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Developer AI Stack - Cursor + Copilot + Claude + ChatGPT

🚀 Open the calculator

Meet Marcus Wei. Senior backend developer + side projects. "Cursor or Copilot? Claude Code? Plus ChatGPT for non-coding? What's the right developer stack?"

🔥 Trying $80/mo of overlapping tools. 60% redundant.

The story

The developer AI stack overlaps massively - but each tool has a niche. Cursor: editor-native AI coding. GitHub Copilot: same niche, different model bias. Claude Code: terminal-native code agent. ChatGPT/Claude consumer: non-coding (writing, planning, learning). Codeium: free alternative to Cursor/Copilot.

Marcus's $80/mo stack: Cursor Pro $20 + Copilot $10 + Claude Pro $20 + ChatGPT Plus $20 + Codeium Free. Audit: Cursor and Copilot do the same thing (editor coding), so $10/mo is wasted. Claude Pro and ChatGPT Plus overlap 70% (general AI). One can go. Real optimal stack: Cursor Pro + Claude Pro = $40/mo. Saves $40/mo with no quality loss.

Three developer stack tiers. (1) Lean ($20/mo) - Cursor Pro covers ~80% of needs. (2) Balanced ($40/mo) - Cursor + one general AI. (3) Power user ($100+/mo) - full stack with specialized tools (v0, Replit Agent, etc) for specific workflows.

🎮 Playground

Developer AI Stack Playground

Here are the inputs that move the result the most. Play with the sliders and check it out. The number updates live.

What AI dev stack do you need?

Sizes a developer AI stack from your coding hours and language breadth.

Recommended stack
—

💡More coding hours and a broader language stack push you toward richer (pricier) tooling.

Three real scenarios

Same calculator, three team sizes. Click a tab to see how the numbers shift.

$0.00 / month ≈ $0.00 / year

Side projects 6 hr/week. Codeium free in-editor + Claude free for explanations. $0/mo. Don't pay until you're actually shipping daily.

Healthy range: Codeium + Claude/ChatGPT free

See inputs used
weeklyCodingHours
6
languageBreadth
2
monthlyBudgetUsd
0

Use cases

Same calculator, different applications. Sizes above, workloads here. Pick the one that looks like yours.

Pre-loaded scenarios for the most common applications. Click a tab to see realistic numbers, then hit "Try this scenario" to load it into the calculator above.

$40.00 / month ≈ $480.00 / year

Frontend specialist. Cursor for in-editor + v0.dev $20/mo for UI generation = $40/mo. Big productivity win on visual work.

Healthy range: Cursor + v0 (UI generation)

See inputs used
weeklyCodingHours
25
languageBreadth
3
monthlyBudgetUsd
40

Ready to run the numbers?

Open the full calculator. Pick a model, enter your tokens, see per-call, daily, monthly, and annual cost.

🚀 Open the full calculator →

Top developer AI tools right now

Verified 11 hours ago
  1. 1
    GPT-5 Mini
    $0.250 in · $2.00 out ·
  2. 2
    gpt-5.1-codex-mini
    $0.250 in · $2.00 out ·
  3. 3
    Command
    $1.00 in · $2.00 out ·

About this calculator: Developer AI Stack - Cursor + Copilot + Claude + ChatGPT

Best developer AI stack at $20-100/mo. Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codeium. Real comparison + when to combine.

🎛 Inputs you control

Each input shapes the cost. Click an input on the calculator to set it. The explanations below match the live calculator field by field.

▸ Tools you pay for: The AI dev tools you currently subscribe to — Copilot, Cursor, ChatGPT, Claude, and so on.
How to choose: Check everything you pay for; we find overlaps and a cheaper combination that covers the same work.

Reading your result

Lean stack ($20): Cursor Pro alone. Claude + GPT-5.5 access included. Free tier of ChatGPT for non-coding. Covers ~80% of dev needs.

Balanced stack ($40): Cursor Pro + Claude Pro. Cursor for editor coding, Claude for non-coding (planning, writing, learning). Sweet spot.

Power stack ($100+): Add specialized tools - v0 for UI, Replit Agent for prototyping, ChatGPT Plus for image gen, JetBrains AI if IntelliJ. Worth it for full-time AI-augmented dev.

Don't double-pay for editor coding. Cursor Pro AND Copilot Pro is wasted money. Pick one. Cursor often wins on flexibility; Copilot wins on GitHub integration.

What "good" looks like:
  • Side projects (<10 hr/week): Codeium free + Claude/ChatGPT free = $0
  • Active dev (10-25 hr/week): Cursor Pro alone = $20
  • Full-time AI-augmented (25-40 hr/week): Cursor + Claude Pro = $40
  • Power user (40+ hr/week, multi-stack): $80-120 across 3-4 tools

What this calculator can't tell you

Honest limitations. Every model is wrong; some are useful. Where this one falls short:

For these, use: Subscription Picker for non-coding AI. Cost Calculator for API usage.

