What Is the Subscription Waste Calculator?
Streaming services, apps, gym memberships, and software trials add up fast. Many people pay for subscriptions they rarely or never use. This calculator adds up the monthly cost of your unused subscriptions and shows exactly how much money slips away each year — and over five years. The math is universal and currency-agnostic; enter amounts in whatever currency you use.
How to Use It
List up to five subscriptions you no longer use, entering each one's monthly price. Leave a field blank or zero to skip it. The calculator multiplies your total monthly spend by 12 to get the annual waste, and by 60 months for the five-year figure. Use the result as motivation to cancel what you don't need.
The Formula Explained
The core formula is simple: $$\text{Annual Waste} = \left( \text{sum of monthly costs} \right) \times 12$$. First we add every unused subscription's monthly fee to get a monthly waste total. Multiplying by 12 converts that to a yearly amount. Multiplying the annual figure by 5 reveals the long-term cost of leaving these subscriptions running.
Worked Example
Suppose you have three unused subscriptions: a $9.99 streaming plan, a $14.99 music service, and a $5.00 app. The monthly total is $29.98. Annual waste $$= 29.98 \times 12 = \mathbf{\$359.76}$$ Over five years that grows to $$359.76 \times 5 = \mathbf{\$1{,}798.80}$$ — enough to notice.
FAQ
Should I include subscriptions I still use? No — only enter the ones you've stopped using or want to cancel, so the figure reflects true waste.
What about annual billing? Convert annual plans to a monthly figure first by dividing the yearly price by 12, then enter that.
Why show a 5-year total? Small recurring charges feel harmless monthly but compound dramatically over time; the five-year view makes the real cost obvious.
