Subscription Finder for German Bank Accounts

Dieses Tool auf Deutsch: Abos finden und kündigen

What the subscription finder finds in your bank export

A subscription gives itself away by its rhythm: the same recipient, almost the same amount, at a fixed interval. The subscription finder looks for exactly that in your CSV export: monthly every 26 to 35 days, weekly every 6 to 8 days, quarterly every 84 to 98 days, semiannual every 175 to 190 days, yearly every 355 to 375 days. Subscriptions for streaming, music, software, cloud storage, fitness and news come first; contracts such as your phone, insurance or power, and other payments that repeat at one of these rhythms, follow.

No bank statement knows whether you use a subscription; it only sees charges. So you decide: check what you don't need, and the finder shows what that money would grow to in 20 years if you invested it every year instead. Notes that follow from the charges themselves sit next to each entry: when a price went up, when a subscription is new, or when you pay for several services of the same kind. “Remind me before” puts a calendar entry shortly before the next expected charge, and where there is no checked cancellation link, a cancellation letter you write here helps.

Below the list is your year as a story: what you spent, where most of it went, food delivery, your priciest month, your weekends, your savings rate. If your file covers a whole calendar year, the story is titled with that year; if it covers your last 12 months, it is titled “Your last 12 months”; otherwise it is called your transactions, and the exact period is always shown.

How to get the CSV file

Every bank calls it something else, but it is always the same thing: download your transactions from online banking as a CSV file. Pick the longest period your bank allows, ideally 13 months. The finder is only sure of a yearly plan once it has been charged twice, and in 13 months that happens only if the first charge falls right at the start; a larger one-off charge at a provider on its name lists therefore shows up as a possible yearly plan. Where a bank's menus are in German, the steps below keep the German labels as the bank's help page writes them; where we found no help page, that is said too.

If the finder does not know your bank, it reads the file by its column names: it looks for a date column and an amount column. If it finds neither, it says so and lists the banks whose exports it knows.

Subscriptions your bank statement cannot see

Some subscriptions never appear under their own name on your account, because someone else bills you. For those, only a look inside that account helps:

• Apple (App Store). What you subscribe to in the App Store is billed by Apple, not by the app's maker. On an iPhone the list is in Settings under your name and Subscriptions, on the web at account.apple.com; Apple itself suggests checking your bank or credit card statement when a subscription is missing there. In Germany you may also cancel an Apple subscription with immediate effect and get a prorated refund; for that, you contact Apple Support. Apple: view and cancel subscriptions; Apple Support: About canceling subscriptions in Germany, Israel, South Africa, or Türkiye.
• Google Play. Google bills for Play Store subscriptions. You find them under your subscriptions in Google Play; Google points out that uninstalling an app does not cancel its subscription. In Germany, certain subscriptions billed for more than a month at a time, such as yearly plans, can also be canceled immediately with a request for a partial refund; access then ends right away. Google Play: manage subscriptions.
• PayPal. If you pay a subscription with PayPal, your account often shows PayPal rather than the merchant; sometimes the payment reference names it. PayPal calls this an automatic payment; the list is in Settings under Payments. PayPal: automatic payments.
• Amazon. An Amazon charge can be an order, Prime, or a music or video subscription, and not every bank shows which. Your Amazon account lists the memberships and subscriptions that are running under Your Memberships and Subscriptions. Amazon: research an unknown charge.
• Klarna. What you pay through Klarna is often collected by Klarna; the merchant behind it then shows in your Klarna account, not on your bank statement.
• Credit card. If your credit card bills monthly, the subscriptions you pay with it show on your checking account as one combined charge; some cards instead charge each purchase separately. The individual merchants are on the card statement; the finder also reads the CSV export of the Sparkasse credit card and the comdirect Visa. Sparkasse: credit cards (German).
• Phone bill (third-party billing). Third parties can bill through your mobile phone bill, for streaming, music or subscriptions for example; your bank statement then shows only your phone company. A third-party block (Drittanbietersperre) is set up with your phone company. Bundesnetzagentur: third-party billing (German).

Where to cancel

You cancel with the provider, not with your bank, and fastest where you signed up. If you paid through a partner such as Apple, Google or your phone company, you cancel there; Netflix puts it this way: “If you don't see the cancellation option in your account, you'll need to cancel the account with your payment partner.”

