How do I check what a subscription actually costs per year?

Subscriptions are priced monthly precisely because the monthly number sounds small. The annual total is the number that lets you make a decision.

Step by step

1. Find them from statements, not memory.Twelve months of bank and card statements, looking for anything recurring. People consistently miss around a third when listing from memory, and the missed ones are the least used.
2. Check every payment method.Current account direct debits, card recurring payments, PayPal, and app store subscriptions — the last of these are billed by Apple or Google and hide the merchant name.
3. Look in the app stores specifically.Both have a subscriptions page listing everything billed through them. It is the most commonly forgotten place and often holds two or three live subscriptions.
4. Convert everything to annual.Monthly times twelve, weekly times fifty-two. Put them in one list with the annual figure, largest first. That ordering is what makes the decisions obvious.
5. Note the renewal date for each.Annual subscriptions renew silently. Knowing the date lets you cancel deliberately rather than discovering the charge afterwards.
6. Check what each has risen to.Streaming and software prices rise regularly and the increases are announced by email nobody reads. Compare what you are paying now against what you signed up for.
7. Look for the duplicates.Two cloud storage plans, overlapping streaming services, a password manager you pay for twice on different accounts. Duplication is common and invisible until the list exists.
8. Rate each by actual use.Used weekly, used occasionally, not used this year. Anything in the last category is a straightforward cancellation.
9. Consider annual billing for keepers.Usually 15 to 20% cheaper than monthly. Worth switching for the ones you know you will keep, and worth avoiding for anything you might drop.
10. Cancel at the source.Through the provider's account settings. Cancelling a card payment or a direct debit without cancelling the contract can leave you owing money and in arrears.
11. Watch for the retention offer.Many providers offer a discount when you go to cancel. Worth going through the flow even for services you intend to keep.
12. Diarise a review.Once a year, in the calendar. Subscriptions accumulate silently and one annual review catches the drift.

Tips

• Search your statements, do not rely on memory. Memory misses roughly a third and always the unused ones.
• Check the app store subscriptions page. It is the most common hiding place.
• List everything as an annual figure, largest first. The decisions make themselves.

Common mistakes

• Cancelling the payment rather than the contract — The agreement continues, so the debt accrues and can end up in arrears or affect your credit file. Always cancel through the provider.
• Judging by the monthly price — Everything looks affordable at £9.99. The annual total is the figure that lets you compare it against what else that money could do.

If it doesn't work