This calculator gives estimates for education and planning. It is not investment, tax or legal advice; for decisions about your own situation, talk to a qualified financial professional.
Subscriptions are designed to be painless: a few dollars a month, charged automatically. That is exactly why they add up. This calculator totals your monthly and yearly subscriptions and shows what they cost over ten years.
What to include
- Streaming: video, music, audiobooks and podcasts.
- Software and cloud: storage, office suites, password managers, VPNs, photo apps.
- Fitness: gym memberships, workout apps, connected bikes.
- News and games: newspapers, magazines, gaming passes.
- Yearly plans: shopping memberships, antivirus, domain names, app subscriptions paid once a year. The calculator spreads these over 12 months.
- Boxes and deliveries: meal kits, pet food or coffee deliveries, if you treat them as subscriptions.
Your phone, internet and insurance are subscriptions too, but most people count them as fixed bills in their budget.
Example
| Subscription | Per month |
|---|---|
| Video streaming | $15.49 |
| Music | $11.99 |
| Cloud storage | $2.99 |
| Gym | $40.00 |
| News and other | $10.00 |
| Yearly plans ($120 ÷ 12) | $10.00 |
| Total | $90.47 |
That is $1,086 a year and about $10,856 over ten years. Invested at 5% a year instead, $90.47 a month would grow to about $14,048.
How to cut the bill
- List every charge. Go through three months of bank and card statements; forgotten free trials are common.
- Rate each one. Ask how often you used it last month and whether you would sign up again today.
- Rotate. Keep one or two streaming services at a time and switch every few months.
- Share or bundle. Family plans and bundles often cost less per person.
- Pay yearly for what you keep. Annual plans are often 15 to 20% cheaper than monthly ones.
- Set reminders before trials end and before annual renewals.
The share of income
A total of 2% of take-home pay may feel small, but it competes with savings goals. In a 50/30/20 budget, subscriptions belong to the 30% for wants, and every dollar saved there can move to the 20% for savings and debt repayment.
The investment figure assumes monthly contributions and a constant return; real returns vary from year to year.