For ongoing paid contracts you can sign up for on a website, § 312k of the German Civil Code (BGB) requires a cancellation button on that website. In German, the statute reads: „Der Unternehmer hat sicherzustellen, dass der Verbraucher auf der Webseite eine Erklärung zur ordentlichen oder außerordentlichen Kündigung eines auf der Webseite abschließbaren Vertrags nach Absatz 1 Satz 1 über eine Kündigungsschaltfläche abgeben kann.“ In short: a consumer must be able to cancel through a button on the website, labeled “Verträge hier kündigen” (cancel contracts here) or with equally clear wording. If the button is missing, you may cancel such a contract at any time without notice (§ 312k subsection 6). The duty does not cover financial services, which the law defines to include insurance (§ 312 BGB). A letter or an email usually suffices, since standard terms may not demand a stricter form than text form (§ 309 no. 13 BGB). This is general information, not legal advice about your contract.

The table links the help or cancellation pages of 100 providers. We opened and archived each page and quote a sentence from it about canceling; for 4 pages that show only a cancellation form (FitX, clever fit, DER SPIEGEL, and Deutschlandticket), we quote their title or heading. Where a provider only states its terms, the link says so. A Deutschlandticket is canceled with the transit company you bought it from. If a provider is missing, the cancellation letter in the finder above helps.

When an app is the better choice

The subscription finder sees only the file you give it, and forgets it again. If you want new charges caught as they happen, an app with access to your account is more convenient. Sparkasse has a Finanzplaner in its online banking that, according to Sparkasse, recognizes which contracts keep charging your account; it is free in principle, with fees only for switching or canceling a contract through its partners. Finanzguru’s free version connects your accounts, shows your contracts and lets you cancel in the app; more analyses cost €0.99 a week with Finanzguru Plus. The price is the access: both read your account continuously. The subscription finder trades that convenience for a file that never leaves your device. Sources: Sparkasse: Finanzplaner (German); Finanzguru: home page (German).

How the analysis works

First the finder reads the file: it recognizes your bank's layout by the header row, reads amounts to the cent and dates in German and English notation, and leaves out pending transactions, balance lines and rows without a date. Amounts in a file without a currency column are read as euros, so a file whose dates put the month first, or whose dates use slashes under English columns that name neither an IBAN nor a currency, is refused: it comes from an account abroad and would show dollars or pounds as euros. The finder is made for German accounts in euros. If you load the same account in two formats, such as Sparkasse’s CSV-CAMT and CSV-MT940, each transaction counts once. If you add your PayPal export, together with your bank file or afterwards (every further file joins the ones already read), its purchases replace the PayPal charges on your bank statement that fall within its date range, or that come up to 7 days after it for a purchase of the same amount; a credit card export with booked transactions likewise replaces the card's combined monthly charge. Then the finder assigns every transaction to a category by fixed rules, such as food delivery, groceries, rent or cash, using name lists that are part of our published rule file.

A recurring payment is a series of charges by the same recipient at the matching interval: at least 3 a month apart, 4 a week apart, 3 a quarter apart, 2 six months apart or 2 a year apart. Small swings up to 2% stay the same payment. A bigger rise or drop stays the same payment too, from the first charge at the new price, when it comes at the usual interval; the old price stands beside it (“price went up” or “was”), and when the amount keeps changing, it says “amount varies”. When a provider bills in a foreign currency, the subscription finder compares the amount in that currency if the file names it, as N26 and the PayPal export do; otherwise differences up to 8% count as exchange-rate movement. Quarterly, semiannual, and yearly payments may differ by one cent at most within one price, and so may charges at supermarkets, food delivery and transit, because ordinary shopping looks similar there. A payment counts as stopped when its next charge is overdue. A provider from our name lists (subscriptions, phone and internet, insurance, energy and broadcast fee) that you paid only once or twice, at least €20.00 each time, is listed as a possible yearly plan, and so are a membership fee and an insurance premium below €20.00. If the same provider also has a monthly plan, such a charge must be at least five times its monthly amount.

