Survey data show many households lose track of recurring charges, and a federal appeals court struck down the rule meant to simplify cancellation in July 2025.
SHERIDAN, WY, UNITED STATES, October 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Americans spend close to $1,100 a year on subscription services, and roughly $200 of that goes toward products they rarely or never use, according to a 2025 CNET survey conducted with YouGov and reported by The Desk. The survey of 2,440 adults found that 61 percent of respondents were reconsidering at least one subscription because of economic concerns, and that one in four had already canceled a paid service.
The spending is easy to underestimate. In an earlier national study, C+R Research asked 1,000 consumers to estimate their monthly subscription spending and then compared those estimates against actual totals.
On average, consumers guessed $86 a month, but they actually spent $219, more than 2.5 times the estimate and $133 more per month. In the same study, 74 percent said recurring charges were easy to forget, 72 percent had set all their subscription payments to auto-pay, and 42 percent said they had stopped using a service but forgot they were still paying for it.
What the surveys measured
The two studies approach the same behavior from different angles. The 2025 CNET survey, fielded with YouGov, sampled 2,440 adults, of whom 1,932 reported paying for at least one subscription in the past year. The earlier C+R Research survey polled 1,000 self-reporting consumers and focused on the distance between what people believe they spend and what they actually spend.
Households spend close to $1,100 a year on subscriptions, roughly $90 a month (CNET and YouGov, 2025)
About $200 a year goes to subscriptions that are rarely or never used (CNET and YouGov, 2025)
Consumers underestimated monthly spending by $133 on average, $86 estimated against $219 actual (C+R Research, 2022)
74 percent said recurring subscription charges are easy to forget (C+R Research, 2022)
72 percent had placed all subscription payments on auto-pay (C+R Research, 2022)
A cancellation rule reversed
The data arrive against a shift in federal policy. In July 2025, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s negative option rule, often called the click-to-cancel rule, days before it was due to take effect. The rule would have required sellers to make canceling a subscription as easy as signing up. With the rule set aside, consumers still have to track and end unwanted subscriptions, and the Commission has since moved to restart the rulemaking.
Why the gap persists
Taken together, the studies point to a visibility problem more than a spending problem. When charges are automatic and easy to forget, a subscription can continue for months after it’s no longer needed. With the click-to-cancel rule set aside, cancellation is unlikely to get simpler in the near term, leaving regular self-review as the main check on recurring costs.
“The data point to a visibility problem more than a spending problem,” said a spokesperson for MoneyPilot, a subscription-management service based in Sheridan, Wyoming. “When a charge is automatic and easy to forget, people are not usually choosing to keep it. They just stop seeing it.”
About MoneyPilot
MoneyPilot is a subscription-management service based in Sheridan, Wyoming, that helps people see their recurring charges in one place and decide which to keep. More information is available at moneypilot.com. This release is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, and individual subscription spending and potential savings vary.
Disclaimer
This release is for informational purposes only and is not financial or legal advice. MoneyPilot is a subscription-based service and is not a law firm, financial advisor, or settlement administrator.
Access to the platform requires a paid subscription. MoneyPilot does not guarantee any refund, settlement payout, or amount of recovered money; eligibility, timelines, and amounts are determined by third parties such as settlement administrators and state agencies, and results vary by individual.
You can search for unclaimed property for free through state unclaimed property offices. All statistics cited are self-reported survey data and do not reflect MoneyPilot user outcomes.
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