Almost a third of Aussies admit to spending hundreds of dollars a year on duplicated or unused subscriptions, while clocking up thousands on takeaway bills.
New research from Westpac bank found, on average, Australians were spending almost 20 percent more on subscriptions than they realised.
Westpac Acting Chief Executive, Consumer, Carolyn McCann said the new data showed three in 10 were losing up to $600 annually on duplicate services and apps they no longer used.
Ms McCann said the most common reason for overspending was forgetting to cancel a trial before autorenewal (38 percent).
She said almost one in three (32 percent) had paid for subscriptions they had forgotten about and one in three (31 percent) had difficulty cancelling a subscription.
“Convenience is clearly appealing to Australians and they’re willing to pay for it. But our research has found these services might be running away from them a little bit.
“When we compared total estimated spend against customer transaction data we could see customers are spending about $14 more each month than they think they are on subscriptions.”
Ms McCann said streaming and gaming subscriptions remained household staples, with Australians spending an average of $21.63 per month on video platforms ($259.61 annually), $55.50 on gaming ($665.95 annually), and $16.98 on music services ($203.73 annually).
She said while subscription costs may not seem like much in isolation, they could quickly add up.
“Especially if these are apps or services you no longer use. This is hundreds or even thousands in potential savings that could be redirected elsewhere.”
Ms McCann said an analysis of Westpac customer transaction data revealed average monthly spend on subscriptions has increased in 2025 by 11.3 percent, representing an average annual cost of $141.
“Our data suggests customers are willing to spend on what makes life easier, with a significant uplift in spend on food services,” she said.
McCann said in June 2025 alone, the average Westpac customer spent $184.85 on takeaway, making it the leading recurring convenience expense.
She said customers spent over $2200 annually, on average, totalling more than $62 million each month across the Westpac customer base.
