More than 40% of Americans are paying for subscriptions they forgot about, according to data from C+R Research. The average cost of these "ghost" subscriptions is $17 per month — or more than $200 per year.
Subscription trackers keep tabs on recurring charges and make it easy to cancel services you no longer want, especially if you've set them to auto-pay. The top trackers offer other services, too, including budgeting tools and bill negotiation services
CNBC Select has chosen the best subscription trackers based on pricing, features, ease of use and other criteria. See our methodology for more on how we made our picks.
Best for saving money: Rocket Money
Who's this for? Rocket Money is ideal if you're looking to curb your spending. It will detect unwanted subscriptions and send alerts when your checking balance is low or your credit card spending is abnormally high.
Standout benefits: Rocket Money Premium will try to negotiate a subscription refund on your behalf.
Cost: The basic plan is free. Rocket Money Premium is $7 to $14 per month after a 7-day free trial and includes additional services, like net-worth tracking and a full credit report. Bill negotiation services cost 35% to 60% of the savings earned.
Rocket Money
Cost
The basic plan is free. Rocket Money Premium is $7 to $14 a month with a 7-day free trial. Bill negotiation services cost 35% to 60% of the first-year savings, if the negotiation is successful.
Standout features
Easily cancel unwanted subscriptions, track your spending and credit score, automate savings and get help lowering bills. Rocket Money Premium includes additional services like net-worth tracking, credit reports and a subscription cancellation concierge service
Security
Rocket Money accesses transaction data via an encrypted token, uses Plaid API so user credentials are never stored, provides bank-level 256-bit encryption and hosts servers on Amazon Web Services
Availability
Offered online and on both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
Terms apply.
Pros
- Allows you to easily view and cancel unwanted subscriptions
- Offers a free version
- A+ from Better Business Bureau
Cons
- Nonrefundable bill negotiation fee can be up to 60% of savings
- Premium pricing varies
Best for ease of use: Quicken Simplifi
Who's this for? Quicken Simplifi collates all of your recurring payments so you can monitor spending on subscriptions across platforms and cancel the ones you no longer need. The app is ad-free and Simplifi claims users can manage their finances in under five minutes a week.
Standout benefits: Simplifi also includes tools like automatic budgeting, goal tracking and spending insights.
Cost: $5.99 monthly or $35.88 billed annually
Quicken Simplifi
Cost
50% off limited-time offer: $2.99 per month for the first year, then $5.99 per month (billed annually).
Standout features
Users can run customizable reports based on their spending, income and savings. Personalized spending plan adjusts in real-time.
Categorizes expenses
Yes, but users can customize
Links to accounts
Yes, bank, credit cards, loans, investment accounts
Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
Security features
Financial data from bank servers is transmitted using 256-bit encryption
Terms apply.
Pros
- Syncs with bank, credit card and investment accounts
- Customizable reports based on income, spending and savings
- Robust investments dashboard
- Refund tracker
- Includes subscription tracker
- Credit monitoring
Cons
- No free tier
- No bill-pay feature
- Quicken data can't be imported
- Can't roll over unused funds to the next month
Best for texters: OneMain® MyMoney
Who's this for? OneMain® MyMoney users cancel subscriptions via text message. Your service is linked to your bank and credit card accounts, allowing OneMain® MyMoney to identify and cancel unwanted recurring subscriptions.
Standout benefits: OneMain Financial, issues loans, credit cards and other financial products to consumers with nonprime credit.
Cost: Free. Bill negotiation costs 33% of your annual savings.
OneMain® MyMoney
Cost
Free. Bill negotiation service costs 33% of any savings you receive.
Standout features
OneMain® MyMoney finds and cancels subscriptions for free, suggests less expensive auto insurance and offers bill negotiation services for a fee.
Availability
OneMain® MyMoney is available to users via the OneMain Financial mobile app (available on Google Play) and through online account enrollment.
Pros
- Free service with a user-friendly interface
- Can identify and cancel streaming services, gym memberships and phone, internet and cable bills
- Uses 256-bit SSL encryption and two-factor authentication for added security.
