By Catherine Mulholland, Otivo
Nothing on your bank statement is priced to be noticed. A streaming service at $16.99, a fitness app at $12.99, cloud storage at $4.49 — each one sits comfortably below the amount at which a person stops and thinks. That's not an accident; it's the entire commercial logic of the model. Australians now spend an estimated $26.5 billion a year on discretionary subscriptions, and about half of us are paying for at least one thing we no longer use. Here's how to find your own number, and why annualising it changes what you do about it.
Quick answer
Research commissioned by ING and published in April 2026 estimates Australians spend $26.5 billion a year on discretionary subscription services, with 78% of adults holding at least one and around 43 million paid subscriptions nationwide. A separate Compare the Market survey from June 2026 found half of Australians were paying for subscriptions they no longer used, at a potential cost of up to $1,667 a year.
Why does monthly pricing work so well on us?
Because we evaluate purchases against a mental threshold, and monthly subscription pricing is engineered to sit under it. A $19 decision doesn't feel like a decision. The same commitment presented as $228 a year does, and the same commitment presented as $1,140 over five years feels like something you'd want a reason for.
Nothing about the service changes when you annualise it. What changes is that the number becomes large enough to compare against something else you want — which is the only comparison that has ever caused anyone to cancel anything.
How much is being spent on things nobody uses?
More than most people would guess, and the pattern is consistent across surveys. Compare the Market's June 2026 research found half of Australians admitted to paying for subscriptions they no longer used. The most commonly abandoned were video streaming services, but the most expensive was the gym: respondents who weren't actively using a membership were paying around $93 a month, or $1,116 a year, for it.
Across the top five most commonly unused services, the research put the potential annual waste at up to $1,667. For a 29-year-old saving a house deposit, that's a meaningful fraction of a year's progress sitting in direct debits nobody has looked at.
The three-column audit
This takes about twenty minutes and it works because it forces two numbers into view that the monthly price hides.
- List every recurring payment. Go through three months of statements, not one — annual and quarterly charges won't appear otherwise. Include app stores, which bundle several subscriptions into single line items.
- Annualise each one. Multiply monthly amounts by twelve. Write the annual figure next to the monthly figure, not instead of it. Total the column.
- Write the last date you used it. Not "do I use this" — an actual date. If you can't name one, you have your answer without needing to weigh anything up.
Otivo's expense tracker will do the first column for you if you link the account you transact with, which removes the main reason people don't finish the exercise. ASIC's MoneySmart budget planner is a free alternative if you'd rather do it by hand.
What happens to the money you free up?
This is the step that decides whether the audit was worth doing. Cancelled subscriptions that aren't redirected somewhere tend to be replaced by other spending within a couple of months, and the annual total quietly returns to where it started.
Some people set up a transfer for the same amount on the same date the direct debit used to run, so the money leaves the transaction account before it can be absorbed. Where there's high-interest debt in the picture, directing it at the highest-rate balance does more than a savings account will — Otivo's debt advice module shows what a fixed extra amount each month does to the total interest paid and the payoff date. Otivo Pty Ltd holds AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 485665.
Frequently asked questions
How many subscriptions does the average Australian have?
ING's April 2026 research put the average at close to two paid subscriptions per adult, with 31% of Australians holding at least three and 8% — around 1.7 million people — holding five or more. Millennials were the heaviest users, with 41% paying for three or more services.
Is it worth cancelling and re-subscribing rather than holding a service year-round?
Some people do exactly that, subscribing for the weeks they're actually watching something and cancelling in between. The saving depends on the service's pricing and whether it penalises re-joining. The practical catch is remembering to cancel, which is why some people cancel immediately after subscribing and let the paid period run out on its own.
Do subscriptions count as essential or discretionary in a budget?
That depends on the subscription and on you. Software you earn a living with is a business cost. A second streaming service isn't. The classification matters less than having every one of them visible and annualised in the same place.
Why do annual plans cost less than monthly?
Because the provider is buying certainty and reducing the number of moments at which you might leave. The discount is usually genuine. Whether it's worth it depends on whether you'd still be subscribed in month eleven.
Sources
- ING Australia, Australia's love for subscriptions adds up to $26.5 billion annually, April 2026 (research conducted by YouGov).
- Compare the Market, Wasted subscriptions research, June 2026.
- Westpac, Subscription spending analysis, August 2025.
- ASIC MoneySmart, Budget planner.
Disclaimer
The information in this communication is current as at August 2026 and has been prepared by Otivo Pty Ltd ABN 47 602 457 732, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 485665. This content is general information only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not personal financial or taxation advice and should not be relied on as such. Before acting on any information, you should consider its appropriateness having regard to your personal circumstances. This material must not be reproduced in whole or in part, or posted on any social media platform, without the prior written consent of Otivo Pty Ltd.