building a subscription tracker that grew to 195 sign-ups

project type

personal

company

xtrackr

industry

finance, b2c

link

download xtrackr

role

brand design, web design, mobile app design, ui design, art direction

date

Jan 2, 2025

—

present

at a glance

how could people avoid surprise renewals across currencies without maintaining a spreadsheet?

the challenge · subscription tracking

195 sign-ups, 19 subscribers and over 185 subscriptions tracked. available on ios and android.

outcome · xtrackr

view source

background

xtrackr is a subscription tracker that helps you track renewals, avoid surprise charges and manage all your subscriptions in one place. started in may 2025 by myself and Aremu Oluwagbamila and launched in september, 2025 amongst friends and family, the app has grown to 195 sign-ups, 19 subscribers and over 185 subscriptions tracked. available on ios and android.

problem

a random spotify billing disrupted my day and forced me into a full finance experiment. i collated all active subscriptions i could remember from multiple sources and carefully input them into a spreadsheet, loaded with formulas and integrations. the goal was simple; to calculate all my spendings across several currencies (naira, euro, us dollar), along with billing/renewal dates so that i never get surprise billings ever again. this experiment evolved into what is now known as xtrackr.

solution

xtrackr removes the need for a spreadsheet or manual input. simply upload your bank account statement to extract subscriptions automatically. xtrackr gets names, start dates, frequencies and automatically computes renewal periods. you can also manually enter your subscriptions in the case of free trials so you’re never caught unawares. you get reminders 7 day before your subscription expires (push notifications, emails), helping you structure your finances better and avoid unprecedented charges.