Are you overpaying for AI tools?

Tier too high

Who: subscribers on $100+ tiers who rarely hit lower-tier limits

Wasted: Claude Max 5x $100 vs Pro $20: $80. Cursor Super $100 vs Premium $30: $70. Windsurf Max $200 vs Pro $20: $180

Fix: Drop one tier for a month and see if you hit the limit.

Assumption: your usage fits the lower tier. Tier usage limits are not on the pricing pages.

Source: claude.com, checked 2026-10-15

Source: cursor.com, checked 2026-10-15

Source: windsurf.com, checked 2026-10-15

Too many chat apps

Who: anyone with two or more of ChatGPT, Google AI, Grok, Claude, Perplexity

Wasted: the cost of the extras, e.g. ChatGPT Plus $20 + Claude Pro $20 + Perplexity Pro $17 (billed yearly) = $57/mo; keeping one saves $37 to $40

Fix: Keep the one you open daily; use free tiers for the rest.

Assumption: one assistant covers your daily questions.

Source: help.openai.com, checked 2026-10-16

Source: claude.com, checked 2026-10-15

Source: www.perplexity.ai, checked 2026-10-16

API over flat plan

Who: solo devs with a $100+/mo Claude API bill for their own coding

Wasted: your bill minus $100/mo (Claude Max from $100)

Fix: Try Max for one month and compare.

Max usage limits are not on the pricing page. Production or team API use does not move.

Source: claude.com, checked 2026-10-15

Two coding editors

Who: anyone paying for 2+ of Cursor, Copilot, Windsurf, Zed, JetBrains AI

Wasted: $10 to $39 per extra tool per month (Copilot Pro $10, Zed Pro $10, Windsurf Pro $20, Cursor Premium $30, Copilot Pro+ $39; JetBrains AI price unverified)

Fix: Keep the one you open every day.

Assumption: one editor covers your daily work.

Source: github.com, checked 2026-10-15

Source: zed.dev, checked 2026-10-15

Source: windsurf.com, checked 2026-10-15

Source: cursor.com, checked 2026-10-15

Cursor + Claude overlap

Who: Claude Code users who also pay for Cursor Premium

Wasted: $22 to $30/mo (Premium $30; Plus $8)

Fix: Drop Premium, or go down to Plus.

cursor.com/pricing: third-party model usage "is not included in the monthly prices shown and must be purchased separately". claude.com/pricing lists Claude Code in Pro. Assumption: Claude Code covers your editor agent work.

Source: cursor.com, checked 2026-10-15

Source: claude.com, checked 2026-10-15

Uncapped overages

Who: Copilot users past their included AI credits and Cursor users on third-party models

Wasted: no fixed amount; it is uncapped unless you set a limit

Fix: Set a spending cap in billing settings today.

github.com: "1 AI credit = $0.01 USD". Amount depends on your usage.

Source: github.com, checked 2026-10-15

Source: cursor.com, checked 2026-10-15

Monthly, not yearly

Who: long-term subscribers

Wasted: Claude Pro $20 vs $17 yearly: $3. Midjourney Standard $30 vs $24: $6

Fix: Switch to yearly once you are sure you will keep it.

Requires paying for the year upfront.

Source: claude.com, checked 2026-10-15

Source: docs.midjourney.com, checked 2026-10-16