AI Subscription Audit 2026 — You're Probably Paying for 3 Tools That Do the Same Thing

Updated March 2026 • 9 min read

The AI subscription stack is the new SaaS stack — and it's getting just as bloated. ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, GitHub Copilot, Midjourney, Perplexity, Notion AI, Grammarly Premium, Otter.ai, Descript... if you signed up for every AI tool that impressed you, you're probably paying $50-200+/month for overlapping capabilities.

The Typical AI Subscription Stack

ChatGPT Plus: $20/month — GPT-4o, DALL-E 3, code, browsing, file analysis
Claude Pro: $20/month — longer context, better for writing and analysis
GitHub Copilot: $10-19/month — code completion and chat
Perplexity Pro: $20/month — AI search with citations
Midjourney: $10-30/month — AI image generation
Notion AI: $10/month — AI writing within Notion
Grammarly Premium: $12-30/month — AI writing assistance
Otter.ai Pro: $17/month — AI meeting transcription
Cursor Pro: $20/month — AI-powered code editor
Jasper/Copy.ai: $39-49/month — AI marketing copy

Total if you have all of these: $188-245/month ($2,256-2,940/year)

The Overlap Problem

Most AI tools now do multiple things. ChatGPT Plus alone handles:

Writing: Replaces Jasper, Copy.ai, and most of Grammarly's AI features
Image generation: DALL-E 3 replaces casual Midjourney use
Code: GPT-4o handles most coding tasks Copilot does
Search: Browsing mode replaces casual Perplexity use
Analysis: File uploads + Code Interpreter replaces many data tools
Transcription: Whisper integration handles audio transcription

💡 The uncomfortable truth: For most people, one AI subscription ($20/month) replaces 5-8 AI subscriptions ($100-200/month). The marginal improvement from specialized tools rarely justifies 5-10x the cost.

The $20/Month AI Stack (For Most People)

Pick ONE: ChatGPT Plus OR Claude Pro — $20/month, covers writing, coding, analysis, image gen, search
Everything else: use free tiers — Perplexity free, Midjourney free trial, Grammarly free, Google Gemini free
Total: $20/month ($240/year)

The $40/Month AI Stack (For Power Users)

ChatGPT Plus ($20/month): General AI assistant + image generation + code
Claude Pro ($20/month): Long documents, nuanced writing, complex analysis
Everything else: free tiers
Total: $40/month ($480/year)

What to Cancel First

AI writing tools (Jasper, Copy.ai, Writesonic): Cancel immediately — ChatGPT/Claude does everything they do, better
Notion AI ($10/month): ChatGPT can generate the same content — paste into Notion manually
Grammarly Premium: Free Grammarly + ChatGPT for rewriting handles 95% of use cases
Otter.ai Pro: Your meeting platform (Zoom/Meet/Teams) now transcribes for free
Perplexity Pro: Unless you use it daily for research, free tier + ChatGPT browsing is sufficient
Midjourney (if casual user): DALL-E 3 in ChatGPT + Bing Image Creator covers casual image generation

What to Keep

GitHub Copilot (if you code daily): The inline code suggestions genuinely save time — worth $10-19/month for professional developers
One general AI assistant: ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro — pick whichever fits your workflow better
Midjourney (if you're a designer): Its aesthetic quality is still distinctive for professional visual work

✅ The audit rule: Open each AI subscription. Ask: "Can ChatGPT/Claude do 80% of what this does?" If yes, cancel it. You'll save $50-150/month and barely notice the difference.