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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- My 2025 AI spend hit $1,665 throughout instruments and upgrades.
- $300 in agentic coding instruments did years of coding in days.
- Adobe was half the invoice, then I reduce it down drastically.
We’re approaching the top of 2025, which additionally marks the conclusion of the third 12 months of the brand new wave of generative AI. On the finish of 2024, we thought we had a deal with on how a lot AI would change us, however 2025 took the sport to a wholly new stage with the emergence of agentic AI.
Main the pack has been the rise in agentic coding instruments. These instruments, comparable to Gemini Jules, Claude Code, and OpenAI Codex, are able to writing total applications and merchandise. I put each Codex and Claude Code to the check, creating 4 plug-in add-on safety merchandise for WordPress utilizing Codex, in addition to a full-featured iPhone app utilizing Claude Code.
I take advantage of different AI instruments, too. In reality, I’ve added a couple of new ones to the lineup this 12 months. On this article, I’ll present you the AI instruments I entered the 12 months with, the merchandise I stored, the merchandise I added, the merchandise I dumped, and any which might be at present on the chopping block as we transfer into 2026.
Consider two elements as you learn over this end-of-year accounting. First, I nonetheless use most of the free AI instruments I’ve reviewed right here on ZDNET. And second, despite the fact that I evaluation their merchandise, I pay for all the professional variations of those instruments out of my very own pocket. That method, the AI corporations haven’t any affect over what I am telling you.
Paid AI instruments I started the 12 months with
- Time interval: January by means of Might
- Instruments used: Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, Adobe Inventive Cloud
- Cumulative spend by the top of Might: $500
This 12 months, I began with Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, and Adobe Inventive Cloud.
Midjourney ($10/mo): Midjourney is the primary generative AI instrument I ever paid for, beginning in early 2023. Its glorious picture creation capabilities helped me with lots of my tasks, starting from social media posts for my spouse’s e-commerce web site to supporting pictures for my album covers and music web site.
ChatGPT Plus ($20/month): As I began utilizing OpenAI’s chatbot extra regularly, I upgraded to the Plus tier. Early on, you wanted the Plus tier to entry the information analytics options that I discovered enormously useful. At present, the Plus tier supplies entry to some agentic coding instruments, considerably extra capability than the free tier, and higher-end considering fashions.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET’s mum or dad firm, filed an April 2025 lawsuit in opposition to OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in coaching and working its AI techniques.)
Adobe Inventive Cloud ($69.99/month): I have been an Adobe buyer for many years. Though Photoshop has lengthy had small AI-like options, it wasn’t till 2024 or in order that generative AI considerably enhanced Photoshop’s capabilities. Adobe added AI options to Illustrator and different instruments as effectively. Initially of 2025, I started to categorize my month-to-month Inventive Cloud invoice as a part of my AI expense.
This put my month-to-month AI expense at $100 from January till the top of Might. Cumulative AI expense from January by means of Might was $500. Of that, $350 was Adobe.
Paying for API calls
- Time interval: June by means of August
- Instruments used: Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, Adobe Inventive Cloud
- Instruments added: ChatGPT API
- Cumulative spend by the top of August: $835
In June, I arrange a self-hosted server to maintain monitor of articles I learn on the web. That is my private alternative for Mozilla’s Pocket. One function of the instrument, known as Karakeep, is that it makes use of OpenAI’s API to do key phrase evaluation on the articles. I discover this enormously useful as a result of computerized key phrase tagging could be a great time saver.
Organising that server with Karakeep concerned importing and cataloging roughly 21,000 articles, which took a couple of months. OpenAI fees for its API calls primarily based on the token use (an analog for processing energy used).
In June, I used $10 price of GPT-5 processing. July was my large import month, so I used one other $20. And I spent one other $5 on processing in August. Apparently, the few articles I have been including to my archive every week have not hit the billing threshold since my final fee in August.
All informed, I spent $35 on API calls in 2025, particularly between June and August.
I used to be nonetheless paying $100 per thirty days for Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, and Adobe, which introduced my year-to-date AI expense by the top of August to $835. Of that, $560 was Adobe.
Vibe coding, half 1
- Time interval: September and October
- Instruments used: Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, Adobe Inventive Cloud, ChatGPT API
- Instruments added (and dropped): ChatGPT Professional
- Instruments added: Notion AI
- Cumulative spend by the top of October: $1,234.90
In September, I began tinkering with vibe coding. Vibe coding is the observe of permitting an AI agent to write down code for you, beneath your supervision. OpenAI had enabled its Codex vibe coding instrument for customers of the $20/month ChatGPT Plus plan.
I made a decision to offer it a spin, testing it by having it make some enhancements to my WordPress-based open-source safety product. I used it for about 5 hours, which demonstrated to me the facility of this instrument. However then ChatGPT reduce me off.
It seems the Plus tier throttles your Codex utilization. I used to be capable of do a couple of longer runs, however needed to wait days in between runs for the throttle to reset. Even so, I calculated that I accomplished the equal of about 20 days of hand-coding time in solely 12 hours.
