Cancellation Difficulty Ranker
Some subscriptions let you cancel with a single click. Others require a phone call, a 30-minute wait on hold, and a conversation with a trained retention agent whose job is to talk you out of leaving. This is not accidental — it is a deliberate strategy called a dark pattern, and it works. Research shows that every additional step in the cancellation process reduces cancellations by 10-15%.
This ranking shows every service in our database ordered by how difficult they are to cancel. You can see the cancellation method (web, app, or phone), the difficulty rating, and your likelihood of being offered a retention deal. Use the category filter to compare services within the same sector.
For step-by-step instructions on cancelling any specific service, click the cancel guide link next to its name.
Services ranked
152
Avg difficulty
2.2/5
Hard to cancel (4-5)
16
| Method | Retention Offer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Creative Cloud Software & Tools | Hard | web | high | £54.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| SiriusXM Music & Audio | Hard | web | high | $10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| David Lloyd Fitness & Health | Hard | web | high | £120.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Virgin Media Broadband & Mobile | Hard | web | high | £36.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Prime Video Streaming & Video | Hard | web | medium | £8.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| New York Times News & Magazines | Hard | web | high | $17.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Noom Fitness & Health | Hard | app | high | £32.25/mo | Cancel guide → |
| HelloFresh Food & Drink | Hard | web | high | £39.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Financial Times News & Magazines | Hard | web | high | £35.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Wall Street Journal News & Magazines | Hard | web | high | $38.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Nuffield Health Fitness & Health | Hard | phone | medium | £75.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| BT Broadband Broadband & Mobile | Hard | web | high | £32.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Sky Broadband Broadband & Mobile | Hard | web | high | £30.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Sky TV Streaming & Video | Hard | web | high | £26.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| McAfee Software & Tools | Hard | web | high | £7.49/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Norton 360 Software & Tools | Hard | web | high | £7.49/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Audible Music & Audio | Medium | web | high | £7.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Microsoft 365 Software & Tools | Medium | web | medium | £5.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Dropbox Software & Tools | Medium | web | medium | £9.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| NordVPN Software & Tools | Medium | web | medium | £12.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| The Times News & Magazines | Medium | web | high | £26.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| The Economist News & Magazines | Medium | web | high | £20.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Gousto Food & Drink | Medium | web | high | £34.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Amazon Music Unlimited Music & Audio | Medium | web | medium | £10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| ExpressVPN Software & Tools | Medium | web | high | £10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| The Telegraph News & Magazines | Medium | web | high | £13.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Bloomberg News & Magazines | Medium | web | medium | $34.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| The New Yorker News & Magazines | Medium | web | high | $12.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Washington Post News & Magazines | Medium | web | high | $12.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Whoop Fitness & Health | Medium | app | medium | £24.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| PureGym Fitness & Health | Medium | web | low | £29.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Beer52 Food & Drink | Medium | web | medium | £24.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Virgin Wines Food & Drink | Medium | web | medium | £25.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| TalkTalk Broadband & Mobile | Medium | web | medium | £26.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Plusnet Broadband & Mobile | Medium | web | high | £27.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Vodafone Broadband & Mobile | Medium | app | high | £15.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Three Broadband & Mobile | Medium | app | high | £12.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| EE Broadband & Mobile | Medium | app | high | £18.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| O2 Broadband & Mobile | Medium | app | high | £14.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Amazon Prime Other | Medium | web | medium | £8.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| TNT Sports Streaming & Video | Medium | web | medium | £29.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Avast Premium Security Software & Tools | Medium | web | medium | £4.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Barry's Bootcamp Fitness & Health | Medium | web | medium | £99.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Match.com Other | Medium | web | high | £29.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Ancestry Other | Medium | web | high | £21.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Disney+ Streaming & Video | Easy | web | high | £7.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| NOW TV Streaming & Video | Easy | web | high | £9.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Apple TV+ Streaming & Video | Easy | app | high | £8.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Paramount+ Streaming & Video | Easy | web | medium | £6.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Apple Music Music & Audio | Easy | app | medium | £10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| YouTube Music Music & Audio | Easy | web | low | £10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Grammarly Software & Tools | Easy | web | medium | £25.