We Reviewed 100+ Subscription Services. Here are the 20 we Recommend
Every day, we see new subscription services and products. New companies like Ipsy and Birchbox are sending beauty boxes while meal kit companies like Plated and Blue Apron are sending ingredients and recipes to customers every day.
Old companies like Microsoft and Adobe have also changed their business models to include subscriptions.
Are all these subscriptions worth it?
Our team spent a few days trying more than 100 subscription services. Here are the 20 we recommend.
Google Drive | $1.99/mo
There are many cloud storage services like Apple iCloud, OneDrive Box, and Dropbox but we believe that Google Drive is the best platform to use.
While these companies offer a similar product, it all comes to Google Photos and Google Docs. A Google Drive subscription gives you access to Google Photos where you can store and view unlimited photos.
Learn more about Google Drive here.
Evernote | $2.99/mo
Every device you use comes with a free note-taking app. Apple has Notes, Google has Keep, Samsung has Notes, and Microsoft has OneNote.
However, we believe that Evernote offers the best platform to take and store notes. You can use the free package or upgrade for $34 a year for the Plus package.
Google’s Keep is also ideal, but it offers little functionality.
Learn more about Evernote here.
Medium | $5/Month
If you like to read from the best writers, and you should, we recommend Medium. On Medium, you will find curated articles from the best writers.
With the free account, you can read most articles, but if you want to read deep articles, we recommend that you subscribe to their flat $5 subscription.
Learn more about Medium here.
Amazon Prime | $12.99/mo
Amazon is dominating every industry today. Amazon Prime is their flagship subscription product.
This subscription gives you free two-day shipping, prime video subscription, unlimited photo storage, free same-day delivery, and unlimited reading.
We believe this deal is an unbeatable deal. Better still, you can share the subscription as a family.
You can try Amazon Prime here.
Spotify |$9.99/mo
Many companies like Amazon, Google, Pandora, and Microsoft have developed their music subscription service.
If you are not subscribed to Amazon Prime, which offers unlimited music, we believe that Spotify has the best service. It is compatible with all devices, including the Amazon Echo.
You can even use the ad-supported Spotify version for free.
Netflix |$7.99/mo
If you are cord cutting like many people, we recommend moving to Netflix, which is the best in class in its industry.
To save on its cost, you can team up with your best friend and pay for the premium or standard package. By cost sharing, you will be able to save a few dollars per year.
Try Netflix here.
Moviepass | $7.99/Mo
If you like visiting film theaters, Moviepass offers a simplified method to access all theaters for a fixed price of $7.99 a month.
With this subscription, you can visit theaters like AMC and Cinemark as many times as you want per month.
Try Moviepass here.
Headspace | $7.99/Mo
For years, research has shown the benefits of meditation. Most prominent people like Melinda Gates, Oprah, and Ray Dalio have openly talked about their meditation routines.
Headspace is a free service that helps people in meditation. To get personalized services, you can upgrade for $7.99/mo.
Try Headspace here or try its closest competitor, Calm here.
Tastemade | $7.99/mo
If you are passionate about cooking, Tastemade is your ideal app. The app contains thousands of cooking tutorials from ordinary people and professional chefs.
You can use the free package but, we recommend paying the $7.99 monthly fee and get unlimited videos, in-depth classes, free shipping, and no ads.
Try Tastemade here.
Dollar Shave Club | $9/mo
If you are used to paying more than $20 for a shaving blade, I recommend you move to Dollar Shave Club. It offers equally good products for less than $10.
With this subscription, you will get all the shaving products you need. This price includes the shipping cost.
Try DSC here or try its competitor Harry’s here.
Billie | $9/mo
Billie is the female version of Dollar Shave Club. As a first subscriber, the company will ship you a grooming package that includes a Billie handle, a magnetic holder, and two 5-blade razor cartilages. After that, they will send you replacement blades at your pace.
Using their service can save you money because on average, women spend more than $20 a month on shaving razors.
Try their product here.
Memrise | $4.90/mo
Research shows that learning a new language can help your interpersonal skills. Since you probably don’t have the time to go to a class to learn a new language, Memrise can help you on that.
You can use their free package, which allows you to learn more than 200 new languages. We, however, recommend that you pay the $4.99 subscription, which offers more features to make your learning experience better.
Try their service here, or try their competitors Duolingo and Rosetta Stone.
Skillshare | $8/mo
If you want to learn something new, we recommend you try the freely available Khan Academy. If the course you want to learn is not available at Khan, we recommend you use Skillshare. It has a catalog of thousands of courses in business, technology, design, photography, film, and writing.
Other learning apps you can try are Udemy, Coursera, and EDX.
You can learn more about Skillshare here.
Envato | $19/mo
If you do online creative work like blogging, and design, we recommend Envato. The $19 monthly subscription gives you access to more than 400K stock photos, more than 440 Wordpress themes, more than 18K presentation and graphics assets, and more than 1,000 courses.
This is an unbeatable deal considering companies like Shutterstock and Adobe charges $49 and $99 respectively for stock photos alone.
You can check out the offer here.
Magzter | $9.99/mo
Magzter is the Netflix of magazines. If you like reading titles like Elle, Marie Claire, Popular science, and Cosmopolitan, you can save hundreds of dollars per month by using Magzter.
The company offers you unlimited access to more than 4000 global magazines for a monthly fee of $9.99.
Learn more about Magzter here, or try the alternative companies like Readly, Issuu, and Zinio.
Hulu | $7.99/mo
If you don’t like the offerings at Netflix and Amazon, Hulu is an ideal alternative. It has thousands of movies and TV series.
Like with Netflix, you can share the subscription with a friend or your roommate.
You can try Hulu here.
Shopify | $29/mo
If you want to set up an online store, you can talk to web developers who will charge you thousands of dollars.
Alternatively, you can use Shopify to set up an attractive and powerful online store. The company’s platform has hundreds of features like payment processing, thousands of free themes, file storage, and discount codes among others.
You can try Shopify here.
Wix | $8.50/mo
If you want a simple website or blog, we recommend you use Wix. Wix provides a robust platform, which can help you create a regular site within minutes. You can use the basic package, which costs $4.50 but we recommend using the combo package, which removes Wix ads from your website.
You can try Wix here, or you can check out its competitors like SquareSpace and Weebly here and here.
Audible |$14.95/mo
Audio books are trending these days, and Audible is the market leader.
An audible subscription gives you a free audio book every month, an ad-free listening experience, and exclusive books.
As a new subscriber, the company will give you a free monthly subscription, with one book for free.
You can try Audible here.
Bark Box | $20/mo
As a subscriber, the company will send you a box filled with at least two toys, two all-natural bags of treats, and a chew.
Since there is no annual commitment, I recommend that you cancel your subscription after a few months.
Left on Purpose
As you have realized, we have left some of the most popular subscription services like Ipsy and Birchbox, which provide monthly beauty boxes. We also left meal kit companies like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, Software like Microsoft Office 365 and Adobe, and fashion companies like Stitch Fix and Rent the Runway.
Frankly, we don’t believe these products are worth it. For software like Office and Adobe, we recommend buying the software, and not paying a monthly subscription.