Two contracts with the same provider, such as car and liability insurance, are told apart by their amount and, where the file names them, by creditor ID and mandate reference; each gets its own row. For general names such as insurance or newspaper, the list shows the recipient from your file. A monthly rhythm with at least 5 charges and on average fewer than 29 days apart counts as “every 4 weeks”, with 13 charges a year. A weekly direct debit may have up to 6 weeks between two deliveries, such as a meal kit with pauses; its yearly cost then follows the actual deliveries. Bakeries, cafés, canteens, restaurants, pubs, kiosks, gas stations, supermarkets and drugstores never count as a recurring payment, even when you often pay the same there; the list follows the merchant categories of card payments (MCC). What the finder recognizes as taxes and fees such as property tax, daycare fees or the Rundfunkbeitrag stays in the list, but without a box to check, because there is nothing to cancel; so do payments it recognizes as going to bailiffs, job centers, the employment agency and the family benefits office, and compulsory contributions it recognizes to chambers, the artists’ social fund, accident funds and employers’ liability insurance associations. Loan, lease and installment payments, payments to debt collectors and child or spousal support are recognized by words and names from the finder’s lists; what it recognizes stands without a box and does not count toward the sum of checked payments. Not every installment carries such a word, so a payment under Other that the finder cannot match to a known provider has a note beside its box, whatever its rhythm. What it recognizes as retirement savings or health insurance stands without a box too, and the savings rate counts retirement contributions as spending. An insurer’s row that names no product, and a car’s liability cover, come with a note, as do disability, income protection and life insurance. Payments in criminal matters can be shown but not checked.

Transactions that can reveal something about your health, religion, a union, a political party, your love life, an experience of violence or a criminal matter are hidden, such as pharmacies, medical practices, counseling services, parishes, unions, parties, dating services, women’s shelters, probation services and fines. They count toward your total spending but appear in no list and no image; on your own screen you can show them.

The 20-year figure is the future value of yearly payments made at the end of each year with yearly compounding, the same math as our FIRE calculator. The default is its assumption of a 5% return after inflation, costs and taxes. For comparison, Pfau (2010, on data by Dimson, Marsh and Staunton) reports geometric mean real returns of 2.80% a year for German stocks from 1900 to 2008 and 6.01% for US stocks; those are index returns before costs and taxes.

What a subscription costs over 20 years

The table uses the same formulas as the finder: the monthly price times twelve, invested at the end of each year.

Your data

The subscription finder sends your file nowhere. It reads it in your browser and analyzes it in an isolated frame whose rule (default-src 'none') bars it from every connection: no requests, no images, no fonts. You can see that in this page's source. Such a frame could at most send itself to another address; this page's code never does, and our checks search every build for any command that would. Nothing is stored: no upload, no account, no browser storage. You can test it yourself: load the page, turn off Wi-Fi, then choose the file; the analysis still works. Below the file field the page also counts how many network requests it made since you chose the file.

Images to share, calendar entries and cancellation letters are made on your device too. In images, amounts stay hidden until you show them; names of people and hidden transactions never go in. With your consent in the cookie notice, this website measures page views and Google Analytics’ standard events with Google Analytics, such as how far you scroll and which links to other websites you click. Nothing from the subscription finder arrives there: it sends no events and nothing from your file, and Google Analytics does not measure clicks on links inside it, such as cancellation pages.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find all my subscriptions for free?

Your bank statement is the most complete free source: every subscription charged to your account repeats there at a fixed interval. Export the last 13 months as a CSV file and open it in the subscription finder above; you see every recurring charge the finder recognizes, with its yearly cost. Anything billed through Apple, Google, PayPal or a credit card needs a second look there, because your account often shows only the payment service’s name or one combined charge.

Where do I find my subscriptions on an iPhone or in Google Play?

On an iPhone: In Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions; on the web, go to account.apple.com. On Android: Go to your subscriptions in Google Play on your Android device; you cancel there too. Apple and Google describe these steps themselves. In Germany you may also cancel an Apple subscription with immediate effect through Apple Support and get the rest back prorated; Google Play offers this for certain subscriptions billed less often than monthly.

Why don't App Store subscriptions show up by name on my bank statement?

Because Apple or Google bills you, not the app's maker. Your statement then shows Apple or Google as the recipient, not the app. The subscription finder flags those charges as a blind spot; which subscriptions sit behind them only your Apple or Google account can tell you.

How do I find subscriptions that run through PayPal?

In PayPal, go to Settings, click Payments and select Subscriptions and saved businesses or Automatic Payments; you can cancel them there too. In the subscription finder you can also open your PayPal CSV export together with your bank export; for the period your PayPal export covers, the merchants behind the PayPal charges then show up in the list.

How far back should I check my statements?