However I needed to see if I may do extra. I had a couple of quiet days with no large deadlines, so I made a decision to up my spend to the $200/month Professional tier of ChatGPT. This allowed me to have just about limitless use of Codex with out throttling.
In 4 days, I constructed 4 particular person add-on merchandise for my WordPress safety plugin. Beforehand, I had been constructing solely about one add-on per 12 months, so I thought-about that to be 4 years of labor in 4 days. Properly well worth the $200.
I are usually very cautious about my providers spend, so as soon as I accomplished the challenge, I turned off the $200/month Professional tier and went again to the $20/month Plus tier. I did should make an replace to my code utilizing Codex, however the Plus tier was enough to make some fast fixes.
In September, I additionally added Notion AI to my record of AI instruments. I had some very particular work I needed it to do inside my Notion database, notably with routinely constructing databases primarily based on lists of knowledge. The Notion AI Enterprise tier added $20/month to my bills, with billing starting in October.
I had paid that $200 for the Professional tier of ChatGPT Codex in September, which changed the $20 for ChatGPT Plus for simply that month. I used to be nonetheless paying $80 in September for Midjourney and Adobe. That introduced September’s AI expense to $300.
In October, I used to be again to paying $120 per thirty days for Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, Notion AI, and Adobe, which introduced my year-to-date AI expense by the top of October to $1,235. Of that, $700 was for Adobe.
Vibe coding, half 2
- Time interval: November
- Instruments used: Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, Adobe Inventive Cloud, ChatGPT API, Notion AI
- Instruments added: Claude Code Max 5x
- Cumulative spend by the top of November: $1,455
After releasing my sequence of articles about vibe coding with Codex, I heard again from a number of coders. They needed to know why I had not but checked out Claude Code. Whereas Codex is OpenAI’s product, it is Claude Code that seems to have captured the creativeness of most programmers.
I mentioned why on this article, the place I additionally showcased the full-featured iPhone app I constructed with Claude Code. Primarily, Claude Code is each inexpensive than Codex and was initially extra accessible, because it operates throughout the terminal app quite than in a GitHub repository.
So, in November, I made a decision to enroll in Claude Code’s $20/month Professional plan. As with Codex, I used up the plan’s AI token capability in a matter of hours. So, I upgraded from Claude Professional to Claude Max. It seems there are numerous Max plans, primarily based on utilization. I signed up for the Max 5x plan, which is $100/month.
Over 17 days, throughout which I used Claude Code for a couple of hours a day on 11 of these days, I created a full-featured, pretty highly effective, and extremely personalized iPhone app that solved a real-world drawback I’ve with managing my 3D printing filament within the Fab Lab.
I’ve determined to maintain paying the $100/month Claude Code price for an additional month or two. I need to create native Mac and Apple Watch variations of my iPhone app. Keep tuned, as a result of I am going to take you alongside on that experience, too.
In November, I paid $120 for Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, Notion AI, and Adobe. I nonetheless have the OpenAI API service going, however now that every one the majority processing is completed, it hasn’t incurred any new payments. Then, I added Claude Code’s Max 5x plan for $100. That made November’s AI expense $220.
As of the top of November, my year-to-date AI expense was $1,455. Of that, $770 was for Adobe.
Ratcheting down Adobe expense
- Time interval: December
- Instruments used: Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, ChatGPT API, Notion AI, Claude Code
- Instruments dropped: Adobe Inventive Cloud
- Instruments added (and dropped): Canva and Leonardo AI
- Instruments added: Adobe Pictures plan, Google AI Professional (for Gemini)
- Cumulative spend for the entire 12 months: $1,605
In December, I began engaged on my “Finest AI picture turbines” article, which shall be revealed quickly. I additionally determined it was time to deal with the Adobe expense. Totally half of my general AI expenditures has been paying for Inventive Cloud. Whereas I take advantage of Photoshop extensively, I barely contact the opposite instruments.
Initially, my plan was to make use of Canva and the newly free Affinity graphics instruments to complement my Inventive Cloud use. However I discovered the generative options within the Affinity program to be, a minimum of for now, underwhelming. And that is type.
I did spend $20 for one month of the Canva Marketing strategy. This allowed me to check Canva for my article, in addition to to check Leonardo AI (which comes with the Canva Marketing strategy). Neither rocked my world. So as soon as testing was achieved, I cancelled that plan.
Then, there’s Photoshop. I ought to point out that I have been utilizing Photoshop for many years and have main muscle reminiscence. I could be extremely productive in Photoshop. Certain, I may use free or inexpensive different instruments. I simply do not need to sacrifice the proficiency and alacrity with which I take advantage of the instrument. I made a decision to maintain Photoshop, however ditch the Inventive Cloud. That modified my Adobe spend from $70/month to $20/month.
Adobe has a bizarre program of generative credit. They cost you primarily based on how a lot AI you employ. You probably have the $70/month Inventive Cloud plan that I simply dropped, you get 4,000 credit. That is adequate for all however probably the most intensive customers.
