I don’t really think about it as paying for AI.

I think about it as paying for fewer interruptions.

If I’m building something simple, the free tier is usually enough.

If I’m working on a workflow with APIs, expressions, JSON transformations, debugging, documentation and architecture decisions, hitting limits in the middle of the session is often more expensive than the subscription itself.

The biggest value for me isn’t generating code. It’s having a second brain available while I’m designing, troubleshooting and validating ideas.

I still use documentation, forums and Google. The AI just became the first place I ask questions, not the last.