Keep Above
Software subscription: pay yearly or monthly
The same software, two price tags. This calculator totals both over the months the subscription would actually stay in use — with the annual side paying one whole payment for every year or part-year started, which is what switching tools in month nine really costs. The break-even month is stated as a fact, the month-by-month table shows the crossings, and no winner is declared.
A part-year still costs a whole annual payment
Put in the monthly price and the yearly price for the same thing. Nothing here is read from your accounts, and nothing is saved.
| Yearly | Monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| One payment | — | — |
| Payments over the period | — | — |
| Total over 12 months | — | — |
| Works out per month | — | — |
This is one of the tools built into Keep Above
Keep Above is a budgeting app where you enter your bills and income and it works out the balance you need to keep — so you can see what's safe to spend. No bank connection, no ads on your data.
About this calculator
Why does a part-year cost a whole annual payment?
Because that is how annual billing works: month 13 triggers a full second year, and a subscription dropped in month nine still cost the whole annual price. Pro-rating would smooth away exactly the lumpiness this comparison exists to show; the month-by-month table makes each renewal's jump visible.
What does the months field do here?
It sets how long the subscription would actually stay in use — tools get replaced and projects end, and the two billing shapes price that differently. The totals, the break-even month and the table run over that span, with the annual side charged a whole payment for every year or part-year inside it.
Why do the per-month figures show cents?
Rounding $119 a year to $10 a month beside a $10 monthly price would destroy the exact comparison the page exists for, so the per-month row keeps two decimals while everything else stays whole.