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AI · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Cached Claude API

Cut Claude API costs by 90% via active prompt caching.

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Prices are shown for the 1 we have checked on their own sites, 1 of them free or with a free tier.

  1. 1

    I kept slamming into Claude Code limits mid-session and couldn’t find a quick way to see how close I was getting, so I hacked together a tiny local tracker. Streams your prompt + completion usage in real time Predicts whether you’ll hit the cap before the session ends Runs 100 % locally (no auth, no server) Presets for Pro, Max × 5, Max × 20 — tweak a JSON if your plan’s different GitHub: https://github.com/Maciek-roboblog/Claude-Code-Usage-Monitor It’s already spared me a few “why did my run just stop?” moments, but it’s still rough around the edges. Feedback, bug…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2
    Diet Claudefree▲433

    Diet Claude — a usage meter for Claude that drains as you go and refills when your session resets. Crack open the can — free on the Chrome Web Store.

    Aug 2026 · dietclaude.com · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    Did you know Claude Code deletes your session data after 30 days? I found out the hard way when I tried to check my spending history. My session files hit 3GB (2000+ files) and existing tools took 40+ seconds. Rewrote it in Rust with simd-json + rayon. - First run: ~1s (vs 40s+) - Daily use: ~0.04s (1000x faster, cached) - TUI dashboard with daily/weekly/monthly breakdown - Supports Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI - Persistent cache — history survives even after CLI deletes files GitHub: https://github.com/mag123c/toktrack Feedback welcome!

    Feb 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    Hey all! Like many of you, I've been using Claude daily and kept having a hidden fear: when my limit will be reached? How much I have consumed in this session? Im ending up going back and forth to settings > usage to check Literally every 5mns So I built ClaudeUsageBar, a minimal menu bar app that shows your Claude usage percentage at a glance. What it does: Shows your current session (5-hour) and weekly usage directly in the menu bar Notifies you at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 90% thresholds so you can pace yourself Displays exactly when your limits reset Works with both Free and Pro plans Privacy…

    Jan 2026 · claudeusagebar.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5
    Agent 37▲401

    Hey HN, I noticed there are 1,000+ MCP skills on GitHub with zero way for creators to charge for them. So I built Agent37. Selling Claude skills today means asking customers to download your skill, set up Claude Code on their laptops, configure MCP servers, and pray it works. No trial, no updates, often you're just handing over the source. Agent37 lets creators upload a skill, share a link, and anyone can try it instantly (no Claude account needed). Built-in Stripe, creators keep 80%. Looking for feedback on the approach. Would you use something like this?

    Mar 2026 · agent37.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Ask Claude Code where your usage went. Token audit, limit diagnosis and usage forensics — built from the session logs already on your machine, nothing leaves it. - kelviq/tare

    Aug 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7
    Nimer▲2

    Cut Claude API costs ~60% with smart model routing

    May 2026 · nimer.dev · its alternatives →

  8. 8

    Cuts Claude Code and API costs 8.2x by fixing prompt-caching

    Aug 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  9. 9

    Built this after realizing I was spending ~$1400/week on Claude Code with almost no visibility into what was actually consuming tokens. Tools like ccusage give a cost breakdown per model and per day, but I wanted to understand usage at the task level. CodeBurn reads the JSONL session transcripts that Claude Code stores locally (~/.claude/projects/) and classifies each turn into 13 categories based on tool usage patterns (no LLM calls involved). One surprising result: about 56% of my spend was on conversation turns with no tool usage. Actual coding (edits/writes) was…

    Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    See exactly how much you spend on Claude, across every tool

    Mar 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    Save 97% on Claude Opus & Sonnet API costs.

    Mar 2026 · mmomarkethub.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12RG

    Hey HN! I'm José, and I built Recall to solve a problem that was driving me crazy. The Problem: I use Claude for coding daily, but every conversation starts from scratch. I'd explain my architecture, coding standards, past decisions... then hit the context limit and lose everything. Next session? Start over. The Solution: Recall is an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives Claude persistent memory using Redis + semantic search. Think of it as long-term memory that survives context limits and session restarts. How it works: - Claude stores important context as "memories" during…

    2025 · npmjs.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13

    I built a pool-based proxy that hacks Claude Code's pricing tiers. To actually use Claude Code you need Max at $200/mo, and then most of that capacity sits idle anyway. So ClawPool lets subscribers pool their OAuth tokens and earn up to $120/mo from the spare capacity. Everyone else gets Opus, Sonnet, all models for $8/mo. Setup — they actually support proxies themselves via standard env params: export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your-pool-key" export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://proxy.clawpool.ai" claude

