Home / Cancellation Difficulty Index

INDEX 626 services ranked from easiest to hardest

Cancellation Difficulty Index

One score from 1 to 10 for every service we cover - how many steps it takes, how long it takes, and how hard the provider makes it to walk away.

Last updated 2 September 2026 626 services scored How the score works

The full ranking

10 services shown · 1 means you are out in seconds, 10 means a fight.

250 Patreon Publishing & creators · 5 min · Web or app store 2.8 Easy Self-serve on the web or in the app store, about 5 minutes over 5 steps. No cancellation fee; no pause or downgrade. Guide
280 Linktree Publishing & creators · 2 min · Web or app store 2.3 Easy Self-serve on the web or in the app store, about 2 minutes over 4 steps. No cancellation fee; a downgrade or free plan exists. Guide
317 beehiiv Publishing & creators · 2 min · Web 2.1 Easy Self-serve on the web, about 2 minutes over 4 steps. No refunds; a pause exists, no downgrade. Guide
346 The Washington Post Publishing & creators · 3 min · Web or app store 2.1 Easy Self-serve on the web or in the app store, about 3 minutes over 3 steps. No cancellation fee; no pause or downgrade. Guide
383 Vimeo Publishing & creators · 1 min · Web or app store 2.0 Easy Self-serve on the web or in the app store, about 1 minute over 4 steps. No cancellation fee; a downgrade or free plan exists. Guide
468 OnlyFans subscriptions Publishing & creators · 1 min · Web 1.8 Easy Self-serve on the web, about 1 minute over 3 steps. No cancellation fee; no pause or downgrade. Guide
485 The New York Times Publishing & creators · 3 min · Web or app store 1.8 Easy Self-serve on the web or in the app store, about 3 minutes over 3 steps. No cancellation fee; no pause or downgrade. Guide
501 Ghost Publishing & creators · 1 min · Web 1.7 Easy Self-serve on the web, about 1 minute over 3 steps. No refunds; a downgrade or free plan exists. Guide
554 Substack paid publication Publishing & creators · 2 min · Web or app store 1.6 Easy Self-serve on the web or in the app store, about 2 minutes over 4 steps. No cancellation fee; pause and downgrade exist. Guide
598 EmailOctopus Publishing & creators · 1 min · Web 1.4 Easy Self-serve on the web, about 1 minute over 3 steps. No cancellation fee; pause and downgrade exist. Guide

Showing 10 of 626 scored services.

How the score works

Six signals, fixed weights, the same formula for every service.

Each guide's verified difficulty rating fixes the band - Easy, Medium or Hard. Six signals, read from the same verified record, place the service inside that band. The weights below never change, and no score is adjusted by hand afterwards.

Time & steps 25%

The steps in the verified flow and the minutes it takes from the account page to a confirmation.

Route to cancel 20%

Self-serve on the web scores low. App-store billing sits in the middle; email, a support request or written notice scores high.

Obstacles 20%

Retention offers, surveys, extra confirmation screens and long flows recorded in the verified steps.

Findability 15%

Whether a direct link to the cancel page exists, and whether the app hides where the billing really lives.

Money after cancel 12%

Termination fees, notice periods billed in full and a no-refund policy, read from the fact rows and terms.

Pause or downgrade 8%

Whether a documented pause or a free plan exists as an alternative to cancelling outright.

What the bands mean

1 – 3.9 Easy Self-serve, no agent, done in about a minute.
4 – 6.9 Medium Extra screens, offers, or app-store billing.
7 – 10 Hard An agent, a notice period, or money lost on the way out.
Where the scores come from

Based on the cancellation flow each provider publishes - not on user reports.

Last updated 2 September 2026
Services scored 626
Sources Help pages, terms & billing docs
Corrections Reader reports, checked by hand
Read the full methodology

Missing a service? Tell us and we score it next.

Requests are reviewed weekly. Spotted something in a score that no longer matches the flow you saw? Send the correction and we check it.