The AI Tools I Actually Paid For in 2026 (And Honest Thoughts on Each)

I’m going to tell you what I’m actually paying for, what it costs, and whether I think it’s worth it. No affiliate disclaimers buried in footnotes – I’ll be upfront when there’s a link.

Frase.io – .99/month (Solo plan)

Still paying for it. The SEO research workflow is genuinely useful: enter a keyword, see what the top 20 ranking pages cover, write something better. Nothing else in this price range does that as well. The AI writing features are fine but not why I use it.

Worth it if: you’re publishing SEO content regularly and want to know what to actually write about before you start.

beehiiv – Free (Launch plan)

Using the free tier. beehiiv free handles up to 2,500 subscribers and the platform is solid. No reason to upgrade until the list grows enough to justify it. The fact that serious newsletter operators (Morning Brew alumni, etc.) run on this platform tells you the quality ceiling is high.

Worth it at free: yes, obviously. Worth upgrading: when you’re monetizing the list.

Canva Pro – not paying for it

The free tier is enough for what I’m doing. Carousels, simple graphics, basic branding. I’ve tried Pro twice and cancelled both times. If you’re doing high-volume design work or need the background remover constantly, maybe. For a content site, no.

ChatGPT Plus – not currently paying

I’ve subscribed and cancelled multiple times. The free tier is genuinely good enough for most tasks. The main reasons to pay: you need GPT-4o without rate limits, you use the code interpreter heavily, or you’re running it all day. For occasional use, save the .

Copy.ai – testing the free tier

Free tier has enough capacity to evaluate properly. It’s fast and useful for short-form copy. Haven’t hit a wall on the free tier yet that would make me upgrade. Will revisit when I’m running actual campaigns that need volume.

The honest bottom line

I’m spending .99/month on AI tools right now. Everything else is free tier. The goal is to keep costs near zero until DISPATCH is generating affiliate revenue, then reinvest a portion into tools that compound the output.

Frequently asked questions

Is ChatGPT Plus worth /month?

If you use it daily for work: yes. If you use it occasionally: probably not – the free tier handles most tasks.

What AI tools are worth paying for?

Tools that remove a specific bottleneck in your workflow. Frase.io for SEO research. Jasper for team content operations. VEED.io for AI video. Everything else should be tested on free tiers first.

How much should I spend on AI tools?

As little as possible until you’re making money with them. The free tiers of ChatGPT, Claude, Canva, and beehiiv are enough to build a real content operation from zero.

Is beehiiv free?

Yes, up to 2,500 subscribers. No credit card required. It’s not a trial – the Launch plan stays free at that tier permanently.

What’s the difference between Frase.io plans?

Solo plan at .99/month handles one user and basic SEO research. Basic plan at .99 adds more document credits. For a solo content creator, the Solo plan is enough.