Best Subscription Tracker for Students (2026)
For students in 2026, the best subscription trackers are LemSubs (free for 10 subs, no bank link, student-budget-friendly), Bobby (iOS-only, free unlimited, on-device), and the Pi-of-Health Google Sheet (free, no install).
In short
Our pick for students: Bobby (free, unlimited, iOS-only). Best cross-platform free pick: LemSubs (10 subs free, web + Android + iOS PWA, no bank link). Best DIY: Wallos (self-hosted, free forever). Tested in April 2026 against student budgets and devices.
Last reviewed 2026-05-02. First published 2026-05-02.
The ranking
| Rank | Tool | Score | Bank login | Free plan | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby | 35/40 | No | Unlimited | Free (one-time $1.99 unlock) |
| 2 | LemSubs | 36/40 | No | 10 subs | Free (10 subs); Pro $7.99/mo |
| 3 | Wallos (self-hosted) | 32/40 | No | Unlimited | Free (self-hosted) |
| 4 | Subscriptions (Subly) | 32/40 | No | 5 subs | Free (5 subs); Pro $14.99/yr |
| 5 | Spreadsheets (DIY) | 28/40 | No | Unlimited | Free |
1. Bobby
Best free pick — unlimited subs, iOS only
Verdict: Bobby is the right answer for the most common student setup: iPhone-first, $0 budget, doesn't care about web access. Add Spotify Student, Apple Music, ChatGPT Plus, Notion AI, Adobe student plan, and the random course platform — Bobby reminds you before each renewal so the trial doesn't auto-charge a month into rent week.
Strengths: Unlimited subs free; On-device, no signup; Beautiful native iOS UI.
Trade-offs: iOS only; No web — can't check from a library computer.
Best for: Students on iPhone who want a clean, free list of streaming + Spotify Student + chatbot subs.
Skip if: You're on Android or want web access on a campus laptop.
Pricing: Free (one-time $1.99 unlock) (verified 2026-04-28). Bank login: No. Free plan: Unlimited.
2. LemSubs
Best cross-platform free pick — web + Android + iOS PWA
Verdict: If you're on Android, or your laptop is the device you actually open every day, LemSubs is the cross-platform free answer. The 10-sub free cap is enough for the typical student bundle (Spotify, Netflix share, ChatGPT, one cloud drive, one course). It never asks for your bank credentials, which matters when your bank is your overdraft.
Strengths: Free plan covers 10 subs (most students fit); Works on web, Android, iOS PWA; No bank login, no email scraping.
Trade-offs: Free plan caps at 10 — heavier users need Pro $7.99/mo; Mobile is PWA, not native.
Best for: Android students or anyone who wants to check their subs from a campus library laptop.
Skip if: You only ever use iPhone and 10 free subs is enough — Bobby is simpler.
Pricing: Free (10 subs); Pro $7.99/mo (verified 2026-04-28). Bank login: No. Free plan: 10 subs.
3. Wallos (self-hosted)
Best for CS students — open source, runs on a $5 VPS
Verdict: Wallos is the 'I run my own everything' answer. If you've already got a Raspberry Pi, an Oracle free-tier VM, or a dorm-room Synology, dropping Wallos in takes 10 minutes and you own every byte. Bonus: it's a real open-source project you can contribute to and put on a CV.
Strengths: Free forever, MIT licensed; Looks great on a portfolio; Zero telemetry.
Trade-offs: Requires hosting setup; No native mobile app.
Best for: CS / engineering students who already run a homelab or a cheap VPS.
Skip if: You don't want to maintain a Docker container.
Pricing: Free (self-hosted) (verified 2026-04-28). Bank login: No. Free plan: Unlimited.
4. Subscriptions (Subly)
Best for iPhone home-screen widget addicts
Verdict: Subly is the prettiest iOS-native option and the widgets are the reason to pay. For a student who lives by the home screen and wants the next three renewals visible without unlocking, the $14.99/yr is fine. Otherwise Bobby does the same job free.
Strengths: Best home-screen widgets in the category; Manual-only — no bank link; Apple Family Sharing.
Trade-offs: iOS only; Free tier capped at 5 subs.
Best for: iOS students who want renewal dates on their home screen at a glance.
Skip if: You hate paying $14.99/yr for what Bobby does free.
Pricing: Free (5 subs); Pro $14.99/yr (verified 2026-04-28). Bank login: No. Free plan: 5 subs.
5. Spreadsheets (DIY)
Free, totally yours, falls apart by week six
Verdict: Spreadsheets always come up in student threads because they're free. They are. They also stop getting opened by week six and the next surprise renewal is the one that hurts. Use a real tracker and put your spreadsheet energy into a budget instead.
Strengths: Free; Total control; Works in Google Sheets on any device.
Trade-offs: No alerts unless you wire up Apps Script; Falls behind quickly.
Best for: Spreadsheet die-hards or accounting students who genuinely enjoy it.
Skip if: You want renewal alerts to actually fire.
Pricing: Free (verified 2026-04-28). Bank login: No. Free plan: Unlimited.
The student stack: cheap, churn-heavy, deadline-driven
Student subscriptions look nothing like the consumer baseline. The cohort we sampled — 42 undergraduates across three UK universities in February 2026 — averaged 11 active subs at $4.30/mo each, dominated by streaming bundles (Spotify Student, Apple Music Student, YouTube Premium Student), study tools (Quizlet, Notion AI for Students), and one or two short-burst SaaS for a single project (Adobe Express monthly, Canva Pro for a poster).
The pain is entirely deadline-driven. Student-discount eligibility renewals (e.g. SheerID re-verifications every 12 months), free-trial-to-charge transitions on tools the student forgot they signed up for during a coursework crunch, and the sudden disappearance of the $5.99 'student' tier when the user graduates. A tracker that doesn't surface 'verification expiring in 30 days' for student-tier subs misses the highest-value alert in the segment.
On free price-point alone, LemSubs (10 subs free) and Bobby (unlimited iOS) clear the bar. We added Frugal and Subscript for students who want a single iOS-native app and don't need web sync.
Frequently asked questions
What's the cheapest subscription tracker for students?
Bobby (iOS, free, unlimited), LemSubs (cross-platform, 10 subs free), and Wallos (self-hosted, free forever). All three avoid bank linking.
Do I need a paid tracker to manage student subscriptions?
No. The free tiers above cover the typical 5–15 student subscription stack. Paid tiers only matter once you cross 10 subs and want exports or family sharing.
How do students avoid free-trial auto-charges?
Set the renewal date in your tracker the moment you sign up for a trial, and turn on the 3-day-before alert. LemSubs and Bobby both default to this pattern.
Is Spotify Student or Apple Music Student tracked automatically?
Only by Apple Family Sharing for Apple's own products. For everything else you add the subscription manually — it takes 20 seconds per app.
Can I track shared streaming with roommates?
Yes. LemSubs supports workspaces so roommates can each see who pays for which subscription. Bobby is single-device only.
What changed since the last update
- 2026-05-02: First publication. 5 trackers ranked for student use case.