However, for those who select their $20/month Pictures plan — which I simply switched to — you get solely 25 generative AI credit. I actually suppose that is form of stingy, however Adobe has at all times had pretty restrictive month-to-month plans. They solely permit their apps to be loaded on two machines at a time, so for these of us who want to leap between three or 4 machines, they’ve a “see ya, would not need to be ya” coverage.
You should buy 2,000 extra credit for $10/month utilizing the Adobe Firefly Normal plan. If I take advantage of up my generative credit, I am going to merely pay so as to add extra credit, a minimum of for the months after I want them.
I additionally added the $20/month Google AI Professional plan. This was so I may check out Gemini 3 and Nano Banana Professional for my articles. I attempted Nano Banana Professional on the free plan. It solely allowed me to generate two pictures.
It seems Nano Banana Professional is wonderful, particularly in terms of changing objects in a picture.Nevertheless, with ChatGPT’s new ChatGPT Photographs function, simply launched this week, ChatGPT Plus is ready to do a few of what made Nano Banana Professional stand out.
I am going to proceed to pay for Gemini’s AI Professional plan for an additional month or two to check it additional. Except one thing actually stands out about it, I am going to in all probability drop it early subsequent 12 months.
In December, I am now paying $30 per thirty days for Midjourney and ChatGPT Plus, plus a further $20 for Notion AI. I nonetheless have the OpenAI API service going, however there are not any new fees. I am additionally nonetheless utilizing and paying for Claude Code’s Max plan, which prices $100. I changed Adobe’s $70 plan with a $20 plan (however I am conscious I would want so as to add one other $10/month for AI credit at any time). No extra generative credit score plans have been bought in 2025. Then I added (and dropped) Canva’s $20 plan. Lastly, I added Google’s $20 AI Professional plan.
Whew! That made December’s AI expense $210. My year-to-date AI expense for 2025 was $1,665. Of that, $790 was Adobe.
My AI funds
Would I spend this a lot if I weren’t writing evaluations for ZDNET? Most likely not. I am fairly frugal in regards to the providers I subscribe to for my very own private use.
However, I additionally put an excessive amount of consideration into something that might save me time. If I had a coding challenge I needed to undertake, I in all probability would have signed up for Claude Code anyway. Nearly undoubtedly, I might have purchased into ChatGPT Plus, only for the evaluation options. I even used it to examine my math on this article, which took the AI 5 minutes and would have in all probability taken me a minimum of an hour.
I am on the fence about Midjourney. I can generate the graphics I must help my spouse’s enterprise utilizing ChatGPT. Nevertheless, Midjourney is so off-the-chain inventive that I can deploy it anytime I’ve a brand new challenge for which I would like inventive imagery. And, at $10/month, it is pretty cheap.
I am additionally on the fence about Notion AI. Although I take advantage of Notion continuously, I do not use Notion AI all that a lot. However, after I do use it, it is available in severely clutch. Moreover, it has saved me sufficient time on that one database challenge to cowl the price of its use for your entire 12 months.
I actually ought to have dropped the massive Adobe expense a lot earlier — $70 is loads to spend every month. Whereas $20 for Photoshop continues to be expensive, I view it as an nearly unavoidable expense because of how tightly built-in Photoshop is into my workflow.
So, it is actually all the way down to a few of the experimental bills. I choose personally buying the plans I am evaluating, so that no firm is influencing my ZDNET protection. However I additionally do not like paying for them longer than I’ve to.
So, yeah, I spent just a little greater than $1,600 on AI bills. If I had lowered my Adobe plan earlier, that will have been nearer to roughly $1,200. And if I hadn’t spent on the coding instruments, that will have been nearer to $900.
Is it price it? Properly, clearly, as fodder for article content material, certain. Nevertheless, by way of productiveness, I have to additionally say sure. These numerous AI instruments actually saved me hours. For those who have a look at it by way of price versus hourly price, the AI instruments have positively paid for themselves. They positively helped me save time.
As for you, I like to recommend budgeting your AI instrument bills. My spouse, who can be my enterprise companion, evaluations our accounts day by day. This helps us handle any sudden prices, and is our first line of protection in opposition to fraudulent fees. I flip off month-to-month bills as quickly because it’s clear I am not utilizing them, even when I believe I would flip them again on later.
And since time is so tight for me, I typically do the psychological calculus of making an attempt to resolve if the time financial savings is price extra, or whether or not it could be higher to save lots of the cash. Proper now, on condition that I work just about seven days every week, the time financial savings advantages I am getting versus the price of AI instruments appear to be well worth the worth. For now.
What about you? What number of AI instruments are you at present paying for, and the way do you resolve which of them are price retaining? Have agentic coding instruments, picture turbines, or note-taking assistants meaningfully modified your workflow or productiveness? Do you monitor your AI spending? Have you ever dropped or downgraded any instruments as soon as the novelty wore off? Lastly, do you suppose the time financial savings from AI justify the continued prices in your personal work? Share your expertise and ideas within the feedback under.
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