Subscription Cost Calculator
The annual cost of a list of subscriptions, what they compound to if invested instead, and which ones dominate the total.
Small recurring charges are individually trivial and collectively substantial.
How the subscription cost calculator works
Small recurring charges are individually trivial and collectively substantial. The arithmetic is simple: each monthly amount times twelve.
What makes it worth doing is the opportunity cost. 200 a month invested at 7% for twenty years is about 104,000 — which is a more useful frame than "200 a month" when deciding what to keep.
Formula: annual = Σ(monthly) × 12
Worked examples
| Inputs | Annual subscription cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Six monthly plus two annual | $1,901.00 | 1,901 a year |
| Cutting the largest | $1,181.00 | 720 a year less |
| Just the streaming services | $540.00 | 540 a year |
FAQFrequently asked questions
How much do subscriptions typically cost?
Surveys repeatedly find people underestimate their own total by a factor of two or three. Adding them up is usually the surprize.
What is the opportunity cost?
200 a month invested at 7% for twenty years is about 104,000. That is the frame this page uses.
Which should I cancel?
The ones you cannot remember using. The largest charge is not always the least valuable — this page shows both the total and the largest.
Do annual plans save money?
Usually 15 to 20%, at the cost of a year of commitment and a renewal that is easy to miss.
Why do subscriptions accumulate?
Because each is small enough to ignore individually and renewal requires no decision. Auditing them once a year is the only reliable remedy.
Where these figures come from
- CFA Institute — Quantitative Methods: The Time Value of Money — the discounting, annuity and IRR conventions used here
- US Federal Reserve — Regulation Z (Truth in Lending), APR calculation — why APR includes fees where a nominal rate does not
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — the US consumer finance regulator
Last checked: September 2026. These are the standard textbook formulas; the conventions named are those of the CFA Institute curriculum and ISO 80000 usage.