Which AI tools are worth paying for? Here are subscriptions I’m keeping – and why

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Title: My AI Spending in 2025: How I Dropped $1,665 on Tools That Did Years of Work in Days

As we rocket through 2026, generative AI has gone from experimental toy to essential toolkit—and the bill is piling up. From agentic coding wizards to AI-powered image generators, this year’s AI tools didn’t just make my work faster—they transformed it. I spent $1,665 on AI subscriptions, upgrades, and API credits, and the ROI? Four years of coding in four days. Here’s how I spent, saved, and sometimes splurged my way through the AI revolution.

The Year’s AI Spend Breakdown

January through May, I was paying $100/month for Midjourney ($10/mo), ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo), and Adobe Creative Cloud ($69.99/mo). That’s $500 by the end of May, with Adobe alone eating up $350.

In June, I spun up a self-hosted article archiving server using Karakeep, which required OpenAI API calls for keyword analysis. That cost me $35 in API credits over the summer. By August, my cumulative AI spend was $835—still mostly Adobe.

Then came the vibe coding era. In September, I tested ChatGPT Codex, OpenAI’s agentic coding tool. It did the equivalent of 24 days of hand-coding in 12 hours—but the Plus tier throttled my usage. So I splurged on ChatGPT Pro ($200/mo) for four days, built four WordPress security plugins, and got back to Plus.

October brought Notion AI ($20/mo) for database automation. By November, I’d added Claude Code Pro ($20/mo), then upgraded to Max 5x ($100/mo) to build a full-featured iPhone app in 17 days. December was the cleanup month: I dropped Adobe Creative Cloud ($70/mo) for Adobe Photography ($20/mo), added Google AI Pro ($20/mo) for testing, and briefly flirted with Canva Business ($20/mo) for article research.

Total for the year: $1,665. Adobe alone cost $790.

The Real ROI: Time, Not Just Money

Would I have spent this much if I weren’t reviewing AI tools for ZDNET? Probably not. But the productivity gains were undeniable. Codex and Claude Code saved me hundreds of hours. Midjourney’s creative flair justified its $10/month. Notion AI paid for itself in a single database project. Even Adobe’s $20/month Photography plan is worth it for the muscle memory and speed I get from Photoshop.

The biggest lesson? AI tools aren’t just about saving money—they’re about buying back time. And in a world where I’m working seven days a week, that’s priceless.

The Future: What’s Staying, What’s Going

I’m keeping Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, and Claude Code Max for now. Notion AI is on the bubble. Google AI Pro is likely gone after testing. And Adobe? I’ll pay for extra generative credits if needed, but I’m done with the bloated Creative Cloud.

So, how many AI tools are you paying for? Have agentic coding tools changed your workflow? Are you tracking your AI spending—or just letting it ride? Drop your thoughts below. And if you want to follow my daily AI adventures, subscribe to my newsletter and hit me up on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, or YouTube.

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