The blog.

Deep dives, comparisons, and roundups on the AI tools worth paying for. Only what we'd actually buy — no SEO sludge, no influencer demos.

192 posts
Guide: Claude Max plan: the 5x is per session, not per month

Claude Max plan: the 5x is per session, not per month

The Claude Max plan costs $100 or $200 a month. The multiplier everyone quotes describes a five-hour window, and the limit that actually stops you is weekly.

Guide: Perplexity pricing: $20 a month, or $17, on the same site

Perplexity pricing: $20 a month, or $17, on the same site

Perplexity pricing is $0, $20 or $200 a month. Its own plan pages show two different headline numbers, and the Enterprise tab quietly switches billing basis.

Comparison: ChatGPT vs Claude: one writes, one does everything else

ChatGPT vs Claude: one writes, one does everything else

ChatGPT vs Claude, from a paid Claude account and a year on ChatGPT free. Both $20, but the free tiers differ far more — and only one generates images.

Comparison: Claude vs ChatGPT vs Gemini: they don't all cost $20

Claude vs ChatGPT vs Gemini: they don't all cost $20

Claude vs ChatGPT vs Gemini, after reviewing all three separately. Two cost $20, one is a storage plan — and the free tiers differ far more than the paid.

Review: Google Gemini review: the best free tier, sold as storage

Google Gemini review: the best free tier, sold as storage

A Google Gemini review from the free tier: four models including 3.1 Pro handed over for nothing, then paid tiers that are really 400GB, 5TB and 20TB of Drive.

Roundup: Best AI voice generator: what an hour of audio really costs

Best AI voice generator: what an hour of audio really costs

ElevenLabs wins on voice and costs $10.91 an hour. We normalised six AI voice generators plus open-source to one unit: the cost of an hour you can publish.

Roundup: Best TTS API: the price spread is 40x, and nobody says so

Best TTS API: the price spread is 40x, and nobody says so

Cartesia for agents, ElevenLabs for quality, Google for cheap. Eight TTS APIs normalised to cost per million characters: the range is $4 to $166.

Roundup: Best AI voice cloning: which tool actually sounds like you?

Best AI voice cloning: which tool actually sounds like you?

ElevenLabs is the best AI voice cloning tool overall, but the right pick depends on whether you're cloning your own voice, building an app, or want it free.

Roundup: Best ElevenLabs alternatives: which one replaces it?

Best ElevenLabs alternatives: which one replaces it?

The best ElevenLabs alternative depends on why you're leaving. I lined up Murf, Descript, Cartesia and 4 more against the one job each actually wins.

Guide: Cartesia pricing: the $5 plan goes further than it looks

Cartesia pricing: the $5 plan goes further than it looks

Cartesia pricing sells credits, not minutes. With overages on, the $5 Pro plan beats the $49 one right up to 777K credits a month. The real per-unit math.

Review: Cartesia review: the fastest AI voice, made for agents

Cartesia review: the fastest AI voice, made for agents

Cartesia's Sonic model is the lowest-latency AI voice going: a developer's dream for real-time agents, but creators hit its limits fast. My hands-on review.

Comparison: ElevenLabs vs Cartesia: creator quality vs agent speed

ElevenLabs vs Cartesia: creator quality vs agent speed

ElevenLabs owns voice quality and catalog; Cartesia owns sub-100ms speed. I tested both, including cloning my own voice in each. Here's which AI voice wins.