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           Do You Use It? TidBITS Reader Subscription Habits Revealed

   Adam Engst

   The results from our '[1]Do You Use It? Audit Your Subscriptions' (22
   January 2026) poll are in. They're fascinating, but as always, remember
   that they reflect the habits of TidBITS readers, not Apple users
   overall or the general public. Also, only about 170 people answered the
   questions, unsurprisingly, since doing so required significant effort
   to count subscriptions, tally fees, and categorize everything. Let's
   look at each of the questions in turn and then examine subscriptions,
   and software subscriptions in particular, more closely.

How many subscriptions do you currently pay for?

   I was curious how the answers would pan out here, since a vocal
   minority of TidBITS readers are adamantly opposed to subscriptions,
   particularly for software. However, the most common response was 6'10
   subscriptions (selected by 29% of respondents), followed by 11'15
   (21%). That places half of the respondents in the 6'15 range, with
   another 22% reporting more than 15 subscriptions, suggesting that
   subscription accumulation is occurring even among an audience that is
   nominally skeptical of subscriptions. About a quarter of the
   respondents are on the low end, with 26% reporting 5 or fewer
   subscriptions. Only 2% of respondents (3 people) report having no
   subscriptions.

About how much per month do you spend on these subscriptions?

   Spending clusters tightly in the middle, with nearly two-thirds of
   respondents spending between $25 and $149 per month, and $50'$99
   emerging as the most common range. I find the high end of the
   distribution notable: more people spend over $300 per month than
   $200'$299, and more spend that amount than $150'$199. About 17% spend
   more than $150, about 21% spend less than $25, and only 3 people report
   $0. In short, most of us are spending meaningful amounts of money on
   subscriptions each month, suggesting that it's worthwhile keeping an
   eye on subscriptions to make sure you're getting value for your money.

How does that amount split between productivity/utility and
entertainment/content?

   The distribution of answers to this question is remarkably balanced.
   The largest single group leans mostly toward productivity (28%), but
   nearly as many respondents report entertainment-heavy or roughly
   balanced spending. This suggests that subscriptions are no longer
   primarily a media phenomenon; for many readers, ongoing payments for
   tools, storage, security, and services rival or exceed entertainment
   spending.

Into which categories do your subscriptions fall?

   Cloud storage/backup leads decisively at 78%, followed by video
   streaming (68%) and news/information services (61%). Internet-related
   services, music streaming, and password/security tools also exceed 40%.
   The interesting point here is breadth rather than dominance: most
   respondents selected multiple functional categories, reinforcing the
   idea that subscriptions now underpin core computing activities rather
   than just optional content consumption. Toward the bottom, AI
   subscriptions appear in 16% of responses, which is modest but high for
   a category that barely existed a few years ago. The least popular
   categories'education and gaming'are undoubtedly linked to the TidBITS
   audience's above-average age.

Over the last 12 months, I have added/canceled'¦

   Stability dominates this answer. Nearly half of respondents say they
   added about as many subscriptions as they canceled, and while there is
   churn, with 21% canceling more than they add, that's more than balanced
   out by 25% adding more than they canceled. My takeaway is that most
   people actively manage their subscriptions rather than letting them
   accumulate passively. If you haven't audited your subscriptions
   recently, it's worth doing!