Cons
- No mobile app
- Limited customer service options
Best free service: Bobby
Who's this for? If the idea of spending money to save money rubs you the wrong way, Bobby is a great option. With a simple, minimalist interface, it skips the bells and whistles and just sticks to keeping tabs on your subscriptions.
Standout benefits: Users can select popular services, like Netflix, HBO, Spotify and Dropbox, add their own and set reminders for credit card payments and other services. You can also color-code your subscriptions for easy categorization.
Cost: Free. Unlimited subscription tracking is available with a $2.99 in-app purchase.
Bobby
Cost
Basic service is free. Unlimited subscription tracking is available for $2.99 in-app purchase
Standout features
This streamlined app sticks to tracking subscriptions, with an easy-to-follow interface and bright graphics and color coding. Users can select common streamers like Netflix or Spotify, or manually input their own, and get reminders about payment dates.
Availability
Offered in Apple Store for iOS
Pros
- Color coding makes it easy to custom categorize subscriptions
- Sends reminders when payments are due
- Can track subscriptions in international currencies
Cons
- Doesn't automatically pull recurring charges from your accounts
- Only available in the Apple Store
Best for bill negotiation: Hiatus
Who's this for? Hiatus is primarily a budgeting app but its subscription feature lets you track streaming services and input missing ones manually. The premium plan includes bill negotiation, but unlike most competitors, Hiatus charges a flat monthly fee, rather than taking a percentage of your savings.
Standout features: Hiatus lets you set spending limits for your streaming services and shows you how much you've spent in the past week, month or year. It's available on the web and as an app for Apple and Android devices.
Cost: The basic Hiatus plan is free. Hiatus Premium, which includes subscription cancellation and bill negotiation, is $9.99 a month.
Hiatus
Cost
The basic Hiatus plan is free. Hiatus Premium is $9.99 a month or $35.99 annually.
Standout features
The free tier comes with a subscription tool that tracks streaming services and lets you input missing ones manually. Premium service includes subscription cancellation and bill negotiation
Security
Hiatus utilizes 256-bit SSL encryption to protect your financial information
Availability
Available on the web and both the App Store (for iOS) and Google Play (for Android)
Pros
- Intuitive, easy-to-use interface
- Can identify subscriptions and get spending insights with free plan
Cons
- Received D from Better Business Bureau
- It can be hard to link accounts or update information
- May misclassify recurring expenses
Best for budgeting: PocketGuard
Who's this for? PocketGuard excels in tracking your spending on subscriptions, but it's also a standout budgeting app that lets you review your cash flow, assets and debts. The premium paid tier comes with unlimited bank connections and budget categories, plus the ability to attach receipts, duplicate cash transactions and create debt payoff plans.
Standout benefits: Users can set up customized spending categories and get a visual of their expenses. You can get notified about upcoming due dates, receive alerts about potential fraud and see how much money you have left after paying bills and meeting savings goals.
Cost: Free. PocketGuard Plus costs $12.99 a month or $74.99 a year
PocketGuard
Cost
Basic PocketGuard plan is free. PocketGuard Premium is $12.99 per month or $74.99 ($6.99/month) annually. Lifetime membership available at a reduced rate.
Standout features
"In My Pocket" uses your income, recurring expenses and savings goals to determine how much you have for everyday spending.
Categorizes your expenses
Yes, but users can customize
Links to accounts
Yes, users can connect accounts through Plaid and Finicity or manually add cash accounts
Availability
Offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android)
Security features
PocketGuard utilizes bank-level encryption, PINs and biometrics like Touch ID and Face ID.
Terms apply.
Pros
- Includes payment tracker and bill-negotiation service
- Lifetime membership option for additional savings
- A+ from Better Business Bureau
Cons
- Limited free tier, with users encouraged to upgrade to Premium for full functionality.
- Transactions may be categorized incorrectly
Best for Android users: Subby
Who's this for? Subby lets Android users track unlimited subscriptions for free and receive alerts about upcoming payments.
