Gravity
Subscription spending: what the data shows
Updated June 2026
The average U.S. consumer spends about $219 a month on subscriptions, but estimates their spending at just $86. That’s a $133-a-month blind spot (about $1,596 a year), and 42% of people have forgotten they were still paying for something they no longer use. Every figure on this page links to its primary source.
$219 vs $86
Average actual monthly subscription spend vs. what consumers estimate they spend, a 2.5× gap. (C+R Research, survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers, April–May 2022.)
Source: C+R Research, 2022 · link to this stat
$133 / month
How much more the average person spends than they think, roughly $1,596 per year of largely invisible spending.
Source: CNBC (citing C+R Research), 2022 · link to this stat
42%
Share of consumers who have forgotten they were still paying for a subscription they no longer use.
Source: C+R Research, 2022 · link to this stat
74%
Share who say it's easy to forget about recurring monthly subscription charges.
Source: C+R Research, 2022 · link to this stat
72%
Share who put all their monthly subscription payments on auto-pay, making charges even easier to overlook.
Source: C+R Research, 2022 · link to this stat
$48 / month
Average U.S. household spend on video streaming services alone, with 47% having recently made a change to save money.
Source: Deloitte Digital Media Trends 2023 (via Variety) · link to this stat
Key findings
- 1US consumers estimate they spend $86 a month on subscriptions but actually spend $219, a gap of $133 every month (C+R Research, 2022).
- 2That monthly blind spot compounds to roughly $1,596 a year per household.
- 342% of consumers report having forgotten about a subscription they were still paying for (C+R Research, 2022).
- 474% say it is easy to lose track of recurring monthly charges (C+R Research, 2022).
- 572% have at least one subscription set to renew automatically (C+R Research, 2022).
- 647% of US streaming subscribers changed services in a single year to reduce cost (Deloitte, 2023).
What people think vs. what they actually spend
| Measure | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated monthly spend | $86 | C+R Research, 2022 |
| Actual monthly spend | $219 | C+R Research, 2022 |
| Monthly blind spot | $133 | C+R Research, 2022 |
| Annualized blind spot | ≈ $1,596 | $133 × 12 |
Why the gap is so large
The blind spot isn’t carelessness, it’s structural. Subscription charges are spread across different billing channels, so no single screen shows you the total:
- Apple-billed apps appear in iPhone Settings → Subscriptions.
- Directly billed services (many streaming, news, and software plans) only show up on your card statement.
- PayPal and other wallets hold their own list of automatic payments.
- Annualrenewals arrive once a year, long after you’ve forgotten you signed up.
Combined with auto-pay (72%) and how easy people say it is to forget recurring charges (74%), it’s no surprise that 42% end up paying for something they no longer use.
Methodology
- How figures are selected
- Only figures published by a named third party are included. Each is linked to its primary source, and any value we compute ourselves is labelled as derived so it is never attributed to the source.
- Data collection window
- Source studies published 2022-2023; see each citation for its own fieldwork dates.
- Sample
- C+R Research surveyed 1,000 US consumers (22 April - 2 May 2022). Deloitte Digital Media Trends 2023 as reported by Variety.
- Update cadence
- Reviewed when a cited study publishes a newer edition, or at least annually.
Changelog
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-27 | Sources moved to the central registry (content/stats.ts); added machine-readable CSV/JSON downloads, key findings and citation block. |
| 2026-06-28 | Page published with linked citations for every figure. |
Download the data
Every row carries its own named source and year, so the attribution travels with the file.
Cite this report
This report and its underlying data are licensed for reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please link back to the canonical URL.
Viral App Labs LLC. "Subscription spending: what people think they spend vs. what they actually spend." cancelsubscriptionsapp.com, updated 2026-07-27. https://cancelsubscriptionsapp.com/research/subscription-spending
Sources
- C+R Research, “Subscription Service Statistics and Costs”, survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers, April 22–May 2, 2022. crresearch.com
- CNBC, “Consumers spend an average $133 more each month on subscriptions than they realize” (2022). cnbc.com
- Deloitte Digital Media Trends 2023, reported by Variety. variety.com
See your own number in minutes
Add up your subscriptions with our free cost calculator, then track every renewal in Gravity so the blind spot never comes back.