Trade-offs

Cost isn't the only dimension. Click any constraint to see how recommendations change.

What matters most to you? Click any dimension — recommendations update.

Best fit for "cost":

  1. Cursor Pro $20/mo Best general dev AI
  2. GitHub Copilot $10/mo Cheaper but narrower
  3. Codeium Free Free alternative, less polished
  4. Claude Code (terminal) Different niche - agent-based

Don't double-pay for the same thing. Cursor + Copilot is wasted money. Pick one editor AI; supplement with non-coding general AI.

Most popular

Everything above is the 80% case. The last 20% is where the money is.

The gaps we just listed are real, and they are the expensive ones: your actual prompts, your switching cost, your MLOps overhead. An AICost expert spends the hour on your AI and cloud costs, not a generic playbook. You leave with a written report: the way forward, in 30 days of concrete steps.

  • An hour with the people who built the engines
  • Report the same day
  • The fee credits toward any AICost plan
  • Two slots a week
Book a Solution Session: $299 → or $99 for small business →

Not sure yet? The $39 AICost Blueprint credits toward a Session, and the Session fee credits toward any plan. You never pay twice for the same ground. See all pricing →

Ready to run your own numbers?

You have seen the shape of it. Open the calculator with your model, your tokens, your volume.

🚀 Open the full calculator →

Where to go next

Add non-coding subscription →

Claude Pro or ChatGPT Plus for general AI.

 Free tier first →

Codeium + free Claude/ChatGPT before paying.

 Annual vs monthly →

Save 15-20% on the tools you keep.

Methodology

Source
/ai-cost-economics
Extraction
Tool pricing pulled monthly. Use-case mapping from developer surveys.
Editorial gate
8-layer defense, see aicost.ai/ai-cost-economics
Last verified
7/27/2026, 8:00:00 PM

Author: Subu Vdaygiri, Founder & CEO of CloudIntelligence.ai. 17 years Fortune 100 (Ingram Micro, Siemens). Wharton CTO program · Kellogg CPO program · 10× AWS+Azure certified.

3 years of pricing history

Why this matters: pricing for major vendors has dropped 40-90% in the last 24 months. A budget set 12 months ago is probably wrong by 30%+.

View 3-year history for →
📖 Data sources & methodology 163 text models · 9 embeddings · 37 vision · 55 audio · 8 vector DBs across 10 vendor pages · last verified 2026-07-28

Methodology

  • All prices are USD per 1 million tokens, current as of 2026-07-28.
  • Vendor-published values have no mark. Inferred/extrapolated values are marked with * and listed below.
  • Batch API discounts are 50% off standard rates across providers that offer Batch mode.
  • Prompt caching discounts vary by provider (typically 80-90% off cached input tokens).
  • Regional data-residency surcharges (Anthropic 1.1x, OpenAI 1.1x, Google regional tiers) are NOT included in base rates.
  • Long-context pricing tiers apply when input exceeds model threshold.
  • Embedding prices are input-only (no output tokens generated).

Primary sources

Last-verified date is the most recent successful daily snapshot (aicost_pricing_snapshots) or, when no snapshot exists yet, the latest successful crawler run (aicost_crawler_runs). 10 of 10 vendors are currently verified. Aggregator services (TokenCost, AI Pricing Guru, etc.) are not listed.

Anthropic
2026-07-28
https://www.anthropic.com/pricing
Daily snapshot since Sep 2023 · 631 days captured
Anthropic Docs
2026-07-28
https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/pricing
Daily snapshot since Sep 2023 · 631 days captured
OpenAI
2026-07-28
https://openai.com/api/pricing/
Daily snapshot since Sep 2023 · 632 days captured
Google AI
2026-07-28
https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing
Daily snapshot since Dec 2023 · 607 days captured
Google Vertex
2026-07-28
https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/generative-ai/pricing
Daily snapshot since Dec 2023 · 607 days captured
DeepSeek
2026-07-28
https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick_start/pricing
Daily snapshot since May 2024 · 546 days captured
xAI
2026-07-28
https://x.ai/api
Daily snapshot since Nov 2024 · 464 days captured
Mistral
2026-07-28
https://mistral.ai/pricing
Daily snapshot since Dec 2023 · 605 days captured
Cohere
2026-07-28
https://cohere.com/pricing
Daily snapshot since Sep 2023 · 631 days captured
Voyage AI
2026-07-28
https://docs.voyageai.com/docs/pricing

Inferred values (marked with * in calculator tables)

Derived from industry conventions, not directly published by the vendor. Typical conventions: cached input = 10% of base (90% off), Batch API = 50% of base (50% off).

