How to pause a subscription instead of cancelling

Pausing is the middle ground between paying for something you aren't using and cancelling it outright. Billing stops for a set time, the account stays as it is, and the subscription starts again on its own when the pause ends. Whether you can pause depends on who bills you: some companies offer it, Google Play lets some apps offer it, and Apple's support guidance for subscriptions it bills doesn't describe one. Here is how to tell which applies to you, and what to do when there is no pause button.

What a pause does, and what it doesn't

A pause is a hold, not a cancellation. While it lasts you normally aren't charged, and depending on the service you may lose access or keep a limited version. When the pause ends, billing restarts without you doing anything. The details — how long you can pause, how often, and what you can still use — are set by the company, so read the confirmation screen before you accept.

Step 1: Find out who bills you

The pause option, if there is one, lives with whoever takes the payment:

• The company itself (you signed up on its website): look in your account on its site or app.
• Google Play (you subscribed in an Android app): look in Google Play's subscription settings.
• Apple (you subscribed in an iPhone app): see the Apple section below.

If you're not sure which it is, the receipt email for the last charge usually tells you.

Pausing a subscription you pay the company for directly

Open your account on the company's website or app and go to the membership, plan or billing section. Look for Pause, Hold, Skip or Take a break; delivery and box services often call it skipping a delivery. Some companies only offer a pause once you start to cancel, as an alternative on the way out. If you go through the cancellation flow to look for one, read each screen carefully so you don't cancel when you meant to pause, or the other way round. Once you've paused, keep the confirmation email: it should show the date billing restarts.

Pausing a Google Play subscription

Google Play has a built-in pause, but only for apps that offer it. Google says pause lengths can range from one week to three months.² To pause:

1. Open your subscriptions on Google Play: on your Android phone, open Settings, tap Google, then Manage your Google Account, then Payments & subscriptions, then Manage subscriptions.
2. Select the subscription and tap Manage.
3. Tap Pause payments, set how long, and tap Confirm.

You can resume at any time by opening the subscription again and tapping Resume.² If you don't see Pause payments, that app doesn't offer it; your choices are to change plan or cancel.

Subscriptions billed by Apple: no pause button

Apple's support guide for subscriptions it bills explains how to cancel and doesn't describe a pause option.¹ To review one, open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, and tap the subscription. Some apps you pay for through Apple may still offer their own break or a cheaper plan inside the app, so it's worth checking the app's account screen. Otherwise, use one of the alternatives below.

When there's no pause: three alternatives

1. Cancel and come back later. When you cancel, you normally keep access until the end of the period you've already paid for, and there is no charge after that. Before you rely on getting your history back, check the company's help pages for how long it keeps your account and data after cancellation. See how to stop a subscription from auto-renewing and how to cancel subscriptions on iPhone.
2. Downgrade. A cheaper tier, such as an ad-supported plan or less storage, cuts the cost without leaving. For a Google Play subscription, Google says you can switch plans or billing periods in the app if the developer allows it.² For other subscriptions, look in the same place you would cancel.
3. Switch billing period. If the break is because a yearly renewal is coming up at a bad time, moving to monthly billing can let you stop sooner later. Compare the totals before you switch.

Pause or cancel?

Pause when the break is short and has a clear end, the service offers a pause, and you'd rather not set the account up again. Cancel when you don't know how long the break will last, when the service keeps your account after cancelling anyway, or when there's no pause option and you'd rather stop paying now than decide later.

Don't lose track of the restart date

A pause is designed to end. The charge that follows it is easy to forget, because nothing has been billed for weeks or months. When you pause, write down the restart date and set a reminder a few days before it, so you can decide in time whether to resume, extend or cancel. ManageSubs can help with that: add the subscription yourself with the restart date as its next renewal date, and it reminds you before that date. It doesn't see your bank or the merchant's billing, so the reminder is only as accurate as the date you enter; check the confirmation email when you pause. See how to set subscription reminders on iPhone for other ways to get that heads-up.