Subscriptions are priced to be forgotten. A few dollars a month, billed to a card you never look at, renewed on a date you never chose. The only number that tells you what they really cost is the yearly total — and almost nobody has ever added it up.
The method
- List everything that renews by itself. Streaming, music, cloud storage, apps, news, fitness, games, meal kits, software. Check your bank and card statements for the last three months, and the App Store’s own list (Settings → your name → Subscriptions on an iPhone).
- Convert every price to a year. Weekly × 52. Monthly × 12. Quarterly × 4. Annual stays as it is. Mixed currencies? Convert each to the one you think in first.
- Add them up. That is the number. Write it down before you rationalise it.
If you would rather not do the arithmetic, the yearly cost calculator on this site does it in the browser and keeps nothing.
What the number usually shows
Two things tend to jump out. First, one or two services are a much bigger share of the total than their monthly price suggested — a $35 monthly software plan is $420 a year, more than several streaming services combined. Second, annual plans you signed up for “just for this year” are still there.
What to do with it
- Rank by yearly cost, not monthly price. Cancel from the top of that list, not the bottom.
- Move anything you keep long-term to annual billing if it is cheaper — but only once you are sure you will keep it.
- Put a reminder before each renewal. The decision to keep a subscription should be made on the day it renews, not discovered on a statement a week later.
Want this number kept up to date on your phone? Subvanta tracks your subscriptions with a reminder before every renewal and before each free trial starts charging. No account, no bank login — the App Store privacy label reads “Data Not Collected”. Free for five subscriptions.
Get Subvanta for iPhone ↗