What it cost to build with AI
Spend that builders stated in public posts, per category and tool. A range appears only when 3 or more reports agree on the basis. Everything here is an estimate from user reports, not a quote.
60 reports · 32 counted · 29 X · 18 reddit · 7 blog · 5 HN · 1 dev.to · May 20, 2025 – Oct 15, 2026 · checked
Self-reported numbers from posts we could open. We count a report only if the number is in the post text or title, it is first-hand, and it isn't vendor, promo, second-hand or an upper bound. Paid spend and API-equivalent spend are kept apart. Ranges show p25–p75 with the median, and min–max as a thin line, on a log scale.
Paid spend
Money the builder says they paid: a project total, or plan/usage spend over the period stated.
Websites
14 reports · 7 toolsClaude Coden = 6$27.5–$178median $80 · min $20 · max $850
Estimate from user reports Paid · Websites · n = 6 · Jan 7, 2026 – Sep 1, 2026 · bar: thin line min–max, thick band p25–p75, tick = median
- $20not stated · whole
6–7 products in one admin panel over two weeks
“$20/$30”
Medium: first-hand X post · Range low end taken as $20, high end $30
- $20not stated · partial
Landing page redesign; 21% of weekly limit used in 49 min
“$20” · Claude Pro ($20)
Medium: first-hand X post
- $50< 3 weeks · whole
ShellSight, shell-session recorder SaaS (frontend, backend, storage)
“Spent roughly $50 for claude AI” · not stated · Claude Opus 4.5
takladev · news.ycombinator.com ↗
Medium: first-hand Show HN
- $2001 month · partial
Own SaaS (April work)
“$200 Claude Code Max subscription in April ($24,096.47 in "API" costs)” · Claude Max ($200)
o10449366 · news.ycombinator.com ↗
Medium: first-hand · API-equivalent figure stated: $24,096.47
- $850not stated · whole
Percent iOS app (SwiftUI) and Next.js web app
“$850 in Claude credits ($1,120 total incl. Apple, hosting, domain)” · Claude credits + $20 plan
Daniel Reynoso · medium.com ↗date not shown
Medium: Medium blocks fetch (403); text read via search index · Date not shown in the index
- $110per month (ongoing) · partial
Active development of five iOS/Android/web apps
“Claude Max — $110/month” · Claude Max ($110/mo as stated)
High: first-hand, page fetched
Replitn = 2Individual reports2 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Websites · n = 2 · Nov 29, 2025 – Feb 20, 2026
- $6912 weeks · whole
Job-search app
“$691 in credits” · credits
Medium: number in the title
- $1,200not stated · whole
StuidoPrompt.ai web app (Next.js, Postgres, Stripe)
“about $1,800 total: ~$1,200 Replit, ~$450 OpenAI API, ~$150 domain/tools” · Replit + OpenAI API
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Low: title states $1,800; the split comes from the search summary · Counted at the Replit share ($1,200); the $1,800 total includes app API and domain
Tool not statedn = 2Individual reports2 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Websites · n = 2 · Jan 24, 2026 – Aug 17, 2026
- $0not stated · whole
AAA-level website in under a day, run locally
“$0 in API consumption” · Qwen 3.8 27B
Medium: first-hand X post · Local hardware cost not counted
- $150not stated · whole
Locally hosted Asana-style work platform
“Spent about $150”
unknown commenter · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Low: comment; tool not named
Cursorn = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Websites · n = 1 · Nov 13, 2025 – Nov 13, 2025
- $6386 weeks · partial
AI-first CRM product (ongoing)
“$638 in 6 weeks (Cursor invoices)” · Pro + on-demand · Claude 4.5 Sonnet Thinking
nthypes · news.ycombinator.com ↗
Medium: first-hand invoice totals
Google AIn = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Websites · n = 1 · Apr 26, 2026 – Apr 26, 2026
- $06 days · whole
Three.js platformer for #vibejam (6 days)
“this cost $0” · Google AI Studio (free)
Medium: first-hand
Lovablen = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Websites · n = 1 · Jan 6, 2026 – Jan 6, 2026
- $5706 months · whole
Complex SaaS, live (non-coder)
“$570 on Lovable credits” · credits
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Medium: number in the title and body
Multiple toolsn = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Websites · n = 1 · Sep 1, 2025 – Sep 1, 2025
