My AI Stack Costs 40 Dollars a Month, and That's the Audit

I audited my AI spend and it was forty dollars a month across two tools I use daily. The six others I'd cancelled added up to more than the two earned, which is the whole point of the audit.

The test that cut them was simple: a 30-day 'miss it to resubscribe' challenge. Most I didn't miss, because they were aspirational, bought on a demo, forgotten by Friday. The FOMO was cheaper than the fees.

Cheap per tool hides the total. Five ten-dollar subscriptions feel harmless and cost a dinner a month. One forty-dollar plan for the tool you actually live in is cheaper and less cluttered.

If your subscriptions outnumber your daily tools, you're paying for potential, not use. Cancel the potential and watch how little you miss. Forty dollars bought me the two that mattered.

Updated October 28, 2026: the audit method below still holds - it's the 30-day test that does the work.

Frequently asked questions:

Q: How much should an AI stack cost?

A: Mine is $40 a month across two tools I use daily. The six others I cancelled added up to more than the two earned.

Q: How do you decide what to cancel?

A: The 30-day 'miss it to resubscribe' challenge. Most tools you won't miss - they were aspirational, bought on a demo, forgotten by Friday.

Q: Why not keep several cheap subscriptions?

A: Cheap per tool hides the total. Five ten-dollar plans cost a dinner a month; one $40 plan for the tool you live in is cheaper and less cluttered.