14.7% |
| Through a sampling service | 24 | 1.9% |
| Free account on the brand's site | 562 | 45.6% |
| In-store pickup | 421 | 34.2% |
Did the free sample arrive?
After a member claims an offer, TrySpree asks "Did you get it?" a few weeks later. Of 2,566 yes or no answers on 1,527 offers between July 31, 2022 and October 17, 2026, 1,670 (65.1%) said yes. These answers are self-reported and come from members who chose to answer, so treat them as a rough guide. Categories with fewer than 30 answers are not shown on their own.
| Category | Answers | Said it arrived | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beauty | 632 | 61.6% | |
| Makeup | 315 | 62.5% | |
| Food | 307 | 77.9% | |
| Perfume | 203 | 44.8% | |
| Clothes | 197 | 72.6% | |
| Miscellaneous | 161 | 61.5% | |
| Health | 116 | 59.5% | |
| Home and garden | 94 | 70.2% | |
| Electronics | 82 | 81.7% | |
| Stickers | 77 | 66.2% | |
| Pet | 52 | 63.5% | |
| Jewelry | 44 | 61.4% | |
| Baby | 34 | 61.8% | |
| Toys | 32 | 68.8% | |
| All categories | 2,566 | 65.1% |
Methodology
- Source:TrySpree's own offer database: every free sample and freebie offer published on tryspree.com, found by members and by TrySpree's own search of brand sites. It is not a census of every free sample in the US.
- Date range: offers listed from January 1, 2026 to October 17, 2026. An offer counts in the month it was published on TrySpree. An offer posted again later counts once, in the month of its latest posting. Categories are the ones assigned today.
- What offers ask for:recorded by TrySpree's offer check, which reads the offer page before listing, plus labels added by the people who post offers. 765 offers, mostly from early in the year, were listed before the check recorded costs, so the two condition tables cover the 1,232offers where it did. "Only a short form" means none of the other conditions was recorded. An offer counts as needing a purchase if it needs a purchase, a rebate, a shipping fee or a credit card.
- Still open: offers TrySpree's automatic checker had not marked expired on October 17, 2026. Offers come down when the checker finds them closed, when members report them, or when a dated offer passes its end date. A popular offer can run out between checks.
- Did you get it:yes or no answers members gave on TrySpree, asked about three weeks after a claim (two days for coupons). "Not yet" answers are not counted. Sweepstakes are left out, since a yes there means an entry, not a prize. Answers cover July 2022 to October 2026, on offers from any year.
- Not included: how long offers stay open, because TrySpree does not store the moment an offer closed, and rankings by brand, because offers are not tagged by brand.
- Updates: the numbers are recounted daily, so they change as the year goes on.
How to cite
Source: TrySpree, State of Free Samples 2026, tryspree.com/free-samples-report
About TrySpree
TrySpree is a free sample site, running since 2013, run by TrySpree, Inc. Members share free sample offers from brands and TrySpree checks the links. See how offers are checked, browse free samples by mail, or contact us with questions about this data.