Subscription Tracker Spreadsheet Template: Columns, Formulas, and Limits
The Subgrove Team · · 4 min read
A subscription tracker spreadsheet template needs exactly six columns to be useful, and you can build it in ten minutes in Google Sheets or Excel. Below is the full structure, the formulas that make it work, and — because we'd rather be honest than clever — the two problems a spreadsheet can't solve no matter how good your formulas are.
The template
Copy this structure into row 1 of a fresh sheet:
| Name | Cost | Cycle | Monthly Cost | Next Renewal | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix | 15.49 | monthly | 15.49 | 2026-07-03 | Streaming |
| iCloud+ | 2.99 | monthly | 2.99 | 2026-07-12 | Storage |
| Amazon Prime | 139.00 | yearly | 11.58 | 2027-02-18 | Shopping |
| Contact lenses | 24.00 | every 28 days | 26.14 | 2026-07-09 | Health |
Six columns, one row per subscription. Here's what each does and how to fill it.
Name, Cost, Cycle
Cost is what you're actually charged per billing period — the number on your statement, not the advertised price. Cycle is the billing frequency: monthly, yearly, weekly, or a custom interval like "every 28 days" (common for contact lenses, supplements, and some meal plans). Keep cycle values consistent, because the monthly-cost formula depends on them.
Monthly Cost — the formula that matters most
This column is the whole point of the sheet: it converts every cycle to a true monthly figure so the totals are honest. In D2, use:
=IF(C2="monthly", B2,
IF(C2="yearly", B2/12,
IF(C2="weekly", B2*52/12,
B2*365/12/28)))
Adjust that final 28 per row if you have other custom intervals (or add a "days" column and divide by it). The conversion factors are worth understanding:
- Yearly: divide by 12. A $139/year plan is $11.58/month.
- Weekly: multiply by 52, divide by 12 — that's ×4.33, not ×4. A $5.99/week app is $25.96/month, not $23.96. The missing "extra" weeks are why weekly pricing looks cheaper than it is.
- Every N days: cost × 365 ÷ 12 ÷ N. A $24 charge every 28 days is $26.14/month.
Then put a total somewhere visible: =SUM(D2:D50). Brace yourself — C+R Research found people guess $86/month and actually average $219/month. This cell is where you find out which side of that gap you're on.
Next Renewal
Store real dates (2026-07-03, not "the 3rd") so you can sort by column E and see what's charging soonest. To flag renewals in the next 7 days, add conditional formatting with a custom formula:
=AND(E2-TODAY()>=0, E2-TODAY()<=7)
The maintenance catch: after each renewal, you must update the date. The sheet won't roll it forward. For monthly subs, =EDATE(E2,1) computes the next date, but someone still has to paste it in every cycle.
Category
Streaming, Software, Fitness, Storage, News — whatever fits your life. Its value shows up when you total by category (=SUMIF(F:F,"Streaming",D:D)) and discover, say, that streaming alone is $67/month. Category subtotals are where cancellation decisions get easy.
What the spreadsheet does well
A sheet like this genuinely delivers three things: a true monthly total, honest cycle conversion, and category subtotals. That's a real upgrade from guessing — most people who build one immediately find a forgotten charge or two, which is exactly what a subscription audit is for.
The honest limits of a spreadsheet
Two problems don't have formula solutions:
1. It can't remind you of anything. The renewal column is only useful if you open the sheet before the charge — and nobody opens a spreadsheet daily. The expensive failure mode is always the same: the annual renewal you built the sheet to catch arrives on a Tuesday you didn't check it. A tracker that sends push notifications flips this: instead of you polling the data, the data interrupts you, with lead time you choose — from renewal day up to two weeks ahead.
2. All date math is manual. Every renewal that passes leaves a stale date until you update it by hand. Miss a few updates and the "Next Renewal" column quietly becomes fiction, sorted plausibly enough that you trust it anyway. A stale tracker is arguably worse than none, because it feels like control.
Spreadsheet, app, or both?
If you enjoy spreadsheets and will genuinely maintain one, the template above works. If you want the same math without the maintenance, Subgrove covers every column here — weekly/monthly/yearly/custom cycles normalized to true monthly cost, a list view, and renewal dates that roll forward on their own — and adds the two things the sheet can't do: push notification reminders before each renewal and a monthly calendar view of what's charging when. It works on iPhone, Android, and desktop, installs to your home screen, and works fully offline with data stored on your device. The free plan tracks up to 5 subscriptions, so you can sign up and compare it against your sheet with zero risk. Keep whichever one you'll still be using in six months — that's the only metric that matters.