Cost Drift

AI bills rarely spike from one decision. They drift upward in pieces.

A second provider, a heavier model, a longer coding session, or one runaway task can all move the month-end number before you notice.

Provider sprawl hides the total

Each AI tool shows its own view. The real bill appears when you add usage costs and subscriptions together.

Using a premium model for simple summarization, classification, or boilerplate work can raise costs without improving the result.

A menu bar trend and forecast are useful because they show drift while there is still time to change the workflow.