Everything is a subscription now, and it's getting out of hand

A few years ago, Netflix was the subscription. Now it's one of twelve you're probably juggling - and at least one of those you haven't touched in months.

The subscription model made sense when it was just a few things. Pay monthly, get access, cancel when you're done. Simple. But somewhere along the way every product, app, and gadget decided recurring revenue was the goal, and now we're all drowning in it.

The numbers are wild

The subscription economy has grown nearly 600% over the past decade. That growth didn't happen because consumers asked for more subscriptions - it happened because subscriptions are extremely good for businesses. Predictable revenue, automatic renewals, and the quiet hope that you'll forget to cancel.

The average consumer now holds 5.6 active subscriptions. Some estimates put it higher - a 2024 Kadence International study cited in Medium found the average person juggling 12 active subscriptions across streaming, software, food, and fitness. US adults spend an average of $91 a month on subscriptions, with two-thirds reporting that at least one increased in price over the past year.

Streaming alone: the combined monthly cost of the top six ad-free streaming services in the US hit $87.44 in 2024 - a $20 increase since 2022.

It's not just streaming

That's the thing. Streaming was just where subscription fatigue became obvious first. Now it's everywhere.

Your fitness tracker wants a monthly fee for features that used to be free. Companies like Garmin and Polar introduced subscription fees for features previously included with device purchases, leading to widespread user backlash. Adobe moved its entire creative suite to subscriptions years ago. Microsoft 365. iCloud storage. Duolingo Plus. Your car's heated seats, in some cases.

Even categories that were never subscriptions have been converted. Recipe apps. Meditation timers. PDF readers. Password managers. Sleep trackers. 62% of companies plan to convert at least one product into a subscription service by 2026.

The logic is simple from a business perspective: a customer who pays $10/month is worth far more over time than someone who pays $30 once.

Canceling is designed to be hard

This is the part that actually annoys me.

60.4% of consumers have avoided subscribing to services due to anticipated difficulties in cancellation, 40.8% had trouble locating cancellation information, and 31.7% had to contact customer service to complete the process.

Companies hide the cancel button. They require a phone call. They offer you a "pause" instead. They ask you why you're leaving and make you click through four screens. Companies can boost their revenue by up to 200% from customers who fail to cancel subscriptions. So the friction is intentional.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents admitted forgetting to cancel a free trial before being billed. That's not an accident - free trials that silently convert are a core part of the business model.

The FTC tried to fix this. They proposed a "click-to-cancel" rule in 2024, requiring companies to make cancellation as easy as signup. The rule faced legal challenges and was vacated by the Eighth Circuit Court in July 2025. So companies mostly still get to make it hard.

In the UK, nearly 10 million of 155 million active subscriptions are unwanted, costing consumers £1.6bn a year.

People are starting to push back

The data shows a genuine reversal happening. The average household trimmed its paid subscriptions from 4.1 in 2024 to just 2.8 in 2025 - a 32% drop in a single year.

39% of global subscribers planned to cancel at least one subscription within the next year. A price increase of just $5 would prompt 60% of consumers to cancel their favorite service.

And when companies push too hard? Almost half of respondents said they are now more likely to stream content illegally because of rising costs. Password sharing crackdowns by Netflix and Disney+ didn't convert freeloaders into paying customers - many just left.

Why it feels so messy

It's not one subscription that's the problem. It's the accumulation.

Each one seems reasonable on its own. $10 here. $15 there. But they stack. And they don't all renew on the same day. And the prices change quietly. And some are annual so you forget about them until the charge hits. And some are bundled with other things you don't want.

Research published at ICOFE-2024 identified three main drivers of subscription fatigue: lack of perceived value, hidden or unpredictable fees, and loss of control from automatic renewals.

It's that last one - loss of control - that I think is the real issue. Subscriptions flip the default. Instead of choosing to pay, you have to actively choose to stop. That's a very different psychological position, and companies know it.

The numbers are wild

It's not just streaming

Canceling is designed to be hard

People are starting to push back

Why it feels so messy

Further reading