A bank app that says you have 6 subscriptions is usually wrong. It misses the yearly cloud renewal, the plan billed to an old card, and the trial that turns paid next week.
Keep one list that combines your statements, your Apple and Google subscription screens and your email receipts. A tracker app can help maintain it, but check what it finds against real statements. Pick the tool by how much account access you are willing to give.
Free tool: the Subscription Cost Audit adds up every plan, shows what is due in the next 30 days and what cancelling saves. It includes a spreadsheet download.
Choose how much access you want to give a tracker
| Method | What you get | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet or simple table | One manually maintained record across payment methods | You must enter changes and set reminders |
| Manual subscription app | A focused list of plans and renewal reminders | It knows only the subscriptions you add |
| Connected finance app | Recurring charges found in supported linked accounts | Missing accounts and ambiguous merchant names still need review |
| Apple or Google subscription screen | Plans billed through that platform | It does not list every subscription you pay elsewhere |
If you want a small list without connecting financial accounts, start manually. If you have many recurring charges across supported accounts, connected tracking may reduce the discovery work. In either case, compare the result with actual statements before trusting the total.
Free subscription tracking options and paid limits
Feature descriptions were checked against the linked provider and store pages on 3 November 2026. Store availability, free limits and upgrade prices can vary by country and change over time.
| Option | Useful for | Free versus paid boundary | Check before choosing |
|---|---|---|---|
| A spreadsheet plus calendar reminders | A list covering any country, currency or payment method | You can use software you already have; automation is manual | Keep the file backed up and avoid storing card numbers or passwords |
| Bobby by Yummygum | Manual subscription tracking on iPhone | Free download; the free version caps how many subscriptions you can add, and a one-time in-app purchase (“Unlock Subscription Limit”) removes the cap | iPhone only. Check the local price, which is set per country |
| Subby: Subscription Tracker | A dedicated Android subscription list and reminders | Free download with ads; a paid upgrade removes them | Check the developer is POCKET IMPLEMENTATION S.R.L.; several unrelated apps are also called Subby |
| Rocket Money | Recurring-charge discovery from supported linked accounts | Seeing recurring charges is free; cancellation help (the concierge) is Premium, which uses a choose-your-price monthly fee and a short free trial | US-focused. Confirm bank compatibility and the permissions requested |
A free download is not a promise of unlimited free tracking. Check the feature you actually need: entering more plans, receiving reminders, exporting records and canceling through the service may have different limits.
When a paid budgeting app makes sense
A broader budgeting app can be useful if you also want cash-flow planning and expense review. For example, Quicken Simplifi requires a subscription billed yearly, with no free tier. It offers a 30-day money-back guarantee instead of a free trial, so you pay first and ask for a refund if it is not a fit. Compare the renewal cost and billing period before adding another subscription solely to track the ones you already have.
Paid cancellation assistance also has limits. Rocket Money describes hands-off cancellation as a Premium feature; a request is not proof that the underlying provider has canceled. Keep the provider’s confirmation and check the next expected billing date.
Build one complete subscription list
- Gather recurring charges from every card and bank account you use. Include a full year of transactions when available so annual renewals are not missed.
- Check Apple, Google Play, PayPal and other billing accounts you use. Check more than one account if purchases were made under different email addresses.
- Search receipts for the provider and the company that actually bills you. The name on a statement can differ from the name of the app.
- Enter each underlying subscription once. A receipt and a matching card transaction usually describe the same payment, not two separate plans.
- Record the next charge date, billing channel and action required. Set a reminder early enough to meet the stated cancellation deadline.
For the full discovery and cancellation process, use the subscription audit checklist. Keep this page as the tool-selection and tracking reference.
Use these fields in your tracker
| Service | Billing channel | Amount / cycle | Next charge | Decision / evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: music plan | Apple Account | 10 currency units / month | 1 November | Keep; reviewed 21 October |
| Example: cloud backup | Provider website | 120 currency units / year | 15 December | Review capacity before renewal |
| Example: trial | Google Play | Price after trial recorded | Trial end date | Cancel by provider deadline; save confirmation |
These are illustrative entries, not product prices. Add separate columns for currency, account email and reminder date if needed. Use only the minimum account details required to identify a plan; the tracker does not need your password or full payment-card number.
Compare costs without double-counting
Convert annual charges to a monthly equivalent for comparison: annual price ÷ 12. Keep the actual annual renewal date as well. For weekly charges, monthly equivalent = weekly price × 52 ÷ 12. Do not add different currencies together without recording the conversion basis.
A plan costing 120 units per year averages 10 units per month, but the full 120 is due at renewal. That distinction matters when deciding whether there is enough money in the account on the billing date.
Check privacy and reliability before linking accounts
- Read the permissions and data-retention terms. Decide whether automatic detection is worth the access requested.
- Check whether the service supports your country and financial institutions. A bank connection elsewhere does not establish support for your account.
- Find out how to unlink accounts, delete tracker data and export your list.
- Treat detection as a starting point. Verify the amount, frequency and renewal date against the provider’s record.
Deleting a tracker does not cancel anything
A tracking entry, reminder or app deletion does not end the provider’s billing agreement. Cancel through the billing channel and keep the result in your list. Use the iPhone or Android guide for plans billed through those stores.
When the app misses a subscription
Add it manually and record the source. Check annual charges, a different payment account, another app-store login and direct billing. Reconcile the list with statements periodically; a clean dashboard is not evidence that every recurring payment has been found.
Your subscription list also helps family if something happens to you. Add it to your digital estate planning checklist.
App features and prices checked against provider and store pages on 3 November 2026. Store limits and prices vary by country and change often.
Sources
- Rocket Money: FAQ
- Quicken Simplifi: Subscription questions
- Apple Support: Cancel a subscription from Apple
- Google Play Help: Cancel, pause or change a subscription