- $4002 months · whole
Full web app built from scratch over two months
“400 USD total ($200 Cursor + $200 Claude)” · Cursor + Claude ($200 each)
u/Future_Major5936 · reddit.com ↗
Medium: stated total; tools mixed, Codex also used
Code, games & tools
14 reports · 9 toolsOpenAI Codexn = 3$112–$200median $200 · min $23.02 · max $200
Estimate from user reports Paid · Code, games & tools · n = 3 · Aug 8, 2026 – Sep 21, 2026 · bar: thin line min–max, thick band p25–p75, tick = median
- $200per month · ongoing
Moved over from Copilot
“$200/mo” · ChatGPT Pro 20x
Medium: first-hand X post
- $200per month · ongoing
Main coding setup
“$200” · Codex $200
Medium: first-hand X post
- $23.02not stated · whole
A shipped project (not described)
“Total API bill: $3.02 (661M tokens) + ChatGPT Plus $20/mo” · Codex app + DeepSeek Flash API; ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo) · DeepSeek Flash
Medium: first-hand; amount = sum of the two stated figures
Claude Coden = 2Individual reports2 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Code, games & tools · n = 2 · May 20, 2025 – Sep 25, 2026
- $10030 days · partial
Over 30 days: evpick, Thumb & Pylon and another app
“$100” · Claude Code Max
Medium: first-hand X post · Post says the API-equivalent cost was $6,165
- $8016 hours · partial
Electron AI writing app (EmberText)
“about 16 hours and $80 in API costs” · API
Stephan Miller · stephanmiller.com ↗
High: first-hand, page fetched
Cursorn = 2Individual reports2 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Code, games & tools · n = 2 · Sep 21, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
- $200per month · ongoing
Grok 4.6 usage
“$200/month” · Ultra
Medium: first-hand X post
- $60per month · ongoing
Prior setup (plus X Premium+ $40)
“$60” · Cursor Pro+
Medium: first-hand X post
GitHub Copilotn = 2Individual reports2 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Code, games & tools · n = 2 · Aug 28, 2026 – Sep 21, 2026
- $100per month · ongoing
Ongoing dev usage before the June 1, 2026 pricing change
“$100/mo (projected $800/mo)”
Medium: first-hand X post
- $10per month · ongoing
PR reviews via opencode
“$10 plan” · Copilot $10
Medium: first-hand X post
Google AIn = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Code, games & tools · n = 1 · Apr 26, 2026 – Apr 26, 2026
- $06 days · whole
Three.js platformer for #vibejam (6 days)
“this cost $0” · Google AI Studio (free)
Medium: first-hand
Muse Coden = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Code, games & tools · n = 1 · Sep 17, 2026 – Sep 17, 2026
- $0.05not stated · whole
Whole build (vs. competing agent)
“5 cents” · Muse Spark
Medium: first-hand X post
OpenCoden = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Code, games & tools · n = 1 · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026
- $0not stated · whole
3D BMW M5, 76K tokens
“$0.00” · DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Medium: first-hand X post
Replitn = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Code, games & tools · n = 1 · Jun 23, 2026 – Jun 23, 2026
- $852 days · partial
Student project (not described in the index)
“~$85” · Replit Agent (effort-based)
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Medium: number in the title; project not described
Tool not statedn = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Code, games & tools · n = 1 · Jul 3, 2026 – Jul 3, 2026
- $20,0006 months · whole
Six months of vibe-coded projects (revenue $125)
“In 6 months of vibe coding I spent $20,000”
Medium: first-hand; tool not named; posted twice (deduped)
iOS
4 reports · 1 toolClaude Coden = 4$108–$310median $120 · min $100 · max $850
Estimate from user reports Paid · iOS · n = 4 · Mar 20, 2026 – Sep 25, 2026 · bar: thin line min–max, thick band p25–p75, tick = median
- $10030 days · partial
Over 30 days: evpick, Thumb & Pylon and another app
“$100” · Claude Code Max
Medium: first-hand X post · Post says the API-equivalent cost was $6,165
- $1303 weeks · whole
iOS App Store app (non-coder, 3 weeks)
“$130 ($125 Claude Max + ~$5 Midjourney)” · Claude Max
