Subscription cost calculator
Add up what recurring charges cost across a year, and what the ones you would cancel are worth if invested instead.
Subscriptions cost you a year
$1,320.00
10 subscriptions, 110 a month
- Cancelling 3 saves
- $672.00
- Invested over 10 years
- $9,692.75
- Most expensive
- $22.00
| Subscription 1 — cancelled | $264.00 |
|---|---|
| Subscription 2 — cancelled | $216.00 |
| Subscription 3 — cancelled | $192.00 |
| Subscription 4 | $144.00 |
| Subscription 5 | $132.00 |
| Subscription 6 | $108.00 |
| Subscription 7 | $84.00 |
| Subscription 8 | $72.00 |
Ten subscriptions at $110 a month is $1,320 a year — cancelling the three most expensive frees $672 of it.
How this is calculated
How this is calculated
Annualise first
Monthly charges are multiplied by twelve, which is where the number stops feeling small: $11 a month is $132 a year, and ten of those is more than most people’s annual insurance bill.
annual = Σ monthly × 12Cancelling starts at the top
The saving is calculated from the most expensive subscriptions down, because that is the order people actually cancel in. Cancelling the top 3 of 10 here frees $56 a month against an average of $33 if three were picked at random, so treat the figure as an upper bound.
Worked example: Ten subscriptions, cancelling three
| Subscriptions | 10 |
|---|---|
| Monthly total | $110 |
| Cancelling | 3 most expensive |
| Annual cost | $1,320 |
|---|---|
| Cancelling saves | $672 a year |
| Invested for 10 years | about $9,700 |
The compounding figure is the point: $56 a month redirected for a decade at 7% is close to ten thousand.
What this assumes
- Prices stay flat, which they rarely do.
- Annual plans are entered as monthly equivalents.
- Cancelled subscriptions are not replaced.
- The redirected money is actually invested.
Where this commonly goes wrong
- Free trials that auto-convert are the most common forgotten charge, and they usually appear at a higher price than the promotional one.
- Annual plans hide the cost: a $99 yearly plan is $8.25 a month and never shows up in a monthly statement scan.
- App-store subscriptions bill through the platform, so they do not appear under the merchant’s name on a bank statement.
Questions
How much do people spend on subscriptions?
Most households underestimate by a wide margin. Ten active services at an average of $11 a month is $1,320 a year, and streaming, music, storage, fitness, news and software each add one or two without ever feeling like a decision.
How do I find subscriptions I have forgotten?
Scan twelve months of statements, not one — annual plans only appear once. Look for round amounts on the same date each month, and check the app stores separately, since those charges appear under the platform name.
Is cancelling really worth it?
Only for the ones you do not use. The arithmetic is that $56 a month invested at 7% for ten years is close to $9,700, but a service you genuinely use every week is not a saving opportunity, it is a purchase.
What about annual plans that are cheaper?
An annual plan is usually 15–20% cheaper and is a good deal for a service you have already used for a year. For anything new it locks in twelve months of a decision you have not tested yet.
Should I use a separate card for subscriptions?
It makes the total visible in one place and makes cancelling by replacing the card straightforward. The downside is that a failed renewal on a service you do want is easy to miss.
How often should I review these?
Twice a year is enough, ideally in the month before your largest annual renewal lands. Reviewing monthly turns a five-minute audit into a chore that gets skipped, and most subscription prices only change once a year anyway.
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Sources
This calculator does arithmetic on the figures you enter. It does not account for tax, fees, or your personal circumstances.
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