Signing up for a free trial can feel like a great idea – little risk, all the rewards. Whether it's access to a new show you've been wanting to watch or a week's free trial at a gym in your neighbourhood, the benefits are immediate. Fast forward a few months, and it can come as a surprise when you check your bank statement and realise you're still paying for it long after your favourite show has ended, or new year's resolutions have come to a halt.
For many Australians, subscriptions have become a normal part of everyday spending. But over time, they can quietly accumulate, taking up more space in household budgets and becoming surprisingly difficult to escape. In today’s cost-of-living crunch, it’s important to consider these factors and their impact on our hip pockets.
To better understand Australia's subscription habits, we commissioned a national survey* of more than 1,000 Australians. While most Aussies enjoy the convenience and benefits of subscription services, many have experienced forgotten payments, unused subscriptions and cancellation headaches.
Despite widespread awareness of how quickly subscription costs can add up, our research sought to uncover the most common subscription traps and identify practical ways Australians can stay on top of their spending.
Trap #1: Collecting Subscriptions
When it comes to subscriptions, it appears Aussies aren't holding back.
Almost nine in ten Australians (85%) have at least one paid subscription, with the average Australian currently holding around 3 subscriptions.
Streaming services dominate the subscription landscape, with Netflix (64%), Amazon Prime (40%) and Disney+ (33%) emerging as the three most popular services among Australians.
Other commonly held subscriptions include:
- Kayo Sports/Foxtel: 20%
- Cloud storage services such as iCloud: 15%
- YouTube Premium/Music: 14%
- Apple Music: 11%
- Gym or wellbeing subscription: 11%
Across the country, New South Wales residents hold the highest average number of subscriptions nationally, at 3.2 per person, compared with 2.9 in Western Australia, 2.8 in Queensland and Victoria, and 2.2 in South Australia.
Looking generationally, Gen Z leads the pack with an average of 3.8 subscriptions, while Baby Boomers sit well below the national average at 1.8 subscriptions. Perhaps those who are opting out of subscriptions prefer the trusted free-to-air type of TV – even if it means waiting a full week for a new episode to be released.
Some Australians take subscriptions to another level, with 35% reporting they have between three and five subscriptions, while a further 13% hold six or more.
Trap #2: Unexpected costs that add up
On average, Australian's surveyed spent $65 per month on subscription services.
While these monthly costs may seem manageable on their own, they can quickly add up over time. Based on the national average, Australians are spending around $780 per year on subscription services, highlighting why it's important to keep track of recurring expenses and ensure you're still getting value from them.
One of the simplest ways to reduce subscription costs is to regularly review active services. Yet many Australians aren't doing so.
More than one in ten Australians (13%) admit they never review their active subscriptions, preferring to take a "set and forget" approach despite the ongoing costs.
Others are more proactive:
- 25% review their subscriptions monthly
- 21% check every six months
- 9% review them weekly
Interestingly, Australians with more subscriptions tend to check them more frequently. Just 5% of people with six or more subscriptions say they never review their active services, compared with 18% of those holding only one or two subscriptions.
Despite this, over 1 in 5 (22%) of Aussies say they were surprised by a price increase on their subscriptions. By regularly checking subscriptions, these little surprises are less likely to catch you out.
Reviewing subscriptions and improving your financial fitness doesn't have to be overwhelming. Tools such as Youi's Financial Fitness Calculator can help identify recurring costs and highlight opportunities to make small but meaningful changes.
Trap #3: Bad habits
The plan is often straightforward: sign up today, cancel tomorrow. Then tomorrow becomes next week. And next week becomes next month.
When it comes to subscription behaviour, several habits stand out.
15% of Australians admit they continue paying for subscriptions they no longer use, while 13% say they've kept a subscription simply because cancelling felt like too much effort.
A further 12% have forgotten to cancel a free trial before being charged, while 13% admit they forgot they were paying for a subscription altogether.
Millennials are the generation most likely to keep a subscription because cancelling feels like too much effort (18%), ahead of Gen Z (15%), Gen X (7%) and Baby Boomers (5%).
Meanwhile, Gen Z appear particularly vulnerable to free-trial traps, at 28%, compared to 15% for Millennials and 4% for Baby Boomers
Australians with six or more subscriptions are also significantly more likely to report subscription-related issues. Among this group:
- 18% say cancelling subscriptions is difficult
- 17% have forgotten to cancel a free trial
- 21% have forgotten they were paying for a subscription
Perhaps these habits help explain how some Australians end up with so many subscriptions in the first place…
In fact, some Aussies find themselves in a battle between cost and convenience, with some choosing the latter over saving some extra dollars each month. It can be more convenient to let subscriptions run in the background, but these traps can lead to wasted savings.
Regardless of how many subscriptions you hold, small habits can quickly add up and become a hidden leak on household spending.
At the end of the day...
In the whirlwind of everyday life, subscriptions can easily slip under the radar, leading to forgotten payments, recurring charges and surprise price increases.
Whether you're someone who regularly reviews your subscriptions or relate more to the Australians who let them quietly renew in the background, paying attention to these smaller spending habits can help shape the bigger picture when it comes to managing your money.
The subscription trap isn't always about spending too much. Sometimes, it's simply about forgetting what's already there.
Do you agree with Australia? Explore the subscription traps survey data.
*Disclaimer: Data for the Subscription Trap study was sourced from a survey conducted by Ideally between the 16th and 17th of September, involving 1,071 Australians aged 18 years old and above, from all states and territories within Australia. Some percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number. As a result, the sum of the individual numbers may not always add up to 100%. Also, some questions allowed respondents to select multiple answers, with the data reflecting the percentage of respondents who selected each response. Survey results have not been independently verified by Youi and may not be representative of the general population. Youi makes no representation or warranty of any kind of the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, or completeness of the data and accepts no liability for any loss or damage of any kind suffered as a result of the use of or reliance on the data. Individual experiences may vary.