Vendor / Model Field Why it’s inferred
Anthropic — Claude Sonnet 4.6 cachedInput Derived at 10% of input rate — Anthropic publishes 90% cache-hit discount on this tier.
Anthropic — Claude Sonnet 4.5 cachedInput Derived at 10% of input rate; same 90% cache-hit convention as Sonnet 4.6.
Anthropic — Claude Sonnet 4.5 batchInput Derived at 50% of standard input — Anthropic documents uniform 50% Batch discount.
Anthropic — Claude Sonnet 4.5 batchOutput Derived at 50% of standard output — Anthropic documents uniform 50% Batch discount.
Anthropic — Claude Haiku 4.5 cachedInput Derived at 10% of input rate — Anthropic 90% cache-hit discount convention.
OpenAI — GPT-5.4 Mini cachedInput Derived at 10% of input — OpenAI documents automatic 90% discount on cache hits across GPT-5.x tier.
OpenAI — GPT-5.4 Nano cachedInput Derived at 10% of input — OpenAI 90% cache-hit convention.
OpenAI — GPT-5.4 Nano batchInput Derived at 50% of input — OpenAI Batch API uniform 50% discount.
OpenAI — GPT-5.4 Nano batchOutput Derived at 50% of output — OpenAI Batch API uniform 50% discount.
OpenAI — GPT-5.4 Pro cachedInput Derived at 10% of input — OpenAI 90% cache-hit convention.
OpenAI — GPT-5.4 Pro batchInput Derived at 50% of input — OpenAI Batch API uniform 50% discount.
OpenAI — GPT-5.4 Pro batchOutput Derived at 50% of output — OpenAI Batch API uniform 50% discount.
OpenAI — GPT-5.2 cachedInput Derived at 10% of input; no residency uplift.
OpenAI — GPT-5.2 batchInput Derived at 50% of input.
OpenAI — GPT-5.2 batchOutput Derived at 50% of output.
OpenAI — GPT-5 cachedInput Derived at 10% of input.
OpenAI — GPT-5 batchInput Derived at 50% of input.
OpenAI — GPT-5 batchOutput Derived at 50% of output.
OpenAI — GPT-5.5 Pro cachedInput Derived at 10% of input — OpenAI does not publish a cached rate for *-pro models; using the family convention.
OpenAI — GPT-5.5 Pro batchInput Derived at 50% of input.
OpenAI — GPT-5.5 Pro batchOutput Derived at 50% of output.
OpenAI — GPT-5.2 Pro cachedInput Derived at 10% of input — pro-tier convention.
OpenAI — GPT-5.2 Pro batchInput Derived at 50% of input.
OpenAI — GPT-5.2 Pro batchOutput Derived at 50% of output.
OpenAI — GPT-5.1 batchInput Derived at 50% of input.
OpenAI — GPT-5.1 batchOutput Derived at 50% of output.
OpenAI — GPT-5 Pro batchInput Derived at 50% of input.
OpenAI — GPT-5 Pro batchOutput Derived at 50% of output.
OpenAI — GPT-5 Nano cachedInput Derived at 10% of input.
OpenAI — GPT-5 Nano batchInput Derived at 50% of input.
OpenAI — GPT-5 Nano batchOutput Derived at 50% of output.
Google — Gemini 3 Flash cachedInput Derived at 10% of input — Google caching discount convention ~90%.
Google — Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite cachedInput Derived at 10% of input — Google caching convention.
Google — Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite batchInput Derived at 50% of input — Google Batch API uniform 50% discount.
Google — Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite batchOutput Derived at 50% of output — Google Batch API uniform 50% discount.
Google — Gemini 2.5 Pro cachedInput Derived at 10% of input.
Google — Gemini 2.5 Flash cachedInput Derived at 10% of input.
Google — Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite cachedInput Derived at 10% of input — Google caching convention.
Google — Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite batchInput Derived at 50% of input — Google Batch API uniform 50% discount.
Google — Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite batchOutput Derived at 50% of output — Google Batch API uniform 50% discount.
Google — Gemini 2.0 Flash cachedInput Derived at 25% of input per Google 2.0 family caching rates.
Google — Gemini 2.0 Flash batchInput Derived at 50% of input — Google Batch API uniform 50% discount.
Google — Gemini 2.0 Flash batchOutput Derived at 50% of output — Google Batch API uniform 50% discount.
Google — Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite cachedInput Derived at 10% of input — Google caching convention.
Google — Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite batchInput Derived at 50% of input — Google Batch API uniform 50% discount.
Google — Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite batchOutput Derived at 50% of output — Google Batch API uniform 50% discount.
xAI — Grok 4 (legacy) cachedInput Extrapolated at 25% of base.

Pricing is cross-verified against the LiteLLM community registry when available. Daily snapshots are kept in aicost_pricing_snapshots; every change is logged to aicost_price_changelog with old & new values for full audit trail. Read the full methodology →