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by mguhlin

Subscriptions Add Up

EdTech

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 d**ownload 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.