Both apps surface AI usage, reset timers, and monthly spend from the macOS menu bar with alerts before limits interrupt your work. T4B leans into the part most trackers skip: the flat-rate subscriptions that quietly make up most of a builder's AI bill.
The point is not to pretend every alternative is bad. It is to make the tradeoff obvious for a Mac builder who needs a live operating signal.
Both keep live usage and reset timers in the menu bar with threshold alerts. T4B makes the Claude Code 5-hour rolling window and weekly pressure visible so you can compact, clear, or pause a session before it cuts out mid-task.
T4B tracks Claude Pro, ChatGPT Plus, Cursor, and Copilot subscriptions alongside metered API costs. For most builders the subscriptions are the larger, easier-to-forget number, so including them is what makes the monthly total honest.
No account, no cloud sync, no telemetry — usage data stays in a local database on your Mac. The privacy posture is the default, not a setting you have to find.
Free for one provider; a one-time $7.99 unlocks all 8 providers, session budgets, spend projection, the privacy audit log, and exports. No subscription to track a tool whose job is to reduce your subscriptions.
Use AIUsageBar when
Its specific alerting and layout fit your workflow and you mainly need live usage and reset timers across coding-AI providers.
Use T4B when
You want subscriptions plus API spend in one total, local-first defaults with no account, and a one-time purchase rather than another monthly fee.
Privacy-first analytics
We use optional analytics to understand aggregate website usage and make the product easier to discover. Google Analytics only loads after you accept. No account data, app data, or personal AI usage is sent, and you can change your choice anytime.
Read the privacy policy