Free Tool
Subscription Cost Audit
Subscriptions are small, monthly and easy to forget — until they add up to a second rent. This audit lists them, prices each use, and names the cancel candidates.
Planning estimate, not financial advice. All figures on this page are estimates or scenarios for planning purposes only, built from the numbers you enter. They are not financial, tax or legal advice, and no earnings are promised. Read the full financial disclaimer.
What this tool does
Enter up to eight subscriptions: the name, the monthly cost and how many times a month you actually use it. The audit shows the monthly and yearly totals, the cost per use for each tool, and ranks the worst value — the tools that cost the most per use, or that are never used at all.
Cost per use is the number that decides a subscription. A 20 tool used twenty times a month costs 1 a use; the same tool used once costs 20 a use. The monthly figure hides that difference; the per-use figure exposes it.
Try it
Waiting. Enter at least one subscription with its cost and uses, then press Calculate.
How it works
Total monthly cost is the sum of all subscriptions. The yearly total is the monthly total times twelve. Cost per use is the monthly cost divided by the uses per month — and a subscription with zero uses has no cost per use at all, which is the audit’s loudest finding.
The ranking is by cost per use, worst first, with never-used subscriptions at the top. The ranking is a prompt, not a verdict: a rarely used tool can still be worth it if the one use is valuable — but it has to be worth the per-use price, and the audit makes you say so out loud.
Assumptions and limitations
An audit is only as honest as the uses you enter.
- Uses per month are honest counts, not intentions. A tool you meant to use twelve times and used twice costs the twice-figure per use.
- Annual plans are entered as their monthly equivalent. A 240 yearly plan is 20 a month — enter the monthly figure so the totals compare.
- Cost per use does not measure value. A 29 tool used twice for a client job that pays 500 is good value; the audit flags the price, and you judge the worth.
- Nothing is stored. The list disappears when the page closes — copy the result if you want to keep it.
Worked example
Example (illustrative inputs, not real subscriptions). Three tools: a design tool, a stock-photo plan and a note app:
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Design tool — 20 a month, 12 uses | 1.67 per use |
| Stock photos — 29 a month, 2 uses | 14.50 per use |
| Note app — 10 a month, 0 uses | Never used — cancel first |
| Total | 59.00 a month; 708.00 a year |
Frequently asked questions
What is cost per use, and why does it matter?
Monthly cost divided by uses per month. It turns a flat fee into the price of each actual use — and a tool used twice a month at 29 costs 14.50 a use, which is a very different decision from 29 a month.
Should I cancel everything I rarely use?
Not automatically. A rarely used tool can be worth it if the one use is valuable — a tax tool used once a year, for example. Cancel the never-used ones first, then judge the rare ones on the value of the use, not the count.
How do I enter an annual plan?
As its monthly equivalent: divide the yearly price by twelve. A 240 yearly plan is 20 a month. Entering the yearly figure as a monthly one would inflate the total twelvefold.
How often should I run this audit?
Every three months. Subscriptions creep: a free trial becomes a paid plan, a tool is replaced but not cancelled, a price rises quietly. A quarterly audit catches the creep before the year does.