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How to read a pricing page without getting burned
Understand token limits, seat costs, and usage tiers so you can compare plans apples-to-apples and avoid surprise invoices.
10 min
How to read a pricing page without getting burned
AI tool pricing pages are designed to make upselling easy. Here's how to decode them.
Token limits vs. "requests"
Many tools advertise "unlimited completions" but cap you on fast model requests or total tokens per month. Read the fine print:
- Completions = autocomplete suggestions. Usually cheap, often unlimited.
- Chat / agent requests = the expensive ones. These hit the frontier models (GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet/Opus, Gemini Ultra) and cost real tokens.
Seat pricing
Enterprise plans bill per seat. For solo devs or small teams, a per-seat cost of $20–40/month is standard. Watch for:
- Minimum seat counts (some plans require 5+)
- Annual vs. monthly pricing — annual can save 20–30% but locks you in
The "bring your own key" option
Several tools (Cursor, Continue, Aider) let you plug in your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or Gemini API key. This is often cheaper for heavy users once you're above a few hundred thousand tokens/month.
Quick comparison table
| Tool | Free tier | Pro/month | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Limited | $20 | IDE-native devs |
| Copilot | Yes | $10–19 | GitHub-heavy teams |
| Claude Code | API cost | API cost | Terminal power users |
| Windsurf | Yes | $15 | Cursor alternative |
Always start with the free tier for a week before committing.