AI Subscription Cost Calculator: How Much Are You Really Spending?

Most people don't know how much they spend on AI subscriptions. It's the same problem as streaming services. You sign up for one, then another, then a third. Each feels small individually. Combined, they're a real line item in your budget.

I did this exercise myself and the number was worse than I expected. Here's a framework to figure out your actual AI spending and whether you're getting your money's worth.

Step 1: List Everything

Go through your credit card or bank statements for the past three months. Look for charges from:

• OpenAI (ChatGPT Plus, API usage)
• Anthropic (Claude Pro, API usage)
• Google (Google One AI Premium / Gemini Advanced)
• Microsoft (Copilot Pro)
• Any other AI tools: Jasper, Copy.ai, Midjourney, Runway, GitHub Copilot, Cursor

Don't forget the ones bundled into other services. GitHub Copilot might be on your GitHub bill. Gemini Advanced might be on your Google One bill. Copilot Pro might be on your Microsoft 365 bill. AI costs hide in bundles.

Step 2: Calculate Your Monthly Total

Here's a common scenario I see. A knowledge worker in 2026 might have:

That's $720/year on AI tools. Some people I've talked to spend more. Developers with Cursor Pro ($20/mo) on top of the above are at $80/month. Content creators with Jasper or Runway add even more. One freelancer I know was spending $115/month on AI tools before he realized what was happening.

Step 3: Track Your Actual Usage

For two weeks, note which AI tool you reach for each time. Not which one you think you use most. Which one you actually open. You might discover:

• You use ChatGPT daily but Claude only twice a week
• You haven't opened Midjourney in three weeks
• GitHub Copilot autocomplete is helpful but you ignore its suggestions 60% of the time
• You subscribed to Gemini for the storage and rarely use the AI features

Most people find they have at least one subscription they're barely using. That's an immediate cancel.

Step 4: Calculate Cost Per Use

Take each subscription's monthly cost and divide by how many times you used it that month.

If you use ChatGPT Plus 100 times a month, that's $0.20 per interaction. Reasonable. If you use Claude Pro 15 times a month, that's $1.33 per interaction. Expensive for a chat session. If you used Midjourney 3 times, that's $3.33 per image generation session. Worth questioning.

This math strips away the "it's only $20" psychology and shows you what you're actually paying per use.

Step 5: Identify Overlap

Here's the question that saves the most money: how many of your subscriptions do roughly the same thing?

ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro are both general-purpose AI assistants. They both handle writing, analysis, coding, and Q&A. You might prefer one for certain tasks, but they overlap heavily. Paying for both means paying twice for 80% of the same capability.

The same overlap exists between ChatGPT and Gemini Advanced, or between Claude and Gemini. The models differ in quality and style, but the use cases overlap significantly.

Step 6: Consider the Aggregator Math

Admix charges $10/month for access to GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, and 350+ AI models. Let's run the substitution math on common scenarios:

Note: specialized tools like GitHub Copilot (IDE integration) or Midjourney (image generation) serve different functions than general-purpose AI. An aggregator replaces general-purpose subscriptions, not specialized ones.

Step 7: Take Action

Based on the analysis above, you'll likely fall into one of these buckets:

You have subscriptions you forgot about. Cancel them today. This is free money.

You have overlapping general-purpose AI subscriptions. An aggregator may replace them. On Starter, the monthly saving ranges from $10 against one $20 plan to $55 against a $65 stack. Check that the 500-credit allowance fits your use before canceling anything.

You have one subscription and it's working fine. Maybe you don't need to change anything. If one model covers your needs and $20/month feels fair, keep it. Not everyone needs to optimize.

The point of this exercise isn't to spend $0 on AI. These tools provide real value. The point is to spend intentionally rather than accumulating subscriptions on autopilot. I cut my AI spending from $65/month to $10/month and didn't lose any capability I actually use. Your numbers will differ, but the framework is the same.