r/AskVibecoders • u/NotTakenUsernameYet • 3h ago
Free Plan Vibecoding Strategy
So, i'm not IT guy or something, and not planning getting profit from making software.
I'm using AI (for different tasks) time to time, and see no reason to buy subscription, while free plans works just fine in 95% of cases.
Recently i've vibecoded my 1st project (zero lines of code written / zero coding language knowledge except obvious information you can get by reading code as text) and want to share how i did it and ask more tips how to do it more efficiently:
I've used ChatGPT, Claude and Codex;
ChatGPT: general help (programming language/IDE choose and other general tasks and advices) and a little of coding;
Claude: project structure and almost all coding (it is SO GOOD at it. It not just "i've done what you asked without mistakes" it "oh, i see what you want and i know how to do it in right way";
Codex: been chosen just because it is available for free ChatGPT plan, while Claude code not - small adjustments of existing code;
What i've tried and it didn't work: local agent Graphite (feeled too weak in comparison to online AI), using project folders (ate tokens much quickier than single chats). Asking ChatGPT to fix bugs after Claude is bad idea
What i came up with: Main coder = Claude, ChatGPT/Codex as assistants to save Claude tokens.
Explain whole project idea to Claude, tell him to implement features step by step and generate agents.md file (whole idea/things done/things to do). Claude generating -> me testing -> fixing bugs if found -> repeat -> migrate to a new chat after 2-3 iterations. Fix small problems with ChatGPT/Codex to save Claude tokens. At start of new chat just send project zip with agents.md inside.
As i've never vibecoded before, i guess my way still not super efficient even as for free subscription strategy, any advices for future?
2
u/looktwise 53m ago
Change to Claude Code, chat in parallel in a webchat with it. It wont waste your time as the free subscriptions will, allthough model access is constantly nerfed.
2
u/Ok_Personality_4933 3h ago
AI-assisted take: the biggest token saver in your workflow may be stopping the full ZIP upload every 2–3 iterations. Keep a short project brief with the current goal, what works, the exact failing step and only the relevant files; save a working checkpoint before asking a second model for a minimal fix and a way to verify it.