13 months if your bank allows it. The finder spots a monthly subscription from 3 charges and a yearly one only once it appears twice, 355 to 375 days apart; a yearly plan charged once shows up as a possible yearly plan. Some banks show only one year: Commerzbank says “Sie können Ihre Umsätze bis zu 12 Monate rückwirkend einsehen.” (you can view transactions up to 12 months back).

Is it safe to let an app or ChatGPT analyze my bank statement?

It depends on where your data goes. An app with a bank login reads your account continuously through an interface; a chatbot gets the whole file on its servers. Either can be a deliberate choice; the terms are just different. Here the file stays on your device: the analysis runs in your browser inside an isolated frame that may not load or send anything, and the page shows how many network requests it made since you chose the file.

How do I cancel a subscription in Germany?

Usually where you signed up: in the provider's account settings, in the App Store or at PayPal. For ongoing paid contracts you can sign up for on a website, German law (§ 312k BGB) requires a cancellation button on that website, labeled “Verträge hier kündigen” (cancel contracts here) or with equally clear wording. If it is missing, you may cancel at any time without notice. The duty does not apply to insurance and other financial services. This is general information, not legal advice about your contract.

Can I get a direct debit back if I no longer want a subscription?

You can have a SEPA direct debit you authorized returned through your bank within eight weeks of the charge, without giving reasons; the money comes back. That does not end the contract, though: the provider will claim what you owe another way, often with costs. So cancel first. To stop future debits from a provider, your bank can set up a direct debit block (Lastschriftsperre).