Standout benefits: Subby will tally your subscription expenses by month or year.
Cost: Basic plan is free, with additional features available for purchase in-app.
Subby
Cost
Basic service is free. Ad-free version available for $2.99.
Standout features
You can manually enter an unlimited number of subscriptions, record which account they're associated with and get notifications about upcoming payment dates.
Availability
Offered in Google Play for Android
Pros
- Customizable interface makes it easy to use
- Totals subscription costs by month or year.
Cons
- Only available for Android
- Must manually input subscriptions
- Free version has display ads
What is a subscription tracker?
A subscription tracker keeps tabs on recurring monthly charges, like stream services, memberships and even credit card bills by syncing to the corresponding bank account or card.
Most apps send reminders when a subscription payment is coming up or the free trial period is ending. Many will scan your statements to locate unwanted subscriptions you may have forgotten about.
Some apps will negotiate with a streaming service, retailer or other provider to get you a partial or full refund, although this usually only available to premium customers or comes at a cost of a portion of the money you save.
How to choose a subscription tracker
Price: If your goal in managing your recurring charges is to save money, paying for a tracker might be counterproductive. There are many free options, but if you think a premium tier will ultimately pay for itself, it could be worthwhile. Most plans that offer to negotiate to get you a rebate on forgotten subscriptions expect a portion of the money they save you that year.
Features: A subscription tracker should be able to identify recurring charges and get reminders about them. More advanced programs can help you cancel subscriptions, negotiate bills for you, let you set up a budget and track other financial services.
Usability: An app may have a dashboard full of useful tools, but it doesn't do any good if it's difficult to navigate or enter information. Ideally, you want a service that makes it easy to sync to your bank account and credit cards, find recurring payments and set reminders. The more you can do in-app, the better.
Security: If you're concerned about online safety, check to see that your subscription tracking app uses bank-level security, end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication for your protection. You may also want to find out if the app shares your personal information and how.
Is a subscription tracker a good idea?
Knowing how much you're paying in recurring charges is a big help with budgeting. Subscriptions are a great place to trim spending, since they tempt users with free trials but are easy to forget about.
If you're paying for a service you don't use, a tracker could be worth it — even if it costs money. But it could become another paid subscription you need to keep tabs on, so don't let it fall through the cracks.
In addition, most trackers share your personal information with advertisers and other third parties, so be sure to read the terms before signing on.
Subscription tracker FAQs
How much do people spend on subscription services?
Americans spend an average of $40 to $50 a month on various subscriptions. In some cases, it's for services they want, like Netflix or Peloton — but many people forget they are still paying for subscriptions they no longer use. One in four Americans spends over $100 on streaming, retail and other subscription services, according to data from Bongo.
Is it worth paying for a service to cancel your subscriptions?
Whether it's worth it to pay for a service to track and cancel your subscriptions depends on your budget, your organizational skills, how many subscriptions you have and how much you hate manually canceling services. If you have a ton of active paid subscriptions, it could be worth it. If it's just a few, you could do it yourself.
If the subscription tracker has other benefits, like budgeting tools or bill negotiation, it could make it a better deal.
Can I cancel my subscriptions myself?
You can keep on top of your subscriptions without a tracker, but it requires organization and dedication. Schedule reminders to cancel subscriptions you don't want after the free trial ends and to track the ones you keep. It can also be helpful to use a single email address and credit card for all your subscriptions.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed financial decisions. Every app review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of personal finance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
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Our methodology
CNBC Select compared more than a dozen subscription-tracking apps, websites and services, focusing on factors like pricing, features, ease of use, accessibility, security and customer satisfaction. We gave more weight to providers offering additional services, such as bill negotiation and budgeting tools.
We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.
Based on these criteria, our picks for the best subscription trackers are:
Best for saving money: Rocket Money
Best for texters: OneMain® MyMoney
Best free service: Bobby
Best for budgeting: PocketGuard
Best for bill negotiation: Hiatus
Best for ease of use: Quicken Simplifi
Best for Android users: Subby
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