Pricing
The Real Cost of Paying for Three AI Subscriptions
The sticker price is $20/month. The real number — after you add up every tool, account for how little you actually use each one, and remember that you still do all the work yourself — is different.
Louis Amira
CEO, Circuit & Chisel
The average AI user pays for 3.1 subscriptions
According to a 2025 survey by Productiv, the average knowledge worker now pays for 3.1 AI tool subscriptions simultaneously. ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo), Claude Pro ($20/mo), Perplexity ($20/mo), maybe Copilot ($30/mo) — the subscriptions stack. Total: $60–100/month before you've opened a single one of them this week.
That same survey found most users engage with each AI tool less than 5 hours per week. Do the math: $20/month for 5 hours of use = $1/hour minimum. More often, the usage is lower and the per-hour cost climbs into the $4–8 range for what is, functionally, a smarter search box.
| Subscription | Monthly cost | Typical weekly use | Est. cost per active hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus | $20/mo | 3–5 hrs | $1.00–$1.65/hr |
| Claude Pro | $20/mo | 2–4 hrs | $1.25–$2.50/hr |
| Perplexity | $20/mo | 1–3 hrs | $1.65–$5.00/hr |
| Total | $60/mo | 6–12 hrs total | $1.25–$2.50/hr avg |
AI subscription fatigue is the compounding cost and cognitive overhead of maintaining multiple AI tool subscriptions — typically $20–$50 each — that individually handle narrow tasks but collectively don't replace the need for an assistant who coordinates across them.
The hidden cost: you still do everything yourself
The subscription cost is only part of the number. The other part is time — yours.
Every AI tool you pay for today is passive. It generates content when you prompt it. That means for every useful output — a draft email, a summary, a list of options — you have to be there: opening the browser, typing the prompt, evaluating the response, and then doing the actual thing the AI told you to do.
You paid $20 for the tool. You still sent the email yourself, scheduled the meeting yourself, followed up yourself. The AI saved you some typing. It did not save you any actual work.
The real question
What would a real assistant cost?
A part-time human assistant costs $15–25/hour. At 5 hours/week, that's $300–500/month. A full-time assistant: $3,000–5,000/month. The subscriptions you're paying aren't assistant costs — they're tool costs. They just look similar on a credit card statement.
What $60/month gets you vs. what it should
A McKinsey 2025 report found that 65% of organizations now use AI in at least one business function — but only 11% report that AI has materially reduced headcount or workload. The gap between "we use AI" and "AI does work for us" is wide, and it's mostly explained by the fact that almost every AI tool in wide use is a chat interface, not an execution layer.
If you're spending $60–100/month on AI tools and still doing everything yourself, the problem isn't the quality of the models. It's that none of the tools are set up to take action on your behalf.
| What you're paying for | What it does | What you still do |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus | Drafts the email | You open Gmail and send it |
| Claude Pro | Analyzes the contract | You act on the analysis |
| Perplexity | Summarizes the news | You decide what to do about it |
| Deputy | Sends the email, manages the calendar, follows up | You do other things |
Deputy costs nothing when it's idle. No subscription required.
Pay only when Deputy does work for you. Calendar, email, follow-ups — all over text. Free to start.
Get Started Free →The subscription isn't the problem — the model is
The issue isn't $20/month. That's a reasonable price for a good tool. The issue is that you're paying a subscription price for a tool — not an assistant price for something that actually handles tasks.
An assistant charges per hour or per outcome. A tool charges per month whether you use it or not, and it doesn't do things unless you're sitting there operating it. The category confusion — calling chat interfaces "AI assistants" — makes the cost feel more reasonable than it is.
The right mental model for the tools most people pay for is "very capable calculator" — powerful when you're using it, idle otherwise, never going to finish anything for you. That's worth something. It's not worth $60–100/month for most people's actual workflows.
"Anything that the user can't do themselves. Don't sell the future."
Louis Amira
Founder & CEO, Deputy / Circuit & Chisel
FAQ
How much do people spend on AI subscriptions?
According to a 2025 Productiv survey, the average knowledge worker pays for 3.1 AI subscriptions simultaneously, totaling $50–100/month. Most report using each tool less than 5 hours per week.
Is there an AI assistant that replaces multiple subscriptions?
Deputy is designed to consolidate — doing what most people use multiple tools for (research, scheduling, email, follow-ups) in one place, over SMS, at pennies per task with no monthly minimum. You pay only when Deputy does work.
Why do AI subscriptions feel like a waste of money?
Because chat AI is passive — it generates content only when you prompt it. If you're not actively typing at your computer, you're getting no value, but the subscription charges every month regardless. And even when you do use it, you still execute everything the AI generates yourself.
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