Subscription Comparison Calculator

Compare subscription plans by total cost over time

A subscription price is rarely just “the monthly amount.” Many plans bill yearly, include setup fees, offer a discount for the first few billing cycles, or lock you into a longer billing period. This Subscription Comparison Calculator is built for one job: helping you decide which of two subscriptions costs less over the timeframe you care about.

The primary decision this page supports is simple: choose Plan A or Plan B based on the total amount you will pay over a chosen number of months. That is it. It is not a budgeting tool, it is not a “best service” ranking, and it does not try to evaluate features. If you already know what two subscriptions you are comparing, this calculator tells you which one is cheaper for your timeframe.

Start by entering the comparison period in months. Then enter each plan’s price per billing cycle and the billing cycle length in months. Monthly plans usually use a cycle length of 1. Annual plans usually use a cycle length of 12. If you have them, you can also include a one-time fee (like activation, installation, or a device charge) and an introductory discount that applies for a certain number of billing cycles.

The results show the total cost of each plan over your chosen period, the average monthly cost (total divided by months), and the estimated savings of the cheaper plan. If one plan starts cheaper but becomes more expensive later because of a discount ending or a larger billing cycle, the calculator will also show the break-even month when the cheaper option switches.

This is designed for real-world comparisons where you do not want to do spreadsheet math. You can enter rough numbers and still get a useful answer. If you leave advanced fields blank, the calculator assumes no discount and no one-time fee for that plan, and it still produces a clean comparison.

Assumptions and how to use this calculator

• Billing happens at the start of each billing cycle. If your comparison period includes any part of a cycle, that cycle is counted as charged.
• The billing cycle length is entered in months (1 for monthly, 12 for yearly). Mixed or irregular cycles are not supported.
• Intro discounts are applied per billing cycle, not per month. A discount of 20% for 3 cycles means the first 3 charges are discounted.
• One-time fees are added once at the beginning of the comparison, not spread across months.
• Taxes, currency conversion fees, and price changes over time are excluded unless you bake them into the amounts you enter.

Common questions

Why does a yearly plan look “expensive” when comparing a short period?

Because you usually pay the full year upfront. If you compare only 3 or 6 months, the calculator counts the annual charge because you would have to pay it to access the service during that period. The average monthly cost is still shown, but the total outlay reflects reality.

What if I can cancel mid-cycle and get a prorated refund?

This calculator assumes no prorated refunds. If your subscription offers refunds, your real cost could be lower. The simplest way to approximate prorating is to shorten the billing cycle length to match how refunds work, or manually adjust the price to reflect expected refunds.

How should I handle a plan that has different prices after the first year?

This calculator is locked to one intro discount pattern per plan. If the price changes in a more complex way (for example, 50% off for year one, then full price), treat that as an intro discount on the first cycle for an annual plan. For multi-step changes beyond that, you need a dedicated multi-year pricing model, which this page intentionally does not do.

What if Plan A has a setup fee but a lower monthly price?

Put the setup fee into the one-time fee field. The calculator will include it in total cost and will often show a break-even month, which is the point where the lower recurring price has “paid back” the upfront cost compared to the other plan.

What numbers should I enter if I do not know the exact cost?

Use best estimates. The comparison is most sensitive to the recurring price and the billing cycle length. If you are unsure about one-time fees or discounts, leave them blank first to get a baseline answer, then add them to see how much they change the decision.