Both apps keep AI usage, cost, and rate-limit pressure live in the macOS menu bar across Claude, Cursor, OpenAI, Copilot, and Gemini. The useful question is not which one shows usage — it is which model fits how you want to pay, store data, and see your real monthly 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 track the major coding-AI providers live in the menu bar. T4B covers 8 providers — Claude Code, Cursor, OpenAI, Copilot, Gemini, DeepSeek, Mistral, and OpenRouter — with Claude Code and Copilot auto-detected from local config, so the first provider works without an API key.
T4B's distinguishing feature is that it folds flat-rate subscriptions — Claude Pro, ChatGPT Plus, Cursor, Copilot — into the same view as metered API spend, so the number you see is your actual combined monthly AI bill, not only token usage.
T4B is local-first by default: no account, no telemetry, and usage data stays in a local database on your Mac. If keeping AI usage data off a vendor's servers matters to you, that is the design baseline rather than an add-on.
T4B is free for one provider and a one-time $7.99 for all 8 providers, session budgets, spend projection, and exports — no subscription. If you prefer to pay once for a utility instead of adding another monthly fee, that model is the point.
Use SessionWatcher when
You are happy with its specific workflow and feature set for live coding-AI usage and rate-limit monitoring on macOS.
Use T4B when
You want subscriptions and API spend in one total, a local-first app with no account, the Claude Code 5-hour window visible, and a one-time price.
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