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Medium: total in the title
- $850not stated · whole
Percent iOS app (SwiftUI) and Next.js web app
“$850 in Claude credits ($1,120 total incl. Apple, hosting, domain)” · Claude credits + $20 plan
Daniel Reynoso · medium.com ↗date not shown
Medium: Medium blocks fetch (403); text read via search index · Date not shown in the index
- $110per month (ongoing) · partial
Active development of five iOS/Android/web apps
“Claude Max — $110/month” · Claude Max ($110/mo as stated)
High: first-hand, page fetched
Android
2 reports · 1 toolClaude Coden = 2Individual reports2 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports Paid · Android · n = 2 · May 22, 2026 – Sep 25, 2026
- $10030 days · partial
Over 30 days: evpick, Thumb & Pylon and another app
“$100” · Claude Code Max
Medium: first-hand X post · Post says the API-equivalent cost was $6,165
- $110per month (ongoing) · partial
Active development of five iOS/Android/web apps
“Claude Max — $110/month” · Claude Max ($110/mo as stated)
High: first-hand, page fetched
API-equivalent spend
What the usage would have cost at API prices. The builder usually paid a flat plan, so this is not what they paid.
Websites
1 report · 1 toolClaude Coden = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports API-equivalent · Websites · n = 1 · Sep 25, 2026 – Sep 25, 2026
- $8762 days (30+ hours) · partial · API-equivalent
3D Plants vs Zombies 2 clone in the browser (unfinished)
“$875.68 equivalent API price for 43.8M output tokens” · Claude Max 20x · Claude Opus 5.5
u/Fun-Meaning-6474 · reddit.com ↗
Medium: output tokens only; paid via flat Max plan
Code, games & tools
4 reports · 1 toolClaude Coden = 4$135–$1,346median $513 · min $91.52 · max $2,755
Estimate from user reports API-equivalent · Code, games & tools · n = 4 · Jun 11, 2026 – Sep 25, 2026 · bar: thin line min–max, thick band p25–p75, tick = median
- $8762 days (30+ hours) · partial · API-equivalent
3D Plants vs Zombies 2 clone in the browser (unfinished)
“$875.68 equivalent API price for 43.8M output tokens” · Claude Max 20x · Claude Opus 5.5
u/Fun-Meaning-6474 · reddit.com ↗
Medium: output tokens only; paid via flat Max plan
- $91.521 hour · partial · API-equivalent
NETRUN, terminal life-sim game (1 hour)
“$91.52 metered in one hour (paid nothing; on a subscription)” · subscription · Claude Fable 5
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Medium: number in the title; crossposted to r/ClaudeCode (deduped)
- $2,755~30 days · whole · API-equivalent
Thumb & Pylon, tower-defense game for iOS and Android
“roughly $2,755 metered at API-equivalent prices (ccusage)” · Claude Max (see his X post) · Claude Opus 5, Fable 5, Opus 4.8
Julien Renaux · julienrenaux.fr ↗
High: first-hand, page fetched; also posted to r/buildinpublic (deduped)
- $1501 week · partial · API-equivalent
Pixel-art cave platformer, to first playtest
“1 week, ~410M tokens, $150 at standard API pricing (on Claude Pro)” · Claude Pro ($20)
Joseph McDermott · pip-game.hashnode.dev ↗
High: first-hand, daily table on the page
iOS
1 report · 1 toolClaude Coden = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports API-equivalent · iOS · n = 1 · Sep 10, 2026 – Sep 10, 2026
- $2,755~30 days · whole · API-equivalent
Thumb & Pylon, tower-defense game for iOS and Android
“roughly $2,755 metered at API-equivalent prices (ccusage)” · Claude Max (see his X post) · Claude Opus 5, Fable 5, Opus 4.8
Julien Renaux · julienrenaux.fr ↗
High: first-hand, page fetched; also posted to r/buildinpublic (deduped)
Android
1 report · 1 toolClaude Coden = 1Individual reports1 of 3 needed for a range
Estimate from user reports API-equivalent · Android · n = 1 · Sep 10, 2026 – Sep 10, 2026
- $2,755~30 days · whole · API-equivalent
Thumb & Pylon, tower-defense game for iOS and Android
“roughly $2,755 metered at API-equivalent prices (ccusage)” · Claude Max (see his X post) · Claude Opus 5, Fable 5, Opus 4.8
Julien Renaux · julienrenaux.fr ↗
High: first-hand, page fetched; also posted to r/buildinpublic (deduped)
Listed but not counted28
Vendor claims, per-task evals, plan-price mentions, upper bounds, second-hand or promo posts, and numbers we saw only in a search summary.
