05/05/2026
I tested every AI tool in my stack this quarter. Here's what stays and what gets cut.
Not a sponsored post. Not an affiliate list. Just what I actually use and what it costs.
The stack:
1. Claude - Primary writing & reasoning. $20/mo. (Keeping)
2. ChatGPT - Ideation only. $20/mo. (Keeping)
3. Perplexity - Research layer. $20/mo. (Keeping)
4. Midjourney - Visuals. $10/mo. (Cutting - barely used)
5. n8n - Automation backbone. $0/mo (Self-hosted). (Keeping)
6. SurferSEO - Briefs and scoring. $89/mo. (Cutting - replaced by Claude)
7. Ahrefs - Rank tracking. $108/mo. (Keeping)
8. Notion AI - Docs. $10/mo. (Cutting - replaced by Claude)
Total cost before cuts: $277/mo.
Total cost after cuts: $168/mo.
Save this + send to a marketer rebuilding their stack.
Follow for more.
[AI tools 2026, AI marketing stack, Claude vs ChatGPT, SEO tools, content marketing tools, n8n automation, AI for freelancers]
