The hardest subscriptions to cancel in 2026, ranked from our verified data

Each company gets points for every obstacle its verified record shows. Higher means harder; equal scores share a rank, the more-searched first. A dash means no notice rule is on file.

38 of the 114 companies score zero, and all of them let every customer cancel online without help. This list takes only self-service companies, lowest score first, then the most searched.

7 obstacles add points. Each is listed with how many of the 114 scored companies have it, most common first.

• Billed through an app store or partner: plans bought through an app store, carrier or partner are cancelled there. 44 companies (38.6%).
• Advance notice period: the request must arrive a set time before the billing date. 18 companies (15.8%).
• No online self-service: no website, app or account page where every customer can cancel alone, without an agent. 14 companies (12.3%).
• Cancellation or early-termination fee: the terms charge a fee to cancel or leave a contract early. 9 companies (7.9%).
• Phone call required: a call is the only remote way, sometimes besides a visit. 7 companies (6.1%).
• In-person visit required: a visit to a club, store or studio is the only way. 0 companies (0.0%).
• Mailed letter required: a mailed letter is the only remote way, sometimes besides a visit. 0 companies (0.0%).

Gyms & fitness average 1.3 across 7 companies, most often for an advance notice period (4 of 7). Streaming & entertainment average 0.9 across 28 companies, most often for billing through an app store or partner (24 of 28). Software & apps average 0.9 across 19 companies, most often for billing through an app store or partner (11 of 19). All 114 companies average 1.1.

1. 1

   Phone-only companies

   Call, get a confirmation number, note the date and agent's name, then send a cancellation letter as a dated written record.

2. 2

   Letter or in-person companies

   Follow cancelling a membership that requires a letter, sent by Certified Mail for proof of arrival.

3. 3

   Notice periods

   Count back from your billing date with the cancellation deadline calculator, and see cancelling a contract with a notice period.

4. 4

   Fees for leaving early

   Read the contract, and see what an early termination fee is.

5. 5

   App store billing

   Cancel where you pay: on iPhone or on Google Play. Deleting the app does not cancel the plan.

6. 6

   Charges after you cancelled

   See what to do when a company keeps charging after cancellation.

In our data it is Vivint, with 7.0 points from 3 obstacles: no online self-service except for add-ons; cancels by phone only; fee to cancel or leave early.

Of the 7 gyms we scored, the hardest are Crunch Fitness (3.0), Planet Fitness (2.7) and Gold's Gym (2.0). Crunch Fitness and Planet Fitness say rules vary by club or state. Gold's Gym is scored from one franchise location's terms. Gyms average 1.3, against 1.1 for all 114 companies. The gym membership by mail guide covers the written route.

Our records show which obstacles companies use, not their reasons. The most common are billing through an app store or partner (44), an advance notice period (18) and no online self-service for every customer (14). Federal law asks for an easy exit from online subscriptions: the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act requires "simple mechanisms for a consumer to stop recurring charges". The FTC's advice on free trials and auto-renewals explains your options, and our FTC click-to-cancel rule guide covers where that rule stands.

• Companies: the 114 with a verified record and at least 500 US searches a month for their top cancel query (Google Ads keyword data, October 2026). Records were checked against each company's own pages, the newest on November 1, 2026. Merged duplicates count once.
• Points: no online self-service, 3 points; phone call required, 2 points; in-person visit required, 3 points; mailed letter required, 2 points; advance notice period, 0.1 points per day of notice, counted up to 30 days; cancellation or early-termination fee, 2 points; billed through an app store or partner, 1 point. A score is the sum, rounded to one decimal.
• Routes are read by keyword from each record's description of how to cancel, not as a legal reading of the contract. Add-on-only routes do not count; a route for only some customers does not make a company self-service.
• Left out: records whose searches belong to another company or a generic phrase, payment processors, and records that a fresh check of the company's own pages did not support.
• Store billing comes from a record's billing route, or a trap saying plans bought through a store or partner cancel there. Notice comes from the structured notice rule on each record. Hours round up to whole days and business days count as days. Any component whose field is missing is skipped, never estimated.

Cite this page: Postbye, "The hardest subscriptions to cancel in 2026", https://postbye.com/guides/hardest-subscriptions-to-cancel, data checked November 1, 2026.