🔁 Subscription Cost Calculator
What are my subscriptions really costing me?
Subscriptions are designed to be forgotten. Each one is small enough that cancelling it feels like fuss, and together they are frequently the third or fourth largest thing a household spends money on. Put them in one list and the annual figure does the arguing.
Figures reviewed September 2026. Free, no signup, nothing stored on our servers.
What this means
The annual figure is the honest unit. A subscription is a decision you make once and pay for indefinitely, so the monthly price is the least informative way to look at it — and it is the way every subscription is sold.
The five-year figure is there for the same reason. Nothing about a streaming service suggests a four-figure commitment, and for most households it is one.
The line marked not used is the part worth acting on today. Cancelling something you enjoy is a real trade-off; cancelling something you stopped using eight months ago is simply reclaiming money.
What affects the result
- How many you have forgotten about. The ones costing you are by definition the ones you do not think of.
- Annual rather than monthly billing, which hides a subscription for eleven months of the year.
- Price rises, which are announced by email and almost never acted on.
- Free trials that converted. A card on file and a date nobody noted is the standard mechanism.
- Duplicates across a household — two music subscriptions, two cloud plans, two of the same streaming service.
What are my subscriptions really costing me?
The audit that works
Open twelve months of statements, not one. Write down every recurring payment. Then, for each, answer one question: would I sign up for this today at this price? Anything that gets a no has already been decided — it just has not been cancelled yet.
Put a date on it
Subscriptions survive on inertia, so the only durable fix is a reminder. Diary the annual renewal date of anything billed yearly, and the end of any free trial the day you start it.
The rest of the picture
Subscriptions are one category of recurring cost. The money leak calculator covers the rest of the household outgoings, the bill checker works through the bills that can be switched, and cost per use is the test for whether something you are paying for is earning its place.
Important assumptions
Every figure on this page rests on these. Where one does not match your situation, the answer moves — sometimes a great deal.
- Every amount is yours to enter. Nothing here assumes what any service costs.
- Quarterly and annual prices are converted to a yearly figure so everything is comparable.
- The five-year total assumes no price rise unless you set one. Assuming a rate would be inventing one.
- Whether something is used is your own judgement, recorded as you enter it.
- Nothing you type is stored, transmitted or written into the address bar. The share link is built only when you press Share.
Official sources
Where this tool applies a published rule, this is where the rule comes from. Check the source before acting on anything that matters.
- CCPC — managing your money
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s budgeting guidance and money tools.
- CCPC — your rights when buying online
Cancellation rights on distance contracts, including the cooling-off period on new subscriptions.
- CSO — Household Budget Survey
Official data on what Irish households actually spend, by category.
Common questions
How do I find all my subscriptions?
Search your bank or card statements for the last twelve months rather than relying on memory — annual subscriptions only appear once, so a shorter window misses them. Most banking apps let you filter recurring payments. Also check the app store account on your phone, where subscriptions bought inside apps are billed separately from your card.
Can I cancel a subscription I just signed up to?
Usually yes. Contracts made online or at a distance carry a 14-day cooling-off period during which you can withdraw without giving a reason. Where you asked for the service to start immediately, you may owe for the part already supplied.
What can I do about a price increase?
Cancel or negotiate. A subscription price rise is not something you have to accept to keep using a service you could equally leave, and most services are month to month. Where the subscription is part of a fixed-term telecoms contract, a mid-contract price rise can give a right to exit without penalty.
Are annual subscriptions cheaper?
Usually, by around two months’ worth. They are also the ones people forget entirely, so the discount is only real if you would have kept the service for the full year anyway.
What to check next
Where is my money actually going?
Add up every recurring household cost and see which categories are worth attacking first.
Money Leak CheckerNewWhich of my bills am I overpaying on?
Every recurring bill in one place, with the annual figure and where to start.
Bill CheckerNewIs this big purchase worth it?
Cost per use and per year for anything expensive, against the alternative of not owning it.
Is This Worth It?What does living here actually cost?
A monthly household budget built from typical Irish costs by county and household size.
Cost of LivingNext steps across CheckIreland
Picked for what you just worked out — not a list of everything we make.
- Is it earning its place?Cost per use is the test for anything you are paying for and not sure about.
- The whole month, not just subscriptionsSubscriptions are one category. This is everything leaving the account.
- The bills you can renegotiateSubscriptions get cancelled. Bills get switched. Different jobs.
CheckIreland is independent and is not affiliated with the Irish Government or any public body. This tool is general information built on published rules and typical costs — it is not financial, tax or legal advice, and it does not account for your individual circumstances. Confirm anything that matters with the relevant body or a qualified adviser before acting on it.