LemSubs vs Google Sheets Subscription Tracker
Free spreadsheet template — works for tiny portfolios, breaks down beyond that
A Google Sheets subscription tracker is the most popular DIY option — there are thousands of free templates that give you columns for name, cost, billing cycle, renewal date, and category, plus a few formulas to total monthly and annual spend.
For a handful of subscriptions, this is genuinely fine. The cracks show as the portfolio grows: no real renewal alerts (you'd build Apps Script), no overlap detection, no health scoring, no refund window tracking, no cancel guides, and the manual upkeep becomes the actual work.
LemSubs starts free with unlimited subscriptions, gives you the spreadsheet visibility you're used to, and adds the active intelligence layer that makes the tracker actually drive savings. Every LemSubs account also exports back to Google Sheets, so you keep the spreadsheet workflow if you want it.
Google Sheets Subscription Tracker pricing
Free
Google Sheets Subscription Tracker is best for
Users with under 10 subscriptions who want a free, manual tracker
Where Google Sheets Subscription Tracker wins
- Completely free
- Endlessly customizable
- Lives in Google Drive alongside other docs
- No vendor lock-in
Where Google Sheets Subscription Tracker falls short
- No real renewal alerts (Apps Script DIY)
- No overlap detection or health scores
- No refund window tracking or cancel guides
- Manual upkeep scales linearly with portfolio size
Frequently asked questions
Is a Google Sheet enough for tracking subscriptions?
For under 10 subscriptions and high tolerance for manual work — yes. Beyond that, the upkeep cost and missing alerting/optimization usually outweigh the 'free' label.
Can I move from a sheet to LemSubs easily?
Yes — LemSubs imports directly from Google Sheets and CSV in seconds, with vendor auto-detection to fill in logos and pricing.
Does LemSubs replace my spreadsheet?
Only if you want it to. LemSubs has native Google Sheets export, so you can keep the sheet as your secondary view and let LemSubs run the alerting and optimization layer.
Why upgrade from a sheet?
Real renewal alerts, refund window countdowns, overlap detection, health scoring, and 50+ cancel guides — all of which are painful to build from formulas.