Types of Subscriptions

   The poll numbers tell part of the story, but the comments revealed
   something more interesting'I was struck by how opinions vary widely by
   subscription type. The word 'subscription' merely implies a regular,
   ongoing payment, but precisely what you're paying for falls into a
   handful of categories. Much of the confusion around subscriptions stems
   from treating fundamentally different economic models as the same:
     * Access: With access subscriptions, you pay for permission to use
       the app or service. If you stop paying, you immediately lose
       complete access. Nearly all streaming services fall into this
       category, including Apple Music, Apple TV, Spotify, and Netflix.
       Many software subscriptions are also access-based'stop paying for
       Adobe Creative Cloud, and you can no longer use the apps and may
       even lose access to your documents.
     * Maintenance/support:With this sort of subscription, your payment
       funds ongoing development, upgrades, and support. If you stop
       paying, you can continue to use the app as is. This model was more
       common in the past, but examples still exist today, such as
       ForkLift, TablePlus, and UltraEdit. Maintenance subscriptions have
       become less popular as many customers opt to skip upgrades,
       reducing revenue for developers.
     * Issuance: Subscriptions that provide new work produced during the
       subscription period are the easiest to understand and the least
       controversial. Newspapers and magazines used this model in the
       pre-digital era, and even if what you get now is access to the New
       York Times website rather than a daily newspaper, your subscription
       is still paying for new content.
     * Consumption/usage: Paying for cloud storage or bandwidth is as
       close as the digital world gets to paying for resources whose cost
       tracks with usage like electricity or water, even if pricing is
       often simplified into tiers. 2 TB of iCloud+ storage costs Apple
       more to provide than 50 GB, so it makes intuitive sense that the
       associated subscription costs differ. Given the prevalence of cloud
       storage and backup subscriptions in the poll responses, it seems
       that most people accept usage-based subscriptions.
     * Insurance: Some subscriptions reduce the impact of high-cost events
       like damage or theft. AppleCare+ is the primary example here,
       though Internet backup services like Backblaze also qualify. In
       part because these services are highly optional, my sense is that
       few people object to them as ongoing subscriptions.
     * Convenience: Finally, subscription bundles such as Apple One,
       Amazon Prime, cellular plan bonuses, and Setapp make it easy for
       consumers to subscribe to multiple services for a single fee. Even
       if some features of the bundle go unused, subscribers find the
       convenience and discounted cost worthwhile.

   Of course, subscriptions are not the only viable model. Some developers
   still succeed with perpetual licenses plus paid upgrades, while others
   produce open-source software paired with paid support or hosted
   services. These models work best for mature software with slower update
   cycles, but they demonstrate that subscriptions are an economic choice,
   not a technical inevitability.

   Then there are the occasional innovative models that haven't caught on
   more broadly. [2]Agenda lets you pay for premium features and keep them
   even if you discontinue your subscription, and [3]Panorama X's flexible
   subscription billing charges for months with active usage.

Why We Have Software Subscriptions

   Why do software subscriptions engender so much ire from users? And how
   did we get here? It's simple: predictable revenue streams help
   developers make business decisions with greater confidence and reduce
   anxiety.

   Long ago, nearly all commercial software was expensive and sold on a
   permanent license model, where you paid once for the right to use the
   software indefinitely. It's important to remember that ownership was
   not a question'it was difficult or impossible to transfer a software
   license to someone else. That stems from the ease of copying'developers
   needed a way to control what happened to apps after purchase to prevent
   users from reselling copies. Licensing also allowed vendors to sell the
   same software to different audiences at different price points
   (personal, education, enterprise) and to limit usage by seat. (In many
   ways, today's subscriptions are just traditional licensing on top of
   more powerful billing automation.)

   Upgrades were infrequent and usually required additional fees, not
   least because physical distribution was expensive. (Remember those
   packages that came with five to ten floppy disks and thick manuals?)
   Companies had to manage their operations carefully to match the spiky
   revenue stream from new sales and occasional upgrades.

   Arguably, the first software category to adopt a subscription model was
   antivirus software, which consumers accepted because it was framed as
   paying for ongoing protection against the fast-moving malware
   landscape. Around the same time, Internet services normalized
   subscriptions by combining software'such as AOL or Earthlink'with
   Internet connectivity. The software wasn't the important part, but it
   familiarized users with the concept.

   Then, in 2013, Adobe introduced the Creative Cloud subscription,
   bundling Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and more for a single
   monthly fee. At the time, individual apps cost $600 or $700 (with $200
   upgrades), and the full Creative Suite bundles ranged from $1300 to
   $2600, so the $50 monthly subscription ($600 annually) made it easier
   to get started but required ongoing payments. Creative Cloud was also
   more expensive for many people, who might otherwise have upgraded only
   every three years.

