Audiences spend over $320 per year on unused subscriptions
Audiences spend over $320 per year on unused subscriptions
New data from Self Financial sheds light on how much customers are spending on services they don’t use, including streamers.
It can be a real pain to keep track of everything you’re subscribed to these days. It seems everyone has an app and a subscription that accompanies it, and things can easily fall through the cracks. New data from Self Financial shows that the average American wastes over $320 per year on unused subscriptions, and streaming services are amongst the most egregious sources.
Key Details:
- Not pocket change: Americans waste $321.48 on unused subscriptions.
- Fading star: STARZ is the most unused streaming subscription.
- Warning sign: The data also shows that over 57% of respondents say they’d be inclined to stream illegally due to high costs.
The study from Self Financial shows that average Americans have 3.4 active paid subscriptions and spend $35.03 on those subscriptions every month. Nearly 60% of respondents said they have a paid subscription that goes unused each month. In fact, the data found that 2.6 subscriptions go unused each month on average. The average value of those unused subscriptions is $26.79, which comes out to $321.48 each year that people are spending on subscriptions they aren’t actually enjoying.
So, which streaming service goes unwatched the most each month? Self found that STARZ goes unused more than any other streaming service; Self found that in 2026, 49.6% of STARZ customers say they have not used their account in 30 days or more. Disney+ came in second at 44.4%, and Netflix was third at 38.1%.
Click chart to expand.
The survey also has bad news for streaming services that won’t stop raising prices. It found that 57.6% of respondents admitted they would be more inclined to illegally stream TV and movies thanks to the increased cost of streaming services. That’s up from 45.7% in 2025, and the problem could get worse if streamers keep hiking rates. Just this week, Peacock announced it was raising subscription prices for the fourth year in a row.
Even with streamers keeping their thumb on the price increase button seemingly without end, subscribers don’t cancel as often as they say they’d like to. Sixty-seven percent of respondents to Self Financial said they wanted to cancel a paid-for subscription, but didn’t. The most-given reason for not canceling was fear of missing out on content, but forgetfulness was a close second.
The data from Self Financial highlights the pitfalls of the subscription economy. It’s far too easy to lose track of a subscription these days, and doing so can end up costing consumers big bucks once it’s all totaled up.
STARZ
STARZ offers a subscription video streaming service that gives access to content on the STARZ channel without the need of a cable subscription. With your subscription, you’ll get access to 7,500+ films and episodes, including all of their current originals like “Outlander,” The Serpent Queen,” “BMF,” and “Power.”