# Subscription cost calculator: how small monthly payments add up, and how to audit them

> A few streaming, app and gym plans can quietly cost more than a weekend trip every year. This guide shows how to add them up per month, per year and over five years, how to compare monthly and annual plans, and a simple audit to decide what to keep.

Published 2026-10-09 by Toolcloak. 3 minute read. Original: https://toolcloak.pages.dev/articles/subscription-cost-calculator-how-small-monthly-payments-add-up-and-how-to-audit-them
Related free tool: [Subscription Cost Calculator](https://toolcloak.pages.dev/tools/subscription-cost-calculator)

A **subscription** is a payment that repeats until you stop it. Each one looks small, which is the point. Added together, they are a fixed cost that leaves your account every month whether you used the service or not. The first step to controlling them is to see the total.

> **In short**
> - Add every plan at its **monthly** price: Netflix ₹649, Spotify ₹119, Cloud storage ₹130 and Gym ₹1,500 come to **₹2,398 a month**.
> - That is **₹28,776 a year** and **₹1,43,880 over five years** at today's prices.
> - An annual plan that costs less than 12 monthly payments saves money **only if you will really use it** for the full year.
> - Review the list every six months. Cancel what you have not used in the last 30 days.

## How the numbers are worked out

Convert everything to one period, then multiply. If a price is yearly, divide it by 12 to get the monthly cost. Then multiply the monthly total by 12 for a year and by 60 for five years.

**Example: four subscriptions**

1. **List each price per month.** Netflix ₹649 · Spotify ₹119 · Cloud storage ₹130 · Gym ₹1,500
2. **Add the monthly prices.** ₹2,398 per month.
3. **Multiply by 12.** ₹2,398 × 12 = **₹28,776** per year.
4. **Multiply the yearly figure by 5.** ₹28,776 × 5 = **₹1,43,880** over five years.

*The calculator reads one subscription per line, with the price at the end of the line, and shows per month, per year, in 5 years and the number of items.*

Try it: [Subscription Cost Calculator](https://toolcloak.pages.dev/tools/subscription-cost-calculator). Type one subscription per line, choose whether the prices are monthly or yearly, and see the full cost.

## Where the money goes

**Yearly cost of each item in the example (₹)**

|  | Per year |
| --- | --- |
| Gym | ₹18,000 |
| Netflix | ₹7,788 |
| Cloud storage | ₹1,560 |
| Spotify | ₹1,428 |

*The gym is 63% of the monthly total. The three small digital plans together cost ₹898 a month, about 37%.*

The lesson from the chart is that the biggest bill is usually not the one you worry about. One large, rarely used plan can cost more than all your app subscriptions together.

## Five years is a big number

**The example list over time**

|  | Value | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Per month | ₹2,398 | Four subscriptions |
| Per year | ₹28,776 | Monthly × 12 |
| In 5 years | ₹1,43,880 | At today's prices |
| If invested instead | ₹1.98 L | ₹2,398 a month for 5 years at 12%, an illustration |

*The last figure is a what-if. Investing ₹2,398 every month at an assumed 12% a year grows to about ₹1.98 L in five years. Returns are never guaranteed, and some subscriptions are worth their cost.*

> **This is not about cutting everything:** A gym you use five times a week or a work tool that saves hours is good value. The goal is to pay on purpose, not by default. Also remember prices rise: many services raise fees every year or two, so five years at today's prices is a floor.

## Monthly or annual: which plan is cheaper?

Many services offer a discount if you pay for a year in advance. A plan at ₹129 a month costs ₹1,548 over 12 months. If the annual plan is ₹1,299, you save ₹249, which is 16.1%. Divide the yearly price by 12 to compare: ₹7,188 a year equals ₹599 a month.

**One service, two ways to pay**

| Monthly plan | Annual plan |
| --- | --- |
| ₹1,548 | ₹1,299 |
| ₹129 × 12 months | Saves ₹249 (16.1%) |
| Costs ₹249 more over a full year | Paid in one go |
| Cancel any month, no lock-in | Usually non-refundable if you stop early |

*The annual plan wins only if you will use the service for the whole year. If you stop after five months, the monthly plan would have cost less.*

> **Watch the renewal date:** Annual plans renew automatically in most apps, and the charge arrives as one big amount. Put the renewal date in your calendar a week early, so you can decide before you are billed.

## Cost per use

A cheap-looking monthly fee can be expensive per use. A gym membership of ₹1,500 used 8 times a month costs ₹187.50 per visit. At 20 visits it is ₹75 per visit. The same plan is a bargain or a waste depending only on how often you go.

| Visits or uses per month | Cost per use of a ₹1,500 plan |
| --- | --- |
| 2 | ₹750 |
| 4 | ₹375 |
| 8 | ₹187.50 |
| 12 | ₹125 |
| 20 | ₹75 |

*Cost per use = monthly price ÷ number of uses. Halving your usage doubles what each visit costs.*

## A five-step subscription audit

1. **Find them all.** Check your bank and card statements, UPI history and app-store subscription pages for the last three months.
2. **Write one line for each,** with the name and the price, and put them in the calculator.
3. **Mark each one** as keep, review or cancel. Cancel what you have not used in 30 days.
4. **Switch to annual plans** only for services you are sure to use all year.
5. **Set a reminder** to repeat the audit every six months.

> **Free trials:** A free trial often turns into a paid plan without a reminder. Cancel on the day you sign up if you are unsure, because most services let you keep the trial until it ends.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I calculate the total cost of my subscriptions?

Convert every price to a monthly amount, add them up, then multiply by 12 for a year. If you pay annually for something, divide that price by 12 first. The calculator does this when you choose whether the prices are monthly or yearly.

### How do I enter my subscriptions?

Type one subscription per line with the name first and the price at the end, such as Netflix 649. The calculator takes the number at the end of each line as the price.

### Is an annual subscription cheaper than a monthly one?

Often, but only if you use it for the whole year. Compare the annual price with 12 monthly payments. If you might stop early, the monthly plan may cost less overall.

### How much do subscriptions cost per year?

Multiply the total monthly cost by 12. A set of subscriptions costing 2,398 a month comes to 28,776 a year and 1,43,880 over five years at the same prices.

### How can I find subscriptions I forgot about?

Scan the last three months of bank, card and UPI statements for repeated charges of the same amount. App-store subscription pages on your phone also list every active plan.

### Does the calculator account for price rises?

No. It uses the prices you enter and assumes they stay the same. Many services raise their prices from time to time, so treat the five-year figure as a minimum. Use the [Subscription Cost Calculator](https://toolcloak.pages.dev/tools/subscription-cost-calculator) again whenever a price changes.