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Peloton Fitness & Health | Easy | web | medium | £12.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| ClassPass Fitness & Health | Easy | web | medium | £15.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| MyFitnessPal Fitness & Health | Easy | web | low | £15.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Xbox Game Pass Gaming | Easy | web | medium | £10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| PlayStation Plus Gaming | Easy | app | low | £6.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| YouTube Premium Other | Easy | web | low | £12.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| LastPass Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | £2.90/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Hulu Streaming & Video | Easy | web | high | $9.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Peacock Streaming & Video | Easy | web | medium | $7.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Discovery+ Streaming & Video | Easy | web | medium | £6.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Crunchyroll Streaming & Video | Easy | web | low | £7.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| MGM+ Streaming & Video | Easy | web | low | $6.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Calm Music & Audio | Easy | web | medium | £12.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Headspace Music & Audio | Easy | web | medium | £12.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Pandora Music & Audio | Easy | web | medium | $10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| SoundCloud Go Music & Audio | Easy | web | low | £5.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| iHeartRadio Plus Music & Audio | Easy | web | low | $5.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| 1Password Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | $2.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Dashlane Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | $4.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Surfshark Software & Tools | Easy | web | medium | £12.95/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Evernote Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | $14.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Slack Pro Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | £6.75/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Zoom Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | £11.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Copilot Pro Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | £19.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Figma Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | $15.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Sketch Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | $10.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Wired News & Magazines | Easy | web | low | £4.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| The Athletic News & Magazines | Easy | web | high | £7.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| The Independent News & Magazines | Easy | web | medium | £7.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Fitbit Premium Fitness & Health | Easy | app | low | £7.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Nike Training Club Fitness & Health | Easy | app | low | £14.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Apple Fitness+ Fitness & Health | Easy | app | low | £9.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Les Mills+ Fitness & Health | Easy | web | medium | £14.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Centr Fitness & Health | Easy | web | medium | $29.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Freeletics Fitness & Health | Easy | app | medium | £12.49/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Mindful Chef Food & Drink | Easy | web | medium | £34.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Simply Cook Food & Drink | Easy | web | medium | £9.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Graze Food & Drink | Easy | web | low | £11.95/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Abel & Cole Food & Drink | Easy | web | low | £30.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Oddbox Food & Drink | Easy | web | low | £14.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Pact Coffee Food & Drink | Easy | web | medium | £8.95/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Nintendo Switch Online Gaming | Easy | app | low | £3.49/mo | Cancel guide → |
| EA Play Gaming | Easy | web | low | £5.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Ubisoft+ Gaming | Easy | web | low | £14.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Humble Choice Gaming | Easy | web | medium | $11.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Twitch Turbo Gaming | Easy | web | low | $11.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Hyperoptic Broadband & Mobile | Easy | web | medium | £30.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Zen Internet Broadband & Mobile | Easy | web | medium | £36.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Twitch Other | Easy | web | low | $11.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Kindle Unlimited Other | Easy | web | medium | £9.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Blinkist Other | Easy | web | medium | £9.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| MasterClass Other | Easy | web | medium | £10.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Skillshare Other | Easy | web | medium | £11.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Coursera Plus Other | Easy | web | medium | £49.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| LinkedIn Premium Other | Easy | web | high | £29.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Bumble Premium Other | Easy | app | low | £32.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Tinder Plus Other | Easy | app | low | £14.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| DAZN Streaming & Video | Easy | web | low | £14.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| iCloud+ Software & Tools | Easy | app | low | £2.