ChatGPT the fastest-growing subscription-based service worldwide growing 296%

ChatGPT, used for work and entertainment, has grown by 296% compared to 2023, becoming the fastest-growing subscription-based service worldwide.

Streaming services remain the most subscribed category, with 22% of users signing up for these platforms.

On average users maintain 12 online subscriptions, including Netflix, Spotify and YouTube Premium – the most popular services worldwide.

As for the most frequently cancelled subscriptions, Netflix, YouTube Premium and Spotify are leading the way here; the flip side of being the most popular services in the world.

In some countries local services are leading the way; for instance, in Brazil, the top position is held by national streaming platform, Globoplay.

Multi-subscription services on the rise

However, multi-subscription services that combine TV and movies, games, the Internet, and telecoms, are gaining popularity, attracting 16% of customers.

The convenience of accessing a range of services in a bundle outweighs the “music” category with its eight percent of subscribers worldwide.

Productivity tools, telecoms and delivery services constitute a significant cluster of online subscriptions beyond entertainment. Microsoft 365, Adobe Creative Cloud, LinkedIn Premium, Canva and Discord rank among the top 20 popular services in most countries.

Additionally, local providers such as telecoms, marketplaces or delivery services make up the remainder of the top 20 in each country.

Other online subscriptions that grew extensively are YouTube Premium (122%), Telegram Premium (73%), X Premium (64%) and Snapchat+ (59%).

“With the growing variety of offers, the number of users' subscriptions tends to grow as well as the budgets spent on them,” says Kirill Yurkin, head of SubsCrab, a subscription management tool launched as part of Kaspersky start-up support programme.

Cost of subscriptions

Monthly payment plans are the preferred option for 76% of users, while 17% choose yearly subscriptions and 7% favour other payment periods, such as weekly or two-year plans.

However, the share of annual subscriptions is constantly growing, from 13% in 2022 to 17% in 2024.

The average cost of online subscriptions per year totals $938.

Turkey boasts the lowest average subscription price at $4 per month or $23 per year and the cheapest Netflix Premium plan at $5 per month.

In contrast, the UK has the highest average monthly subscription price at $13, while Germany has the highest average yearly subscription price of $64.

Subscription management tool

A reliable subscription management tool can help users organise online subscriptions to remind them of ones they’ve forgotten about and eliminate unnecessary payments.

“It also allows them to cancel unwanted services on time and helps them choose attractive new offers from thousands of options.

It’s a mindful and savvy approach to managing these services that are becoming an integral part of our lives,” comments Yurkin.

*The statistics quoted are based on the anonymised, voluntarily provided data from SubsCrab in 2023 and January-August 2024.