Every AI coding tool launches with a simple pricing page: $20/month, unlimited everything. Six months later, the page has changed. Now there are tiers. Usage caps. Overage charges. “Credits.”
This pattern is so consistent it’s predictable.
The Bait and Switch
Cursor launched at $20/month for unlimited completions. Today: Free, Pro $20, Pro+ $60, Ultra $200. Each tier has different usage limits and model access.
GitHub Copilot launched at $10/month for unlimited completions. Today: Free with 2K completions, Pro $10, Pro+ $39, Business $19, Enterprise $39. And they moved to AI credits in June 2026.
Claude Code launched at $20/month with Claude Pro. Today: Pro $20, Max $100, Max Premium $200. The Pro tier now shares usage across chat and Claude Code.
Every single one followed the same playbook: launch with an attractive flat price, build dependency, then introduce usage-based pricing.
Why It Happens
The reason is simple: heavy users cost more than light users. A developer running Claude Code 8 hours a day consumes 50x more tokens than someone asking a few questions. Flat pricing means the light users subsidize the heavy users.
Companies need the heavy users to pay their fair share. Hence, usage-based pricing.
But the way they implement it — quietly changing terms, grandfathering some users, surprising others with overage bills — erodes trust.
Who’s Doing Pricing Right
Hermes Agent has the most honest pricing: free, open source, you pay for your own API keys. No surprises. Your cost scales with your usage because you’re buying tokens directly from providers.
Oh My Pi is similar: free tool, BYO API keys. $2-30/month in API costs depending on usage.
Gitlawb Zero: free, open source, BYO keys. No subscription at all.
The pattern is clear: open-source tools have honest pricing because there’s no VC pressure to grow revenue. Commercial tools have complex pricing because they need to show growth to investors.
The Prediction
In 12 months, there will be no “unlimited” AI coding tool subscriptions. Every commercial tool will have usage-based pricing. The only question is whether they grandfather existing users or surprise everyone with the change at once.
The smart move: learn to use open-source tools with your own API keys now. The subscription that seems cheap today will look expensive in a year. And switching costs only go up.