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Ocado Smart Pass Food & Drink | Easy | web | medium | £8.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Tesco Clubcard Plus Food & Drink | Easy | web | low | £7.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Hinge Other | Easy | app | low | £29.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| 23andMe Other | Easy | web | low | $6.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| LinkedIn Premium Other | Easy | web | high | £29.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| NOW Music Music & Audio | Easy | web | medium | £4.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Netflix Streaming & Video | Easy | web | medium | £10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Spotify Music & Audio | Easy | web | medium | £10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| TIDAL Music & Audio | Easy | web | low | £10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Deezer Music & Audio | Easy | web | low | £10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Canva Pro Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | £10.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Duolingo Plus Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | £6.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| The Guardian News & Magazines | Easy | web | low | £10.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Strava Fitness & Health | Easy | web | low | £6.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| BritBox Streaming & Video | Easy | web | low | £5.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| MUBI Streaming & Video | Easy | web | medium | £11.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Shudder Streaming & Video | Easy | web | low | £5.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Hayu Streaming & Video | Easy | web | low | £6.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Curiosity Stream Streaming & Video | Easy | web | low | $4.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Pocket Casts Music & Audio | Easy | web | low | £3.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Notion Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | $10.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| ChatGPT Plus Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | $20.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Medium News & Magazines | Easy | web | low | $5.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| GeForce Now Gaming | Easy | web | low | £9.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Apple Arcade Gaming | Easy | app | medium | £6.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Google Play Pass Gaming | Easy | app | low | £4.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Giffgaff Broadband & Mobile | Easy | web | low | £10.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Patreon Other | Easy | web | low | $5.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Deliveroo Plus Other | Easy | app | medium | £3.49/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Viki Streaming & Video | Easy | web | low | £5.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Acorn TV Streaming & Video | Easy | web | low | £6.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Readly News & Magazines | Easy | web | medium | £11.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Scribd News & Magazines | Easy | web | medium | $12.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| PressReader News & Magazines | Easy | web | low | £11.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Google One Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | £2.49/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Setapp Software & Tools | Easy | web | medium | $12.49/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Proton Mail Plus Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | $3.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Mullvad VPN Software & Tools | Easy | web | low | $5.00/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Gymshark Training Fitness & Health | Easy | app | low | £6.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Uber One Other | Easy | app | low | £5.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
| Just Eat Plus Other | Easy | web | low | £5.99/mo | Cancel guide → |
Frequently Asked Questions
How is cancellation difficulty scored?
Each service is rated 1-5 based on several factors: how many steps are required to cancel, whether you need to make a phone call, how many retention screens you have to navigate, whether there are time restrictions on when you can cancel, and community-reported difficulty from GoCancelIt users. A score of 1 means a simple one-click cancellation, while 5 means multiple phone calls, long hold times, and aggressive retention tactics.
What makes a service "hard" to cancel?
The most common friction points are: requiring a phone call when you signed up online, hiding the cancel button behind multiple "are you sure?" screens, putting you on hold for extended periods, requiring you to speak to a retention agent, and imposing early termination fees. These are often deliberate dark patterns designed to discourage cancellation.
Which category of services is the hardest to cancel?
Broadband and mobile providers are consistently the hardest to cancel, followed by TV packages like Sky. These services rely heavily on retention tactics because switching costs are high and customer acquisition is expensive. Streaming services and software subscriptions tend to be the easiest, with most offering simple online cancellation.
Is it legal for services to make cancellation difficult?
Under UK consumer law, cancellation should not be harder than sign-up. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 protect your right to cancel. If a service makes cancellation unreasonably difficult, you can complain to Trading Standards or cancel recurring payments directly through your bank.
What is a retention offer and how likely am I to get one?
A retention offer is a discount or upgrade offered when you try to cancel, designed to keep you subscribed. Services with "high" likelihood offer deals to 60-70% of customers who call to cancel. Even services with "low" likelihood occasionally offer small discounts. Use our Offer Checker tool for a personalised probability estimate.