$86 per month. $1,032 per year. That's what I was paying for three SaaS subscriptions I barely used.
In January 2025, I cancelled all three and replaced them with free AI tools. Six weeks in, I haven't missed any of them.
The Problem: SaaS Creep
I had:
- Formulas add-on ($12/month)
- Descript ($24/month)
- Beautiful.ai ($50/month)
I used each maybe 2-3 times per month. They auto-renewed and I forgot they existed.
Subscription 1: Formula Writer → Claude
What I was paying for: Type "sum the revenue column" and get a formula.
What I switched to: Claude 3.5 Sonnet + a prompt template.
| Feature | Old | New |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 15 seconds | 5 seconds |
| Accuracy | 85% | 98% |
| Languages | Excel only | Excel, Sheets, SQL, Python |
| Cost | $12/month | $0.03/month |
Cost savings: $143.64/year
Subscription 2: Descript → Whisper + Claude
What I was paying for: Upload a video, auto-generate captions.
What I switched to: Whisper API + ffmpeg + Claude.
| Feature | Old | New |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 2 minutes | 1 minute |
| Accuracy | 92% | 96% |
| Formatting | Professional | Manual |
| Cost | $24/month | $0.01/month |
Cost savings: $287.88/year
Subscription 3: Beautiful.ai → Claude + Google Slides
What I was paying for: Professional pitch templates + auto-formatting.
What I switched to: Claude for structure + Google Slides for design.
| Feature | Old | New |
|---|---|---|
| Time to deck | 20 minutes | 40 minutes |
| Cost | $100/month | $0 |
Cost savings: $1,200/year
The Real Numbers
Before: $86/mo ($1,032/year)
After: $15/mo ($180/year)
Annual savings: $852
What I'd Still Pay For
- Figma ($12/month): No free alternative
- Linear ($10/month): Saves 5 hours/week
- Vercel: Deployment worth paying for
Lessons Learned
Free AI tools are good enough for individual tasks. You need technical chops to DIY. Defaults matter. SaaS marketing works.
What SaaS are you overpaying for?
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