- —not stated · unclear
30–45 parallel Opus 5.5 agents; 1.2B tokens
“$415” · 20x Max
Not counted: unclear api equivalent · Unclear whether this was paid or an API-equivalent figure on a flat plan
- —not stated · unclear
Per-task eval comparison, Sonnet 5.5 max vs Opus 5.5 xhigh
“$7.67 vs $3.46 per task”
Not counted: per task eval
- —not stated · unclearVendor
Same task on two harnesses
“$150 (vs $2 DeepSeek)”
Not counted: vendor claim
- —not stated · unclear
Full app from one prompt via an autonomous loop
“under $10 (combined with Claude Code)”
Not counted: project spend · Spend combined across two tools
- —not stated · unclear
Million Dollar Homepage clone; '$42 on a slot' is ambiguous
“$42”
Not counted: ambiguous
- $0.25not stated · whole
One-shot Minecraft clone in 11 minutes
“less than $0.25” · DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Medium: first-hand X post · Upper bound stated; not counted
- —not stated · unclear
Working AI agent in 1.5 hours (Pieni)
“$0.49”
Not counted: project spend · Model not stated, so not attributed to DeepSeek
- —not stated · unclear
Voice booking agent, running cost
“about $0.30 per booking call” · GLM-5.3 Flash
Not counted: running cost per call
- —not stated · unclear
Same revenue-forecast coding job
“$14 vs $1” · Mistral Large 4 vs GPT 6.1
Not counted: per task comparison
- —not stated · unclearPromo
Ran locally
“$0” · GPT OSS 120B
Not counted: local run
- —not stated · unclearVendor
Vendor comparison run
“$1.60 vs Claude Code $1.87”
Not counted: vendor claim
- —not stated · unclearSecond-hand / promo
Plan price mention
“starts at $20 a month”
Not counted: plan price mention
- —not stated · unclear
Plan mention
“flat $18/mo” · GLM-5.3
Not counted: plan price mention
- $2,500not stated · wholeSelf-promo
Diji.art SaaS (35 services, 6 integrations)
“less than $2,500 on credits total (+ ~$50/mo hosting)” · credits
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Low: upper bound, and tools named only as Cursor/Claude; post promotes a framework · Upper bound, not counted in ranges
- $6,0006 months · whole
Feature-rich beta app (6 months); includes services and a laptop
“$6k thusfar”
unknown commenter · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Low: comment; tool not named; includes a laptop · Includes non-AI costs (laptop, services); not counted
- $2004 weeks · partialSecond-hand
Half an MVP (friend's project, ~60% done)
“$200 in Lovable credits” · credits
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Low: second-hand (a friend's spend)
- $3403 months · whole
BetterSelf, AI voice-practice iOS app
“Claude Max $340 (of ~$828 total incl. design, Apple, domain)” · Claude Max
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Low: numbers seen only in the search summary, not in post text · Not counted: number not seen in post text
- $1424 hours · whole
Swift iOS app with Live Activities and timers in 24h
“~$14 in API costs” · API (Codex CLI)
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Low: number seen only in search summaries · Not counted: number not seen in post text
- $140not stated · whole
Functional app
“~$140 ($100 subscription + $40 reloads)” · subscription + reloads
unknown commenter · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Low: number seen only in a search summary · Not counted: number not seen in post text
- $1754 months · whole
Habit tracker, quote/invoice tool and a membership site
“$175 on Lovable ($307 incl. Supabase, domain, Stripe fees)” · Lovable ($25, then $50/mo)
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Low: number seen only in a search summary · Not counted: number not seen in post text
- $5003 weeks · whole
Polary, solo-built startup MVP
“~$500”
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Low: number seen only in a search summary · Not counted: number not seen in post text
- $1601 night · partialSelf-promo
One overnight Codex task
“$160 gone from one overnight task” · API key (after Plus limits)
unknown (Reddit author not shown in index) · reddit.com ↗ (approx.)
