Everyone talks about $20/month subscriptions. Nobody talks about the token bill hiding behind them.
Here’s what different coding agents actually cost when you factor in API usage, not just the subscription price.
Subscription Costs (what you see)
| Agent | Subscription | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | $20-200/mo | Anthropic API included at higher tiers |
| Cursor | $20-200/mo | Included API credits vary by tier |
| Copilot CLI | $10-39/mo | Included with GitHub subscription |
| Hermes | Free (open source) | BYO API keys |
| OpenCode | Free (open source) | BYO API keys |
| Codex CLI | Free (open source) | BYO API keys |
| Oh My Pi | Free (open source) | BYO API keys |
| Kilo Code | Free (open source) | BYO API keys |
The Hidden Cost: API Tokens
For open-source agents, the real cost is API tokens. Here’s a rough estimate based on typical usage patterns:
| Usage level | Tokens/month | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| Light (a few tasks/day) | 1-5M tokens | $15-75 |
| Moderate (hourly use) | 10-30M tokens | $150-450 |
| Heavy (all-day coding) | 50-100M tokens | $750-1500 |
These numbers vary wildly based on which model you use (Haiku is cheap, Opus is expensive), how much context your codebase has, and whether you’re doing simple edits or complex refactors.
The Real Takeaway
Subscription cost is a distraction. Token efficiency is the real metric. An agent that costs $20/month but burns $500 in tokens is more expensive than a free agent that burns $100 in tokens.
The best cost strategy? Use multiple agents:
- Hermes for routine work (route to cheap models like Haiku)
- Claude Code for hard problems (use Opus for complex reasoning)
- Cursor for IDE-integrated work (balances convenience and cost)
Your total cost stays manageable because you’re not using a sledgehammer for every task.
Note: Specific token costs depend heavily on your model choices and usage patterns. The estimates above are rough ranges, not guarantees.