Subscription Waste Calculator — Find What You Are Paying For But Not Using
Add up all your recurring charges, count how many services you actually use week-to-week, and instantly see the annual cost of the ones gathering digital dust — so you know exactly what to cancel.
$
Money spent each year on unused subscriptions
$89
per monthUsed subscriptions
37.5%
Wasted (unused)
62.5%
- 1
Unused subscriptions
8 − 3 = 5 - 2
Waste fraction
5 ÷ 8 = — - 3
Monthly waste
89 × — = 55.63 - 4
Annual waste
55.63 × 12 = 667.50
How does this calculator work?
Multiply your total monthly subscription spend by the fraction that goes unused: waste = spend × (unused ÷ total). Over a year that figure can easily exceed $200 for someone with 8+ subscriptions and only half used. Auditing every 6 months and cancelling idle services is the simplest budget win.
Formula
How this is calculated
Subscription creep is the gradual accumulation of recurring charges — streaming services, app subscriptions, gym memberships, cloud storage plans — many of which go unused for months. The calculator estimates waste by assuming the cost is proportional to the number of services: if 5 of your 8 subscriptions go unused, it treats 5/8 of your total monthly spend as wasted.
This proportional split is a practical approximation. In reality some subscriptions are cheaper (a $2/month app) while others are expensive (a $25/month streaming bundle), so the true waste could be higher or lower. For a more precise audit, list each subscription and its cost individually and count how many you have not used in the last two weeks.
The annual waste figure is the most motivating number: even $15/month in idle subscriptions adds up to $180 per year — money that could go into savings, investments, or things you actually enjoy. Auditing your subscriptions every 3–6 months and cancelling unused ones is one of the simplest ways to improve your household budget without changing your lifestyle.
Frequently asked questions
Check your bank and credit card statements for recurring charges. Look in app stores (Apple App Store → Subscriptions, Google Play → Subscriptions) and in your email for billing receipts. Services like PayPal also list active recurring payments under your account.
A reasonable rule of thumb is: would you notice if the service disappeared tomorrow? If you use it at least once a week or rely on it regularly (work tools, cloud backup), count it as used. If you cannot remember the last time you opened it, it is probably waste.
Yes — many services offer annual billing at 15–30% off monthly rates, family or group plans to share costs, or pausing instead of cancelling. Contact customer support; retention teams often offer discounts to users about to cancel.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Subscription Waste Calculator — Find What You Are Paying For But Not Using [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/subscription-waste-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Subscription Waste Calculator — Find What You Are Paying For But Not Using." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/subscription-waste-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Subscription Waste Calculator — Find What You Are Paying For But Not Using," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/subscription-waste-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_subscription_waste_calculator, title = {Subscription Waste Calculator — Find What You Are Paying For But Not Using}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/subscription-waste-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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