Business
Australians could be losing more than $1,600 a year without realising it
Half of Australians are paying for subscriptions they no longer use, according to new research. Consumers could be wasting more than $1,600 annually on inactive services, with gym memberships accounting for the largest share of unnecessary spending. The findings come as Australia's subscription economy continues to expand across digital and fitness sectors.
Australians remain committed to subscribe and spend on services, but the research suggests that a good proportion of these subscriptions are inactive. A research study commissioned by Compare the Market found that almost 50% of Australian households have at least one active but unused subscription.
And with current estimations of average consumer costs related to these unnecessary memberships and digital platforms across five popular platforms, the comparison website’s research suggests consumers could be out of pocket by as much as $1,667.52 per year in terms of dormant or unutilised services.
The Costs of an Unused Subscription
The survey found that gym memberships contribute significantly to the wasted consumer expenditure, although streaming subscriptions were the most commonly used.
Respondents to the Compare the Market survey who had paid for a subscription membership but weren't actively using it were spending on average an estimated $93 a month on an unused gym membership, which equated to $1,116 per year. 57% of the survey’s unused subscription subscribers mentioned that they had an unused membership with Netflix, which was the most frequently identified inactive service amongst those surveyed.
Disney+, Amazon Prime, Spotify and a number of their respective streaming services were also flagged as some of the most unused and popular streaming memberships.
According to Compare the Market, some consumers even reported having unused subscription accounts for services such as Stan, Paramount+, and Amazon Prime Video. These figures are derived from a survey of 1,015 Australians aged 18 and over, conducted by Pureprofile in March 2026.
The Expanding Subscription Economy
The Compare the Market data comes amid the growing trend in Australia towards subscription business models and more Australians paying for multiple services for both leisure and utility purposes.
In April, research by ING predicted Australian households spending around $26.5 billion a year on non-essential or “discretionary” subscription services, such as streaming services, gyms and dating platforms.
The research further concluded that 78% of Australians had one or more subscriptions and around 43 million active subscriptions were held nationwide, and on average, households spend $136 on subscriptions per month, or approximately $1,637 annually.
Focus on Recurring Costs
This latest research reinforces how small recurring payments to various platforms quickly add up to significant figures when ignored, and could also become a priority when consumers focus on cutting costs.
David Koch, Economic Director of Compare the Market, indicated the costs associated with subscription services fly under the radar when a small recurring monthly expense becomes a regular part of many people’s budgets.
He said, "Many people don't give unused subscriptions a second thought as the regular subscription charges simply become a routine cost in their monthly bills.” Elson Goh, a Curtin University economics instructor and Money Management reader noted these subscription traps are more commonplace because the services are typically easy to subscribe to, and hard to keep track of to cancel.
As Australian households grapple with the rising cost of living, subscriptions are increasingly being scrutinised.
Source: The West
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