How to find hidden subscriptions: a 15-minute audit checklist

By the SubTrack team · Last updated: November 4, 2026

“Hidden” subscriptions are rarely sneaky. They are usually small charges for things you meant to cancel, trials that rolled over, or plans billed to a card or an app store you do not look at often. A short, structured audit finds most of them. Use the list below with a timer and a notes app or spreadsheet.

Before you start (1 minute)

• Open a blank note or spreadsheet with the columns: name, price, billing cycle (monthly or yearly), next renewal date, where it is billed.
• Have access to your online banking, your phone, and your email.
• Decide a time limit. A first audit does not need to be perfect.

Step 1: card and bank statements 4 min

• Open the last three months of statements for every card or account you pay with, including any you use only occasionally.
• Mark each charge that repeats at about the same amount each month.
• Scan back 12 months if you can. This is the only way to catch yearly charges such as software licences, domain names or memberships.
• Look for small amounts. A few small charges are the easiest to miss and the easiest to forget.
• For any name you do not recognise, search the web for the exact text on the statement. Billing names often differ from the brand name.
• Check payment accounts that can bill you automatically, as these sometimes sit outside your card statements.

Step 2: Apple and Google Play 3 min

Subscriptions bought inside apps are billed by the app store, not the app, so they will not appear in the app’s own settings. The exact menus change between software versions, so if yours look different, use the official help pages linked below.

• iPhone or iPad: Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions. Open each entry to see its price and renewal date. Apple Support: cancel a subscription.
• Mac: open the App Store, click your name at the bottom of the sidebar, then Subscriptions.
• Apple on the web: sign in at account.apple.com and open the subscriptions section.
• Android or web: open play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions, or in Settings go to Google, then your name, then Manage your Google Account, then Payments & subscriptions, then Manage subscriptions. Google Play Help: cancel, pause or change a subscription.
• If you use more than one Apple ID or Google account, check each one. Subscriptions also hide in old or family accounts.

Step 3: email and password manager 4 min

• Search your inbox for: receipt, invoice, subscription, renewal, trial, billing and your plan.
• Check old and secondary email addresses, especially ones used for sign-ups.
• Look at “free trial ends soon” messages. They point to trials that have not charged you yet.
• Scroll through your password manager and flag any account that could be billing you: streaming, software, storage, fitness, news, games, VPNs, domain and hosting accounts.
• Check work and family: shared plans, team seats, and subscriptions someone else set up on your card.

Step 4: decide 3 min

For each line in your list, work out the monthly and yearly cost. Divide a yearly price by 12 for the monthly equivalent, or multiply a monthly price by 12 for the yearly one. Then mark each line:

• Keep if you used it in the past month and would miss it.
• Downgrade if you use only part of it, or a cheaper plan exists. Our guide on annual vs monthly plans helps with the billing-cycle part of that decision.
• Cancel if you have not used it recently and cannot name what it is for. Cancelling is usually reversible by signing up again, though prices and plans may change.
• Check first if you are unsure, and put a date in your calendar to decide.

When you cancel, check the confirmation page for a line like “access continues until [date]” and take a screenshot. Look at the account again a day or two later to confirm it shows as cancelled.

Tip: use a CSV export

If your bank lets you download statements as a CSV file, a spreadsheet can do the hunting for you. Most banks offer this in online banking, though the option and format differ between banks.

1. Download 6 to 12 months of transactions and open the file in a spreadsheet.
2. Sort by description. Repeating names will line up next to each other.
3. Alternatively, sort by amount. A charge that appears with the same amount every month stands out.
4. Copy the repeating lines into your audit list, and note the dates to see whether they are monthly or yearly.

The same idea works in reverse after the audit: once your list is complete, an export of it is a useful backup and lets you open it in any spreadsheet.

Where SubTrack Pro helps

Once you have your list, SubTrack Pro keeps it in your browser. Add each subscription by hand or with optional auto-detect on supported sites, and it shows monthly and yearly totals and a spending chart by category, then reminds you before payments (3 days, 1 day and on the day) and before trials end (2 days, 1 day and on the day). You can export the list as CSV at any time.

There is also an optional inbox scan for subscription receipts in Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo Mail. It is off by default, Chrome asks for your permission first, and you can switch it off again. It is free, has no account or ads, and keeps data locally in your browser. It does not cancel subscriptions, connect to your bank or sync across devices.

After the audit

• Keep the list somewhere you will see it. For ideas on where, read how to track all your subscriptions in one place.
• Set a reminder for every trial still running. The routine is in our free trial reminder guide.
• Repeat a short version of this audit every few months, or when your statement shows a charge you do not recognise.