Subscription Tracker vs Spreadsheet: Which Works Better?

A spreadsheet works if you can name every subscription you pay for and will update it each time something changes. If you suspect you've forgotten some, use a tracker that reads your transactions, because a spreadsheet only holds what you type into it.

The spreadsheet

A Google Sheet or Excel file with columns for service, monthly cost, billing date and category.

What works:

• It's free: Google Sheets costs nothing and many computers already have Excel.
• You choose the columns.
• Your data stays in your own file, with no account and no third party.
• It's easy to share with a partner or accountant.
• Formulas total your monthly and yearly spend.

What doesn't:

• You type in every subscription by hand.
• You keep it current by hand: add a row when you sign up, delete it when you cancel, change the amount when the price rises. Miss one and the totals drift.
• It only contains the subscriptions you remember, so it can't show you the ones you've forgotten.
• It won't remind you before a renewal unless you set up calendar events yourself.

A spreadsheet goes stale the first time you sign up for something and forget to add it.

The tracker app

Trackers differ in how they find your subscriptions:

• Manual apps (Subtrack, SubPolice, Revuno) give you a cleaner list and reminders, but you type in each subscription, like a spreadsheet.
• Bank-connected apps read your transactions. In Australia, Frollo and WeMoney link the accounts you choose through the Consumer Data Right (open banking) where your bank offers it, which gives them read-only access without your banking password. For institutions outside open banking, both connect through a data partner that asks for your bank login. The Westpac app finds recurring payments on Westpac debit and credit cards, for Westpac customers.
• Statement-upload tools such as SubTracker read a statement file you export from any Australian bank (PDF, CSV or Excel), with no bank login or connection.

US apps such as Rocket Money link banks through Plaid, which doesn't support Australian banks, so they can't see an Australian account.

What works:

• A list that's easier to read than a spreadsheet, with monthly and yearly totals up front.
• Renewal reminders.
• Bank-connected and statement-upload trackers find subscriptions you'd forgotten.
• Access from your phone.

What doesn't:

• Manual apps have the spreadsheet's upkeep problem.
• Bank-connected apps keep an ongoing connection to your accounts and see only the accounts you link.
• A statement upload isn't live and sees only the statements you upload, so you upload a fresh one to check again.
• Some trackers charge a monthly fee of their own.

Discovery first, then upkeep

The first job is finding the subscriptions you've forgotten. A spreadsheet can't do it. A tracker that reads your transactions can, whether through a bank connection or a statement, as long as the charge is on an account you linked or a statement you uploaded.

The second job is keeping the list current. Here the spreadsheet and a manual app need the same work. A bank-connected app updates as new payments arrive; with a statement upload, you re-check by uploading a new statement.

Which one is right for you?

Use a spreadsheet if:

• You can name every subscription you pay for.
• You like working in spreadsheets.
• You want no cost and no third party.
• Your accountant wants CSV or Excel.

Use a tracker if:

• You suspect you're paying for things you've forgotten.
• A spreadsheet you started has gone stale.
• You want renewal reminders without setting up calendar events.
• You'd rather upload a statement once than type everything in.

Use both if you want a tracker to find subscriptions and send reminders, then export them to a spreadsheet for your records. SubTracker exports your saved subscriptions as a CSV, or only the ones tagged business.