Tools / 03
AI coding cost calculator
Pick how you build; get an honest monthly estimate for each tool — including the pay-as-you-go API math nobody does before the first surprise bill.
Prices last updated 2026-07-22 · verify before deciding
| Tool | Fitting plan | Est. monthly | Notes |
|---|
How the estimate works
Subscription tools (Cursor, Lovable, Bolt, Replit, Claude Pro/Max) are estimated by matching your usage profile to the cheapest plan that realistically covers it — light builders fit Pro tiers, heavy daily builders need the top tiers because that's where the usage limits stop interrupting your work. The pay-as-you-go row for Claude Code multiplies your build days by a per-day token estimate (input-heavy, because agents re-read your codebase constantly) at Opus 4.8's published per-token rates.
Two honest caveats from using these tools daily in client work. First, the estimates assume normal debugging; a stubborn bug that sends an agent looping can double a month's token burn, which is why flat subscriptions are calmer for beginners. Second, all vendors reprice and re-limit often — every number here lives in one editable JSON file with the last-updated date shown above, and the result is a planning range, not a quote.
Whichever tool wins for you, remember the tool subscription is not the whole budget: hosting a real app adds a database tier and a $6 VPS, and shipping safely adds a security pass before launch.
FAQ
Questions people ask
- How accurate are these numbers?
- Subscription prices come from vendor pricing pages and are rechecked when the lastUpdated date on this page changes. API estimates are rougher: token burn varies enormously with codebase size and how often the agent loops. Treat results as a planning range, not an invoice.
- Why is Claude Code listed twice?
- Because it has two billing modes. A Claude Pro/Max subscription includes Claude Code usage at a flat monthly price. Pay-as-you-go API billing charges per token, which can be cheaper for light use and much more expensive for heavy agentic sessions. The calculator shows both so you can compare.
- Which tool is actually cheapest for building an app?
- For a single focused project, a builder subscription (Lovable or Bolt at ~$20–25/month) is usually the floor. Costs blow up in debugging loops — every failed fix attempt burns credits or tokens. Budget for 1.5–2x the sticker price during heavy build months, whichever tool you pick.
- Do these prices include the hosting and database?
- No — this compares the AI coding tools only. Add your stack costs separately: Supabase free tier or Pro at $25/month, and a VPS from about $5–6/month if you self-host the frontend. The VPS deployment guide covers that path.