    Feb 2026 · clawpool.ai · its alternatives →

  14. 14RC

    Hello HN! We're building a caching solution for LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude). By combining cutting-edge approaches, such as edge computing, prompt compression, vectorization, and others - it can reduce your AI bills by up to 10x and significantly lower response times. Key Features: - cost efficiency: our system stores frequent queries, reducing the number of upstream (paid) API calls - fast responses: with various nodes globally, we reduce latency by serving data from the nearest location - scalability: designed to handle increasing loads and data sizes without degrading performance. The cache…

    2024 · edgematic.dev · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Hey HN! I built Retain as the evolution of claude-reflect (github.com/BayramAnnakov/claude-reflect). The original problem: I use Claude Code/Codex daily for coding, plus claude.ai and ChatGPT occasionally. Every conversation contains decisions, corrections, and patterns I forget existed weeks later. I kept re-explaining the same preferences. claude-reflect was a CLI tool that extracted learnings from Claude Code sessions. Retain takes this further with a native macOS app that: - Aggregates conversations from Claude Code, claude.ai, ChatGPT, and Codex CLI - Instant full-text…

    Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    Hey HN. I built this because my Anthropic API bills were getting out of hand (spoiler: they remain high even with this, batch is not a magic bullet). I use Claude Code daily for software design and infra work (terraform, code reviews, docs). Many Terminal tabs, many questions. I realised some questions are ok to wait on and with that comes some cost savings. So here is a small MCP that lets you send work directly to Anthropic's Batch API from inside Claude Code, for the same quality responses just 50% cheaper, results come back in ~30min-1hr. How it works: you type /batch review this…

    Feb 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    I kept hitting Claude's 5-hour limit without realizing it, so I made this menu bar app to track it. Shows a color-coded ring (green/orange/red) and countdown to reset. Built it in Swift/SwiftUI, just for myself initially. Right now you have to manually grab your sessionKey from browser DevTools, which is annoying but works. Stores it in macOS Keychain so it's secure. Been actively working on it, already at v1.3.0 with much better UX now. It's open source (MIT) and works with all Claude platforms (web/CLI/desktop/mobile) since they share the quota. Currently…

    Oct 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  18. 18
    CCProxy▲13

    Keep Claude Code's magic, slash costs by 90%

    2025 · ccproxy.orchestre.dev · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    Use models like Opus 4.6 with no limits and at your ease.

    Apr 2026 · thefixer.in · its alternatives →

  20. 20CW

    Claude Code added a /stats command. The stats are cached in $HOME/.claude, so I made a fun program with Bun + WASM that pulls the stats (nonsensitive, nonidentifiable), posts them to a database, and lets you see where your usage lies. The code is here[^1] if anyone's interested in the rendering code or wants to make sure I'm not exfiltrating their credit card. [^1]: https://github.com/tspader/claude-wrapped/

    Dec 2025 · spader.zone · its alternatives →

  21. 21

    Hey HN! I built Year in Code to turn your Claude Code usage into a beautiful Wrapped-style report (like Spotify Wrapped). If you use Claude Code with ccusage, it's super quick to try: Setup (2 minutes): 1. Run: `npx -y ccusage@latest daily --since 20250101 --until 20251231 --json > wrapped.json` 2. Upload at yearincode.xyz/2025 3. Get your report! *What you'll see:* - Total tokens - Activity streaks & patterns - Top models used - Shareable report Key features: - 100% secure: 100% browser processing, no server uploads - 2-minute setup: One npx command, upload JSON, done - Free & open…

    Dec 2025 · yearincode.xyz · its alternatives →

  22. 22

    Multiple Claude.ai accounts tracked from your Mac menu bar.

    Jun 2026 · claude-monitor.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Cut your AI coding bill 70% with automatic task routing

    Apr 2026 · coderouter.io · its alternatives →

  24. 24GC

    As I started to use Claude Code to do more random tasks I realized I could basically build any CLI tool and it would use it. So I built one that controls the browser and open-sourced it. It should work with Codex or any other CLI-based agent! I have a long term idea where the models are all local and then the tool is privacy preserving because it's easy to remove PII from text, but I'd definitely not recommend using this for anything important just yet. You'll need a Gemini key until I (or someone else) figure out how to distill a local version out of that part of the pipeline. Github link:…

    2025 · cli-agents.click · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →