Original video in Chinese.
Key Takeaway
- Daily AI tools: Gemini Pro (20 USD, balanced and generous), Grok via Premium+ (20 USD, accurate and tolerant), Raycast (8 USD calling Perplexity), total 48 USD.
- Vibe Coding tools: Claude Code 100 USD (efficient and leading), U.S. static IP 35 USD, VPS 12 USD (encrypted relay), total 147 USD.
- Total spending and value: 195 USD per month (about 1000+ RMB), more worthwhile than entertainment, with a tenfold return; the most advanced tools are highly cost-effective, and I encourage everyone to share their main tools.
Let’s figure it out together: how much do I spend on AI every month? And why did I choose these AI tools as my daily mainstays?
Let’s start with the ones I use most often. I haven’t used ChatGPT for a long time. What I use most now are Gemini and Grok.
I subscribe to Gemini’s Pro tier, which costs 20 USD a month. That tier is enough for me. I used to subscribe to Max too, but I felt the extra quota, such as using Veo 3 to create videos, was something I never really used in daily life. And I heard the Thinking mode wasn’t that great. So I’ll keep subscribing to Pro.
My biggest impressions of Gemini are two things:
First, it is very well balanced. The context window is huge, its reasoning and search are both very good, and its integration with the Google ecosystem is excellent too. If you compare it side by side, you’ll find it’s just a well-rounded tool.
Second, Google is very generous. It won’t be like the one next door, limiting you all the time when you use it too much, and it won’t restrict your access on the network side either.
So overall, if I could only choose one daily AI tool to subscribe to, I would definitely choose Gemini.
So since Gemini is so good, why do I still need Grok?
Because Grok was basically “thrown in for free.”
At first, I really didn’t plan to use Grok. Back then, I subscribed to X’s Premium service purely to get the blue check on X, and it unlocked a bunch of features for me, including Grok.
After using it for a while, I found Grok 3 to be pretty good. It has the features it should have, and it’s fairly tolerant on the network side too. And it can search data on X, which is very important. So I ended up using it more and more.
Right now I’m subscribed to Premium+, which costs 255 HKD a month, or about 32 USD. If you exclude the X platform features included in the subscription, then Grok itself is probably also about 20 USD. I think that price is very reasonable.
The Premium+ tier belongs to Super Grok, and it can use the Grok 4 Expert model. In terms of reasoning ability, this model is absolutely no worse than Gemini 2.5 Pro. In some responses to certain questions, it’s even more accurate. I tried having the two models answer the same question at the same time, and the answers were different. I gave Grok’s answer to Gemini, and Gemini also admitted that the other side’s answer was more accurate and considered things more thoroughly.
But Grok 4 has one small issue: its answers are rather stiff. It feels a bit like Gemini did a year ago. But I don’t mind much. Using it together with Gemini in daily life is very convenient, and it helps me quite a lot.
So my two high-frequency daily AI tools, Gemini and Grok, cost me 40 USD a month in total. On top of that, for convenience, I also subscribe to Raycast, which is 8 USD a month. I’ve bound it to a hotkey, and when I need a simple search, I use it to call Perplexity’s model. So that brings the total to 48 USD.
But that’s not all. Next is Vibe Coding.
In this area, without a doubt, I definitely subscribe to Claude Code. It has three tiers: 20, 100, and 200.
I first subscribed to the 20 USD tier. But that tier doesn’t include the Opus model, and the usage limit is a bit smaller too. When my project moves from the development stage into the operation stage, I’ll downgrade to that tier. But right now, I’m still using the 100 USD tier. After more than a month of use, it feels just right for me.
Why do I keep recommending Claude Code? If you look at ratings, if Claude Code is 100 points, other models and tools are probably in the 70s or 80s. But in production, that gap of 20 or 30 points means Claude Code can get it done in one shot, while others may need two or even three tries. That efficiency is too low, and once it piles up, you don’t know what will happen. So I really don’t dare to gamble with my own project.
I still hold the same view: you must use the most advanced AI tools. And the most advanced ones are definitely the most cost-effective too.
Just the 100 USD subscription isn’t enough. For well-known reasons, to use Claude Code in China, you also need one more thing:
A U.S. static residential IP.
This IP serves as a disguise, making the other side think you’re a U.S. user, so they won’t ban your account.
There are many service providers selling this kind of U.S. static residential IP. Because besides using AI, you also need it for expanding internationally, doing e-commerce, or running TikTok. I’m currently subscribed to one that costs 35 USD a month.
But that still isn’t all. Since the one I subscribe to uses the SOCKS5 protocol, it doesn’t encrypt by itself, and if you use it directly, it will be blocked. So you need a VPS to act as an encrypted relay.
This is the VPS I currently rent. After discounts, it costs a little over 150 USD a year, which works out to about 12 USD per month.
I’ve explained the whole setup in Knowledge Planet newtype before. I also posted the link to the U.S. static residential IP inside the Planet, so everyone can grab it there.
So, in Vibe Coding alone, I spend 147 USD a month. Add that to the previous 48 USD, and the total is 195 USD. That’s my main AI spending every month.
Besides that, there are actually API costs too. If OpenAI releases some amazing new feature, I might briefly subscribe to ChatGPT for a month. If I need to make a new website, I’ll subscribe to v0 for a month and get the UI done. Those aren’t fixed expenses, so I won’t count them.
So then, is spending one or two hundred dollars a month on AI a lot? Converted into RMB, that’s more than 1,000 yuan. I don’t smoke, basically don’t drink, and don’t socialize at all. I used to play games too, and a single AAA game cost 60 USD, but now I’ve completely lost interest. So compared with those entertainment costs, spending this 1,000-plus on productivity is extremely, extremely worthwhile for me. The return it brings is more than tenfold.
How much do you spend on AI every month, and what main tools do you use? Feel free to say so in the comments.
OK, that’s it for this episode. If you want to learn about AI, want to become a super individual, and want to find like-minded people, come join our newtype community. See you next time!