Which AI tools are worth paying for? Here are subscriptions I'm keeping - and why

The article recounts a year-long review of AI tools and costs, totaling $1,665 in 2025, as the author evaluates and iterates on a stack that began with Midjourney, ChatGPT Plus, and Adobe Creative Cloud, later adding OpenAI’s API for keyword tagging, experimenting with agentic coding via ChatGPT Pro/Codex, adopting Notion AI, and shifting to Claude Code Max for extensive app development. In December, the author trims expenses by replacing Adobe Creative Cloud with the Photography plan, briefly tests Canva/Leonardo, adds Google AI Pro, and reflects on ROI, concluding that agentic coding and select AI services delivered significant time savings that justified the spend while emphasizing active budgeting and periodic downgrades.