How to track your subscriptions
Burn Team
The people who make Burn
Short answer
Make one list. Find every subscription in 12 months of bank and card statements, the App Store, Google Play, PayPal and your email. For each, write down the price, how often it bills, the next payment date and how you pay. Set a reminder before each renewal and the day before any free trial ends, then look over the list once a month.
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In this post
Step 1: find every subscription
Most people find at least one they forgot. Check all of these:
- Bank and card statements, 12 months back. Two months misses every yearly plan. On a debit card, recurring card payments sit next to direct debits, so read both.
- Apple: Settings, your name, Subscriptions. What that list does and doesn't show.
- Google Play, if you use Android too.
- PayPal: on the website, Settings, Payments, then the automatic payments list.
- Email: search "receipt", "renewal", "subscription", "trial" and "invoice".
- Your phone bill: some services charge through your network.
Step 2: write down four things
| Write down | Why |
|---|---|
| Name and price | In the currency you actually pay. |
| Billing cycle | Weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly. You need it for the monthly figure. |
| Next payment date | So you can decide before it goes, not after. Add the trial end date if it's a trial. |
| How you pay | Apple, Google Play, PayPal, card or direct debit. That tells you where to cancel. |
Step 3: set reminders before the money goes
The point of tracking is deciding before the charge, not finding it afterwards. Set a reminder a few days before each renewal so you have time to cancel. For free trials, set it for the day before the trial ends. Apple says to cancel a trial at least 24 hours before it ends if you don't want it to renew.
A repeating calendar event per subscription does the job. The weak spot: when a date or price changes, you have to remember to edit the event.
Step 4: review once a month
- What renews in the next few weeks, and do you still want it?
- What didn't you open last month?
- Did a price go up? Compare with what you wrote down.
When you cancel something, keep the row and mark it cancelled. Here's how to cancel subscriptions on iPhone, and where to go for the ones Apple doesn't bill.
How to track subscriptions for free
A spreadsheet with five columns (name, price, cycle, next date, paid through) plus a sixth for the monthly cost is enough. Sort by next date. Add calendar reminders. Total the monthly column. It costs nothing, works on every device, and nobody sees your bank.
What it won't do is keep itself up to date. Every renewal moves the next date, and you move it by hand.
Spreadsheet, tracker app or bank app?
| Method | Good at | Not so good at |
|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet or note | Free, flexible, works anywhere | No reminders of its own. Every date and total is by hand. |
| Manual tracker app | Totals, next dates and reminders done for you. No bank login. | You add each subscription. It won't find forgotten ones. |
| Bank-linked budgeting app | Finds subscriptions in your transactions | Needs your bank login. The useful parts are often paid. |
A good mix: do the 12-month statement sweep once, by hand, then keep the list wherever you'll actually open it. The apps are compared in the best subscription tracker apps in the UK.
How to track subscriptions on iPhone with Burn
This is our app, so read accordingly. You add each subscription once: pick the service, set the price, cycle and next date, in any currency. Burn works out each next date from the start date and cycle, so you never move it by hand. It adds everything up per month, day, week and year, and shows what renews next. It reminds you the day before a free trial turns paid, and before renewals when you choose.
Free for up to 5 subscriptions, no account, no bank login. Burn Pro adds unlimited subscriptions and CSV export, if you want the spreadsheet as well.
Questions people ask
How do I find subscriptions I've forgotten about?
Go through 12 months of bank and card statements and note anything that repeats. Yearly subscriptions only show up once a year, so a couple of months isn't enough. Then check your Apple and Google Play subscriptions, PayPal automatic payments and your email for receipts.
How can I track subscriptions for free?
A spreadsheet or note with the name, price, billing cycle and next date of each subscription, plus a repeating calendar reminder for each renewal, costs nothing. Some tracker apps are free too. Burn is free for up to 5 subscriptions.
How do I track subscriptions on my debit card?
Look through 12 months of the card's statements for payments that repeat at the same amount, and check the direct debits on the same account. Write each one down with its next date. Your bank app may list recurring card payments too.
Can my iPhone track all my subscriptions?
Only the ones Apple bills you for. Settings, your name, Subscriptions lists those. Anything you pay the company directly, like a gym or a service you joined on its website, isn't there.
How often should I review my subscriptions?
Once a month is enough for most people. It takes a few minutes if the list is up to date: check what renews next, what you didn't use, and whether any price went up.
Sources: Apple, If you want to cancel a subscription from Apple; Google, Cancel a subscription on Google Play; PayPal, How do I cancel a recurring payment. All checked 28 October 2026.
