brian austin

Posted on Apr 18

Claude 4.7's tokenizer just got 20-30% more expensive — here's how to pay $2/month instead

#ai #claude #webdev #programming

Claude 4.7's tokenizer just got 20-30% more expensive

If you've been following Hacker News today, you've probably seen the analysis: Claude 4.7's new tokenizer costs 20-30% more per session than previous versions.

That means the $20/month ChatGPT subscription just got more expensive in real terms. The $100/month Claude Pro plan too.

And developers using the raw API are paying more for the same work.

The cost trajectory of AI is going up

Here's what the last 24 months of AI pricing looks like:

2023: ChatGPT Plus launched at $20/month
2024: ChatGPT raised to $22/month in some markets
2025: Claude Pro at $20/month, then $20-100/month tiers
2026: Claude 4.7 tokenizer costs 20-30% more per session

The direction is clear: AI is getting more expensive, not less.

Unless you're in the right place.

What $20/month actually costs around the world

Let's talk real numbers. $20/month sounds reasonable if you're in San Francisco. It's a different story everywhere else:

Country	ChatGPT $20/month	SimplyLouie	Days of work to afford ChatGPT
🇳🇬 Nigeria	₦32,000	₦3,200	7 days
🇵🇭 Philippines	₱1,120	₱112	4 days
🇰🇪 Kenya	KSh2,600	KSh260	5 days
🇮🇳 India	₹1,600	₹165	3 days
🇮🇩 Indonesia	Rp320,000	Rp32,000	5 days
🇬🇭 Ghana	GH¢250	GH¢25	6 days
🇧🇷 Brazil	R$100	R$10	3 days
🇲🇽 Mexico	MX$350	MX$35	2 days

For a developer in Lagos, ChatGPT costs the equivalent of a full week of work every single month.

For a freelancer in Manila, it's four days of wages just to access the tools their competitors in richer countries take for granted.

And now it's getting 20-30% more expensive.

The alternative

SimplyLouie is $2/month (USD equivalent). That's the price. It doesn't change based on model releases or tokenizer updates.

Country-specific pricing:

🇮🇳 India: Rs165/month
🇳🇬 Nigeria: ₦3,200/month
🇵🇭 Philippines: ₱112/month
🇰🇪 Kenya: KSh260/month
🇬🇭 Ghana: GH¢25/month
🇮🇩 Indonesia: Rp32,000/month
🇧🇷 Brazil: R$10/month
🇲🇽 Mexico: MX$35/month

Developer API

For developers who want to build on top of Claude without paying Anthropic's token pricing:

curl https://simplylouie.com/api/chat \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "Explain async/await in JavaScript"}'

$2/month. Unlimited messages. No tokenizer surcharges.

See simplylouie.com/developers

The mission

50% of all SimplyLouie revenue goes directly to animal rescue organizations.

The product is named after Louie — a rescue dog who inspired the question: what if AI tools were priced for the whole world, not just the top 10% of earners?

While Anthropic is raising tokenizer costs, SimplyLouie is holding the line at $2/month.

7-day free trial. No commitment. simplylouie.com

Tags: #ai #webdev #claude #programming

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