Claude Killed My Subscription. I Found Something 90% Cheaper.
Claude Killed My Subscription. I Found Something 90% Cheaper.
The moment I realised I was in trouble was when I tried to push a code change and VS Code said no. API limit hit. Then I checked my OpenClaw bots on AWS and Mac Mini — both dead. Silence. Nothing.
"Computer says no." That little Britain sketch. Yep, that's exactly what it felt like.
That's when it hit me: they'd pulled the plug. Not just on Claude Code. On everything.
How It Happened
I was mid-work, normal day, then BAM — dead in the water.
My OpenClaw agents (Marvin on EC2, Ace on the Mac Mini) both stopped responding. Why? Because when the Claude API access died, it didn't just kill my dev environment. It killed every single AI-powered thing I had running.
I had two choices:
- Pay full price for Claude API (~$0.15–$0.50 per prompt — yikes)
- Find a cheaper alternative, fast
I chose option 2.
The Fix
First I tried Claude Sonnet 3.5. It worked. (4.6 didn't — go figure.) Got things moving again just to prove the bots could run.
Then I switched to MiniMax M2.5 via OpenRouter.
A few minutes later? Almost $3 in API calls.
That's when it hit me. I'd been minutes away from a $300 bill. Maybe less. Those horror stories I'd seen online? That was nearly me.
The Numbers
Here's what I saw:
| Metric | Claude 3.5 Sonnet | MiniMax M2.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Spend | $2.61 | $0.27 |
| Total Requests | 78 | 91 |
| Total Tokens | 1.32M | 2.74M |
MiniMax handled more requests, more tokens, but cost 90% less.
Cost per request? Claude was 11x more expensive. Cost per token? Claude was 19.5x more expensive.
The Horror Stories Are Real
My $2.88 was for a few minutes. A few minutes.
Other people haven't been so lucky:
"$300 bill from basic usage" — someone left their agent running overnight, woke up to a nasty surprise.
"$0.50 per prompt is burning money" — that's $0.50 every time the bot does something. It adds up fast.
"One task cost $0.002, another $0.15 — for the same result" — the pricing opacity is mental. No visibility, no control, just bills.
What This Made Me Realise
I built ModelOptix for my SaaS products. Wanted to know when to upgrade the models in PlebTest, LLMtxt Mastery, AImpactScanner. When is the cheaper model underperforming? When is the expensive one worth it?
But this near-miss? It showed me something else entirely.
There's a whole market of OpenClaw users who need to keep their model usage under control. They want the power of AI agents, but not the eye-watering bills. They need to know: am I overspending? Is there a better, cheaper model that performs just as well for my use case?
That's a much more pressing, more relatable problem. And honestly, an easier sell.
What You Should Do Now
- Check your API spend. Right now. Before you close this tab.
- If you're on Claude, test MiniMax M2.5. Run one task. See the difference.
- Set budget alerts. Don't wait for the surprise bill.
- Keep premium models for when you actually need them — not every task needs Claude.
Want In?
I'm opening up ModelOptix to beta users soon. Early access means:
- First to use the tool and start saving immediately
- Shape the product with real feedback
- Lock in beta pricing before public launch
Join the ModelOptix waitlist →
First 100 sign-ups get priority access.
The Bottom Line
Getting killed by AI API costs isn't a if — it's a when. The pricing is opaque, the bills are unpredictable, and unless you're watching closely, you'll wake up to something nasty.
The solution isn't using less AI. It's using it smarter.
Switching to MiniMax saved me from $300+ a week bill. What could that kind of savings do for you?
Building in public at jamiewatters.work
ModelOptix: Join the waitlist