Last updated: March 2026 | Reading time: 5 min
I've tried dozens of AI tools over the past two years. Most got uninstalled within a week. Here's what stuck around — the stuff I actually pay for and use every single day, what it costs me, and how I'm using it.
| Tool | What I Use It For | Monthly Cost |
|------|-------------------|-------------|
| Claude Pro | Writing, analysis, coding | $20 |
| Cursor Pro | Daily code editor | $20 |
| Readwise Reader | Reading and highlighting | $8 |
| Granola | Meeting notes | $10 |
| Perplexity Pro | Research | $20 |
| Midjourney | Image generation | $30 |
| Notion | Knowledge management | $10 |
| Total | | $118/month |
Yeah, $118/month sounds like a lot. But I genuinely estimate these tools save me 8-12 hours per week. At basically any hourly rate that makes sense, it's pretty hard to argue against.
Claude's my go-to AI assistant now. I switched from ChatGPT about six months ago and honestly? I haven't looked back.
How I actually use it:
Why Claude beats ChatGPT:
The writing quality is noticeably better. It doesn't have that weird "AI voice" that makes everything sound corporate. Fewer random bullet points. Better paragraphs that actually flow. And here's the thing — when I say "keep it under 200 words," it actually does it. ChatGPT would give me 250. (honestly, this drove me insane for months)
What I actually miss: ChatGPT's image generation and web browsing integration. That's why I use Perplexity to fill that gap.
I write code every day and Cursor's become the thing I can't work without. The tab completion doesn't just predict the next line — it predicts the next chunk of actual logic.
Here's what I use:
The wild part: Cursor actually understands your project context. It reads through your codebase and suggests code that matches your style, your naming conventions, the way you architect things. It's creepy in the best way possible.
Perplexity basically replaced Google for me. Like 70% of my searches now. It synthesizes information from actual sources and gives you citations so you can verify anything sketchy.
What I use it for:
Pro version vs free: The paid version uses better models and actually goes deeper on complicated questions. For research stuff? The difference is real.
Granola just sits there during meetings, records everything, and spits out organized notes with action items at the end. I stopped taking manual meeting notes like a year ago.
My workflow with it:
Why this one works: Unlike some tools that need a bot actually joining your call, Granola works locally. Nobody knows it's running. Transcription happens on your device so nothing goes floating around the internet.
Readwise Reader is basically where all my content consumption happens — articles, newsletters, PDFs, ebooks, everything. The AI features let me actually process more stuff without spending my entire day reading.
How I use it:
The actual workflow: I save maybe 20-30 articles a week. Skim the summaries. Pick 5-8 that look interesting and read those fully. Highlight the good stuff. It all goes into my knowledge base automatically.
For newsletter headers, social media graphics, and random creative projects.
What I make with it:
Why Midjourney instead of DALL-E: The output just looks better, honestly. Way more consistent aesthetic. And the style reference feature means all my graphics actually look like they belong together instead of random stuff I Googled.
Everything funnels into Notion. Reading highlights, meeting transcripts, project plans, content calendars. I wrote most of this while waiting for my coffee to cool down and even that got saved to a Notion template.
AI stuff I actually use:
1. Start with one AI assistant. Just pick Claude Pro or ChatGPT Plus. Use it for real work. Get good at it. Then add stuff.
2. Only add tools that fix actual problems. Don't subscribe because a tool is trendy. Subscribe because you have a real bottleneck that takes forever.
3. Check your subscriptions every three months. I actually do this. Anything I haven't touched in a month gets cancelled. No shame in it.
4. The cheapest tool is the one you actually use. A $30 tool you rely on daily crushes a $10 tool that's just sitting there taking money.
Disclosure: Some links in this article are affiliate links. I recommend only tools I personally use and pay for.