I Tracked Every Dollar I Spent on AI APIs for 6 Months. Then I Went Local.

Six months ago I decided to run an experiment: keep using every cloud AI API I normally used (Runway, OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Remove.bg), but track every single dollar.

Then halfway through, I rebuilt the same pipeline with local tools and compared the results.

Here's the actual math.

The Monthly API Bill

Before the experiment, I never actually added up what I was spending. Here's what the spreadsheet showed:

I Tracked Every Dollar I Spent on AI APIs for 6 Months. Then I Went Local.

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