What is Subscription ROI?
Definition
The return on investment from a subscription, measured by the value or savings generated relative to the subscription cost.
Understanding Subscription ROI
Calculating subscription ROI helps justify or eliminate subscriptions. For business subscriptions, ROI is measured in revenue generated, time saved, or costs avoided. For personal subscriptions, ROI is measured in hours of use, enjoyment value, or savings versus alternatives.
A simple framework: if Netflix costs $15.49/month and you watch 30 hours monthly, the cost is $0.52/hour — likely good ROI compared to cinema tickets. If a $20/month productivity app saves you 10 hours monthly, it's generating $200+ in time value. Subscriptions with negative ROI (cost exceeds value) are candidates for cancellation.
Related Terms
Total Cost of Ownership
The complete cost of a subscription over its entire lifecycle, including the subscription fee, setup costs, training, and switching costs.
Subscription Audit
A systematic review of all active subscriptions to evaluate their value, identify unused services, and optimize spending.
Subscription Savings
The money saved by optimizing subscriptions through cancelling unused services, downgrading plans, switching to annual billing, or using bundles.