Sources

1. Stadtsparkasse München: FAQ on account information, exporting transactions (German). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
2. ING Germany: online banking help, transactions and export (German). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
3. Commerzbank: how do I export my transactions? (German). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
4. Postbank: exporting transactions as CSV (German). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
5. Deutsche Bank: your new banking system (signing in with a Postbank ID). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
6. N26 Support: How to get a bank statement. Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
7. Revolut Help: Download an account statement for a specific currency. Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
8. PayPal Help (Germany): How do I view and download statements and reports? Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
9. DKB: what the DKB app can do, release notes (German). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
10. Apple Support: If you want to cancel a subscription from Apple (118428). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
11. Google Play Help: Cancel a subscription on Google Play. Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
12. PayPal Help (Germany): What is an automatic payment and how do I update or cancel one? Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
13. Bundesnetzagentur (German network regulator): third-party billing and subscription traps (German). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
14. Sparkasse: credit cards, billing (German). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
15. German Civil Code (BGB) § 312k, canceling consumer contracts concluded online (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
16. Deutsche Bahn: Deutschland-Ticket, 58 euros, 63 euros from January 1, 2026 (German; archive copy of November 30, 2025). Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
17. Wade D. Pfau (2010): An International Perspective on Safe Withdrawal Rates from Retirement Savings, Table 1 on page 11 (real stock returns 1900 to 2008 as geometric means, Dimson, Marsh and Staunton data). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
18. Bank file layouts: importer code and sample files from open-source projects (bank2ynab, Firefly III, beancount importers, BananaAccounting, ofxstatement, ynab-bank-imports, buchhaltung, hledger), each linked in our verification file to a fixed commit or an issue thread, and archived. Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
19. greggles/mcc-codes: public list of the merchant categories of card payments (merchant category codes) with the IRS and USDA descriptions; the basis of the everyday places that never count as a recurring payment. Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
20. Legal Services Act (RDG) § 2, legal services and debt collection services (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
21. German Civil Code (BGB) § 488, obligations under a loan agreement (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
22. German Civil Code (BGB) § 498, calling in an installment loan in full (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
23. German Civil Code (BGB) § 506, deferred payment and other financial accommodation such as leasing and installment purchases (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
24. German Civil Code (BGB) § 1601, persons obliged to pay maintenance (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
25. German Civil Code (BGB) § 1612, how maintenance is paid (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
26. Kreditbankenverband: member banks specialized in consumer and car finance; the basis of the lender names by which the finder recognizes installments (German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
27. BDIU: list of member debt collection companies; the basis of the collection agency names by which the finder recognizes payments to debt collectors (German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
28. Bavarian justice: the Landesjustizkasse Bamberg takes payments for courts, prosecutors and prisons, including fines and court costs (German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
29. Audi Bank: legal notice; Audi Bank is a branch of Volkswagen Bank GmbH (German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
30. Volkswagen Financial Services: history; ŠKODA Bank was founded as a branch office of V.A.G Bank. Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
31. CUPRA SEAT Germany: legal notice; names SEAT Bank, a branch of Volkswagen Bank GmbH (German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
32. Wikipedia: Mercedes-Benz Bank; the bank offers vehicle financing and leasing, among other things (German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
33. Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) § 753, enforcement by bailiffs (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
34. Social Code Book II (SGB II) § 6d, job centers (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
35. Social Code Book III (SGB III) § 367, the Federal Employment Agency (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
36. Income Tax Act (EStG) § 70, child benefit set and paid by the family benefits offices (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
37. Social Code Book X (SGB X) § 50, repaying benefits paid in error (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
38. Chambers of Industry and Commerce Act (IHKG) § 3, contributions of chamber members (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
39. Crafts Code (HwO) § 113, contributions to the chamber of crafts (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
40. Artists' Social Insurance Act (KSVG) § 15, contributions to the artists' social fund (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
41. Social Code Book VII (SGB VII) § 114, the statutory accident insurance carriers, among them the employers' liability insurance associations (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
42. Social Code Book VII (SGB VII) § 150, who must pay accident insurance contributions (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
43. Insurance Contract Act (VVG) § 193, the duty to hold health insurance (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
44. Insurance Contract Act (VVG) § 205, canceling health insurance (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
45. Insurance Contract Act (VVG) § 19, the duty to disclose before a contract (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
46. Social Code Book V (SGB V) § 175, choosing and leaving a statutory health fund (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
47. mediaFinanz: legal notice; a registered debt collection provider (German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
48. KSP Rechtsanwälte, a law firm: debt collection (German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
49. Arvato Financial Solutions (now Riverty): press release; Infoscore Forderungsmanagement GmbH was renamed Paigo GmbH (German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
50. Younited: group page; a consumer credit institution. Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
51. Social Code XI (SGB XI) § 23, compulsory long-term care insurance for the privately insured (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved November 1, 2026.
52. Compulsory Insurance Act (PflVG) § 1, the duty of a vehicle holder to insure (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved November 1, 2026.
53. Administrative Offences Act (OWiG) § 18, paying a fine in parts (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved November 1, 2026.
54. German Civil Code (BGB) § 1361, maintenance while spouses live apart (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved November 1, 2026.
55. German Civil Code (BGB) § 1569, self-reliance after a divorce (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved November 1, 2026.
56. Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken: online banking FAQ, transaction view (German). Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
57. Atruvia (the IT provider of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken): exporting transactions in online banking (MT940, CSV or PDF), German guide from 2023. Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
58. Volksbank pur: banking news, printing and exporting transactions in the VR Banking App (German). Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
59. Apple Support: About canceling subscriptions in Germany, Israel, South Africa, or Türkiye. Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
60. German Civil Code (BGB) § 675x, refunds of direct debits (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
61. BaFin: transfers and direct debits, objections and blocking (German). Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
62. Bundesportal: Debt; counseling (service description of the State of Bavaria). Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
63. Federal Statistical Office (Destatis): debt counseling atlas (German). Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
64. Verbraucherzentrale: spotting dubious debt counseling offers (German). Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
65. Sparkasse: Finanzplaner, digital household book (German). Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
66. Finanzguru: home page and FAQ, prices (German). Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
67. German Civil Code (BGB) § 312, scope and the term financial services (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 23, 2026.
68. German Civil Code (BGB) § 309 no. 13, the form of notices (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 21, 2026.
69. Income Tax Act (EStG) § 93, harmful use of subsidised retirement savings (gesetze-im-internet.de, German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
70. Verbraucherzentrale: registered mail for important letters, proof of delivery for cancellations (German). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.
71. Verbraucherzentrale Rhineland-Palatinate: frequently asked questions on disability insurance (German, PDF). Source, retrieved October 25, 2026.

Published November 1, 2026

The content is general information and does not replace individual medical, legal, tax or financial advice. The subscription finder works with the transactions in your file and with assumptions you can see and change. It is meant for adults.

More tools

What freed-up money means for your independence: the FIRE calculator. How much of a cushion you need for the unexpected: the emergency fund calculator. And where your net worth stands in Germany: the net worth percentile.

Content and tools on Wild Garden are published by the Wild Garden Editorial Team. How we research, check and correct errors is set out in our editorial standards.