   Around this time, two structural changes made it easier for developers
   to adopt subscription models: ubiquitous high-speed broadband, which
   made frequent updates practical, and the App Store, which provided the
   necessary billing services at scale rather than requiring developers to
   build their own subscription management systems. In 2011, Apple began
   offering renewable content subscriptions, and in 2016, extended a
   subscription option to all apps. The App Store also weakened the
   historical link between price and ongoing cost. One-time prices
   collapsed even as expectations for continuous updates, operating system
   compatibility, and support increased'an economic mismatch that
   subscriptions conveniently resolved. This pricing drop migrated quickly
   to subscriptions, so a $1.99 per month subscription felt cheap compared
   to a $50 one-time price.

   The shift toward subscriptions emerged from real structural problems in
   earlier software business models, even as it caused significant user
   frustration. When developers rely on new sales for revenue, they're
   always chasing new users and have little incentive to serve their
   existing audience. (The way App Store pushed low prices and free
   updates highlighted this problem.) If developers focused on paid
   upgrades, they had to convince users to pay each time, and many
   wouldn't. Revenue was spiky at the best of times, and misguided or
   delayed upgrades could (and did) put developers out of business.

Why Developers Like Subscriptions

   At this point, the story shifts from how subscriptions emerged to why
   many developers now view them as necessary. With subscriptions,
   developers get a recurring revenue stream that enables them to fund
   future development, justify compatibility and security maintenance, and
   generally keep the lights on. The focus shifts to delivering ongoing
   value; otherwise, users will stop subscribing. At least in theory, user
   needs become paramount.

   Unfortunately, because subscriptions decouple payment from perceived
   value'you're paying regardless of whether you appreciate the ongoing
   changes'it's difficult for developers to make users feel as though
   they're always getting their money's worth. It's important to keep
   software compatible with new operating system releases and eliminate
   security vulnerabilities, but users see that as worthwhile mostly if
   they experience negative consequences from not having those updates.
   Worse are design changes'many users actively dislike updates that alter
   the interface and require relearning and updated workflows. Even new
   features may not be welcome if users see no benefit.

   Subscriptions also shift power toward developers. They enable forced
   updates, price increases after lock-in, and'in access-based
   situations'the loss of access to both tools and user-created data upon
   cancellation. These risks account for much of the emotional response to
   software subscriptions and are distinct from complaints about cost
   alone.

   For many modern apps'especially those that require continuous
   compatibility work or cloud infrastructure'subscriptions have become
   the dominant survival strategy, even if they aren't always the most
   efficient option for users. Especially for smaller developers,
   consistent subscription revenue is what keeps apps from being
   abandoned'few of these developers are getting rich and have to
   prioritize work that earns them a living. As a user, you may not
   appreciate routine maintenance, security fixes, and features that don't
   affect your use case, but you likely want the app to continue working
   as the ecosystem evolves.

   As a rough guide, subscriptions make the most sense when costs scale
   with continuous production (news), usage (cloud storage), or risk
   (insurance). They feel least justified for stable, standalone tools
   that change little year over year. Many of today's frustrations stem
   from developers applying one model indiscriminately across all
   categories. When you next audit your subscriptions, that framework
   might help you decide which are worth keeping and which warrant closer
   review.

References

   Visible links
   1. https://tidbits.com/2026/01/22/do-you-use-it-audit-your-subscriptions/
   2. https://agenda.community/t/get-all-features/21
   3. https://provue.com/faq/index.html#:~:text=months%20(5%20years).-,What%20is%20a%20Panorama,more%20about%20flexible%20subscriptions%3A,-How%20does%20account

   Hidden links:
   4. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2026/02/DYUI-subscriptions-number-of-subscriptions.png
   5. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2026/02/DYUI-subscriptions-monthly-spend.png
   6. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2026/02/DYUI-subscriptions-productivity-entertainment-split.png
   7. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2026/02/DYUI-subscriptions-categories.png
   8. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2026/02/DYUI-subscriptions-12-month-change.png

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