Tools I Actually Use
Honest recommendations from someone who tests AI tools daily. No affiliate spam, no vendor relationships—just what actually works.
🤖 Writing & Analysis
Claude 4 Opus
Best reasoning model available. Actually understands context and follows complex instructions. Worth every penny for serious work.
- Handles 100K+ token contexts reliably
- Superior reasoning for complex analysis
- Consistent output quality
- Expensive for high-volume use
- Slower than GPT-4o
Kimi 2.5
Best value for agentic workflows. #1 on OpenRouter for good reason—genuine autonomous behavior at a fraction of Claude's cost.
💻 Coding
Claude Code (CLI)
Anthropic's official CLI beats every coding wrapper. Direct access to Claude's reasoning without the Cursor tax.
- No subscription markup—pay Claude directly
- Better reasoning than wrapped alternatives
- Actually understands complex codebases
- Command-line interface (not beginner friendly)
- No fancy UI
❌ What I Don't Recommend
Cursor Pro
Overpriced wrapper around existing models. Slick UI designed to trap you in usage-based billing that can hit $200+/month.
Most "AI Writing" Tools
90% are ChatGPT wrappers with fancy marketing. Just use ChatGPT or Claude directly and save $50+/month.
Why Trust These Recommendations?
Real Money Spent
I've spent over $2,400 testing AI tools in the past year. These recommendations represent tools I actually pay for.
Daily Testing
I use these tools for real work—content creation, code reviews, analysis. Not just toy examples.
No Affiliate Bullshit
I don't get paid to recommend tools. If something sucks, I'll tell you it sucks.
Get Tool Updates
New AI tools launch weekly. I test them so you don't waste money on hype.