Survey: 22% of Americans Cancel Subscriptions After Price Increase

More than one in five Americans canceled a subscription after a price increase in the past year, while many say greater flexibility and better-value bundles could persuade them to stay, according to research by Bango.

The survey of 2,500 U.S. adults found that 22% had canceled a subscription following a price rise. Yet 61% said they would be more likely to keep subscriptions if they were offered at a lower price in a bundle. More than half of respondents, 52%, still considered their subscriptions worth the cost.

Four in 10 respondents said they had wanted to keep a subscription but canceled because they could not pause it or switch to a free option. That figure rose to 50% among Gen Z respondents.

Consumers are already adjusting their plans to manage costs. In the past 12 months, 17% moved to a cheaper plan, 12% switched to a lower-priced, ad-supported plan and 14% combined separate subscriptions into a bundle. Among Gen Z, 21% said they had moved subscriptions into a bundle.

The survey also pointed to concerns about value. Nearly half of respondents, 45%, said their paid subscriptions offered worse value than a year earlier. And 49% said they now pay extra for features that were previously included in streaming subscriptions, such as ad-free viewing, downloads or 4K quality.

Views on advertising varied. While 70% said paid subscriptions should be ad-free and 72% said a service that launches without ads should remain that way, 58% said they would accept advertising in exchange for a discount.

Giles Tongue

The findings reflect those trade-offs: 12% of respondents had moved to a cheaper, ad-supported tier in the past year, while 8% upgraded to a premium plan to remove ads. Among Gen Z, 14% said they had upgraded to an ad-free tier.

Free services are also competing with paid subscriptions. More than half of respondents, 55%, said free services now meet some needs they previously paid to address, and 16% had canceled a subscription in favor of a free alternative during the past year.

Some cancellations may be temporary. Twelve percent of Americans said they had canceled a subscription they intended to restart, a share that rose to 15% among Millennials.

Giles Tongue, Bango’s vice president of marketing, said offering options to pause subscriptions or switch to free plans could help providers retain customers who still value their services.

“Flexibility is more important than ever for retaining subscribers,” Tongue said. “That’s a valuable relationship worth preserving. Giving subscribers that flexibility they’re looking for could help them stay connected to a service they still want.”