Streaming and App Subscription Cost Review

Who this is for

A sit-down review of what you pay for. List every streaming service, app and cloud plan with its billing amount and cycle, and the sheet turns each into a yearly cost. Tick the ones you are keeping and it shows what the rest were costing you a year.

Households that have signed up to more services than they watch or use, and anyone about to cut back who wants to decide from the figures rather than from memory.

What this helps you track

• Every streaming, app and cloud subscription in one list
• What each one costs over a year, whatever its billing cycle
• Who in the house actually uses each service, and when it was last used
• Which to keep, which to cancel and the date to cancel by
• The yearly saving from the ones you let go

How to use it

1. Write the household and the review date, and note who uses what in the header box.
2. Go through bank and card statements and app-store receipts, and add a row for every service that charges you.
3. Enter the amount taken each time and choose the billing cycle; the yearly cost is worked out in the browser and the workbook.
4. Fill in when each was last used and by whom, then tick Keep for the services that earn their place.
5. For each one you are cancelling, write the cancel-by date — usually the day before the next charge — and cancel it.
6. Check the next statement to make sure the cancelled services have stopped charging.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How is the yearly cost worked out?

The billing amount is multiplied by how many times that cycle falls in a year: 52 for weekly, 12 for monthly, 4 for quarterly and 1 for yearly. It uses the amount you actually pay, including any discount you currently have.

What about a free trial or a discounted introductory price?

Enter what you will be charged once the trial or offer ends, and write the end date as the cancel-by date. That shows the cost you are about to take on rather than the cost you are paying today.

How is this different from a subscription tracker?

A tracker is kept running all year with renewal dates. This is a one-off review for deciding what to cut, with keep or cancel against each line and the saving worked out. Many households do it once or twice a year.

Does a shared family plan go on one line?

Yes, one line per bill. Put everyone who uses it in the who column, which makes it easier to see when a plan is paying for people who no longer use it.