{
  "slug": "subscription-audit-annual",
  "title": "Subscription Audit Calculator",
  "heading": "Subscription Audit Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/subscription-audit-annual",
  "summary": "Total your recurring charges and see what cancelling the unused ones is worth.",
  "description": "Recurring charges are individually trivial and collectively enormous, which is exactly why they survive scrutiny. This calculator totals monthly and annual subscriptions into one yearly figure, applies your own estimate of what share you rarely use, and shows both the immediate cash freed and what that amount becomes if redirected into savings over ten years. The invested figure is usually the persuasive one: a modest monthly total compounds into a meaningful sum, which reframes cancellation from penny-pinching to a genuine financial decision.",
  "formula": "Annual total = (monthly items × 12) + annual items. Waste = annual total × unused share. Invested value = waste ÷ 12 accumulated monthly at the expected return over the horizon.",
  "dateModified": "2026-08-25",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=subscription-audit-annual",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "streaming",
      "label": "Streaming & media",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 62,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "software",
      "label": "Apps & software",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 48,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "fitness",
      "label": "Fitness & wellness",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 45,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "delivery",
      "label": "Delivery & shopping memberships",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 25,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "other",
      "label": "Other monthly subscriptions",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 30,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "annualItems",
      "label": "Annual-billed subscriptions",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 340,
      "unit": "$/yr",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "unusedPct",
      "label": "Share you rarely or never use",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 35,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "returnPct",
      "label": "Expected investment return",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 7,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "years",
      "label": "Horizon",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 10,
      "unit": "years",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "invested",
      "label": "Value if redirected to investing",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "annual",
      "label": "Total spent on subscriptions per year",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "monthly",
      "label": "True monthly subscription load",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "waste",
      "label": "Annual spend on unused services",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "monthlyWaste",
      "label": "Monthly amount freed by cancelling",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "contributed",
      "label": "Total redirected over the horizon",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Streaming & media: 62 $/mo",
      "Apps & software: 48 $/mo",
      "Fitness & wellness: 45 $/mo",
      "Delivery & shopping memberships: 25 $/mo",
      "Other monthly subscriptions: 30 $/mo",
      "Annual-billed subscriptions: 340 $/yr",
      "Share you rarely or never use: 35 %",
      "Expected investment return: 7 %",
      "Horizon: 10 years"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Value if redirected to investing: $14,438.16",
      "Total spent on subscriptions per year: $2,860.00",
      "True monthly subscription load: $238.33",
      "Annual spend on unused services: $1,001.00",
      "Monthly amount freed by cancelling: $83.42",
      "Total redirected over the horizon: $10,010.00"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter streaming & media ($/mo).",
      "Enter apps & software ($/mo).",
      "Enter fitness & wellness ($/mo).",
      "Enter delivery & shopping memberships ($/mo).",
      "Enter other monthly subscriptions ($/mo).",
      "Enter annual-billed subscriptions ($/yr).",
      "Enter share you rarely or never use (%).",
      "Enter expected investment return (%).",
      "Enter horizon (years).",
      "Read your value if redirected to investing on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "streaming": 37,
        "software": 29,
        "fitness": 27,
        "delivery": 15,
        "other": 18,
        "annualItems": 200,
        "unusedPct": 20,
        "returnPct": 4.2,
        "years": 6
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "streaming": 62,
        "software": 48,
        "fitness": 45,
        "delivery": 25,
        "other": 30,
        "annualItems": 340,
        "unusedPct": 35,
        "returnPct": 7,
        "years": 10
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "streaming": 99,
        "software": 77,
        "fitness": 72,
        "delivery": 40,
        "other": 48,
        "annualItems": 540,
        "unusedPct": 55,
        "returnPct": 11.200000000000001,
        "years": 16
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How do I find every subscription I'm paying for?",
      "a": "Scan twelve months of statements rather than one — annual renewals and quarterly charges hide from a single month's view. Check app store subscription lists and PayPal recurring payments separately, since those often do not look like subscriptions on a card statement."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is annual billing always cheaper?",
      "a": "Per month, usually — discounts of 15-20% are typical. But annual billing removes the monthly moment where you notice and cancel, so it is only cheaper for services you have already proven you use. Pay monthly for anything new until it has earned a year."
    },
    {
      "q": "What return assumption is reasonable?",
      "a": "Around 7% is a common nominal long-run figure for a diversified equity portfolio before inflation; real returns after inflation are lower. Treat the invested number as illustrative of the scale of the decision, not as a forecast."
    },
    {
      "q": "What's the fastest way to actually cut them?",
      "a": "Cancel first, resubscribe if missed. Most services keep your account and settings, so the cost of being wrong is one click and one month, while the cost of deliberating is another year of charges."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/savings-goal-date",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/emergency-fund-target",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/sinking-fund-monthly"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Subscription Audit Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/subscription-audit-annual)"
}