Not a day goes by that I don’t wonder, “How much am I REALLY paying for subscription services?” It’s crazy how these costs add up so quickly. Jon Henshaw shares a free, open source tool that might work better than a spreadsheet.

SubGrid is a free, open-source tool that visualizes subscription costs to help manage monthly budget decisions more effectively.

You can give it a try via the browser…

…or download it and run on your machine in case you want to keep the information confidential. You can read the details in Henshaw’s article.

Running It Locally

Since it would be worrisome to not run it locally, I followed these ChatGPT generated instructions to run this locally on Zorin Core Linux installation (Windows 11 instructions appear at the end of this blog entry):

1) Install Python 3 (Zorin is Ubuntu-based)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python3
python3 --version

2) Download the project

sudo apt install -y git
git clone https://github.com/hoangvu12/subgrid.git
cd subgrid

(Repo structure is static files like index.html, styles.css, js/.) GitHub

3) Run the local server

python3 -m http.server 8000

4) Open it in your browser

Go to:

• http://localhost:8000

How It Worked

As you might guess, this was a flawless installation.

Yikes!

Wow, I hadn’t realized I was spending that much on Gen AI tools. I’m actually spending more on AI than I am on separate media services, which is a good thing, but sheesh.

Er, sorry. I blurred the image. It’s kinda embarrassing. Off to cancel some services.

Windows 11 Instructions

Below is the clean, reliable way to run subgrid on Windows 11 using Python as a local web server.

1. Install Python 3 (once)

1. Go to https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/
2. Download Python 3.x (64-bit).
3. Important: Check “Add Python to PATH” during install.
4. Finish installation.

Verify:

python --version

or

py --version

If that works, Python is ready.

2. Install Git (once)

1. Download Git for Windows:
   https://git-scm.com/download/win
2. Accept defaults.

Verify:

git --version

3. Download the subgrid project

Open PowerShell and run:

cd %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
git clone https://github.com/hoangvu12/subgrid.git
cd subgrid

You should now see files like:

• index.html
• styles.css
• js/

4. Run the local web server (Python)

From inside the subgrid folder:

python -m http.server 8000

If python doesn’t work, try:

py -m http.server 8000

You should see:

Serving HTTP on :: port 8000

5. Open it in your browser

Open any browser and go to:

http://localhost:8000

subgrid should load immediately.

Common fixes

Port already in use

python -m http.server 8001

Then open:

http://localhost:8001

Python not recognized

• Re-run the Python installer
• Ensure “Add Python to PATH” is checked
• Restart PowerShell

Optional: One-click launcher (BAT file)

Create run-subgrid.bat inside the subgrid folder:

@echo off
cd /d "%~dp0"
python -m http.server 8000
pause

Double-click → browser → done.

Key takeaway

• No Python packages needed
• No virtual environment
• Python is only acting as a static file server

If you want LAN access (other devices on your network) or a portable version on a USB drive, say so and I’ll give the exact commands.