The math that determines which CTA wins
The right CTA isn't the one with higher conversion rate — it's the one with higher revenue per visitor. Multiply conversion rate × deal close rate × average contract value to compare. A free trial converting at 8% with a 12% trial-to-paid rate at $300/year ACV produces $2.88 revenue per 100 visitors. A demo converting at 1.5% with a 30% close rate at $25,000 ACV produces $112 per 100 visitors. Same page, same traffic — the demo is 39x more valuable per visitor at enterprise price points.
The hybrid pattern
Pages with both CTAs ("Start free trial" as primary, "Talk to sales" as secondary) convert better overall than single-CTA pages — but only when the secondary CTA visually defers to the primary. The mistake is making both buttons equal-weight, which paralyzes choice. Stripe's homepage is the canonical example: "Start now" is the high-emphasis CTA, "Contact sales" is link-text. The hierarchy is unmistakable.
How to pick if you're between
If your ACV sits between $5K and $25K, run a 4-week test: free trial CTA in week 1–2, demo CTA in week 3–4 (no overlap). Compare revenue per 100 visitors, not raw conversion rate. Most B2B SaaS in this band ends up with the demo as primary on the homepage and free trial available behind a secondary link. Read our demo page optimization guide for the deeper buyer's framework.