Medium: number in the title; task not described; post promotes a tool the author built
- $10~2 hours · whole
Social-media scheduling web app (.NET, ~2 hours)
“total cost was less than the $10/month in credits” · Copilot ($10/mo credits) · Claude
qingcharles · news.ycombinator.com ↗
Medium: upper bound · Upper bound, not counted
- $20,000not stated · wholeVendor
Rust C compiler that builds Linux (16 agents, ~2,000 sessions)
“$20,000 in API costs” · API · Claude Opus 4.6
gignico (quoting Anthropic) · news.ycombinator.com ↗
Vendor experiment quoted on HN
- $7374 months · wholeSEO content
B2B SaaS (Next.js, Supabase, Stripe), ~18k lines
“$737 on Cursor + $143 other AI over 4 months ($1,131 incl. infra)” · Cursor (usage-based)
Shahrukh (PromptSpace) · promptspace.in ↗
Low: SEO site; plan details in the post do not match Cursor's published 2026 plans · Not counted: content-marketing site, unverifiable
- $17811 hours · whole · API-equivalentMedia outlet
Playable 3D street RPG (Unity), 11 hours of agent time
“332M tokens, $178 at API prices (+$3.05 concept art)” · not stated · Claude Opus 5.5
Yana Lialuke (thehype) · thehype.news ↗
Medium: media outlet building for an article
- $316~3 hours unattended + 2 rounds · whole · API-equivalentSecond-hand
Browser Stardew Valley clone (3 prompt rounds)
“$316.24 at API rates across three versions” · Claude Max · Claude Fable 5
Mansel Scheffel (YouTube, summarized by Modern Creator) · moderncreator.app ↗
Medium: second-hand summary of a creator video, with transcript quotes
- $25.6686 minutes · wholeSecond-hand
Interactive 3D lens lab (86 minutes)
“$25.66 in API costs” · Claude Opus 5.5
@SinaEstavi (about @RyanSael) · x.com ↗
Low: second-hand report of another builder
Method and gaps
Per category x tool. n counts reports whose stated number we saw in the post text or title, first-hand, not vendor/promo/second-hand, not an upper bound. Median and p25-p75 (linear interpolation) plus min/max only where n>=3; below 3 the reports are listed individually. A report tagged with several categories counts once in each.
All reports were stated in USD; no currency conversion was needed. Reddit returned HTTP 403 to WebFetch and curl (.json endpoints too); Exa returned 429. Reddit text was read through the web search index; numbers seen only in a search summary are listed but not counted.
Dates marked “approx.” are interpolated from the Reddit post id because the post date wasn't readable.
Deduped: @teovito posted twice (2073042054163136560 kept); r/vibecoding + r/ClaudeCode crosspost of the $91.52 Fable post (one kept); r/buildinpublic Thumb & Pylon post = julienrenaux.fr blog (blog kept).
Not used: robinebers.kit.com "$3,234.96 on AI last month": link now 404; r/vibecoding 1sn52b9 "$228 iOS app": a modelled estimate promoting Modaal, not actual spend; r/lovable credit counts without a dollar figure (credits-to-USD varies by plan); HN senko Opus 4.8 ~$20/50 min: build not described; r/LocalLLaMA local-model savings: estimates, not stated spend.