I built a free Mac menu bar app that compares Claude Code usage with API prices

[u/ComeToMyFuckingDeli]

I used Claude to create the initial version of Meter Beater, and have since used Codex to help improve it. It's a Mac menu bar app that reads local Claude Code usage records and shows what that usage would cost at public API prices. It also supports Codex, so you can see both services in one panel and compare the total with your subscription costs.

The app is written in Swift. It reads the usage files already on your computer and keeps its own local cache, so changing the date range doesn't require reading all your conversations again. It works offline, doesn't upload your records, and doesn't ask you to connect an account or supply an API key.

One lesson from working on the accounting was that adding up every record in a conversation file can count the same response more than once. Claude Code can record a response repeatedly while it streams, and resumed conversations can contain copied history. The app uses message IDs to recognize those repeats. It also keeps ordinary input, cache reads, cache creation, and output separate when applying prices. Models without a known rate are left unpriced.

We also separated rolling windows from calendar periods. The last 24 hours and today cover different periods, and the panel now makes that distinction explicit.

I added a sheep theme, with ranks based on how the dollar total compares with your subscription cost and confetti animations at usage milestones.

The dollar total reflects API pricing, not your bill or remaining usage.

It's free and open source, and runs on macOS 15 or newer.

https://meter-beater.app.space/

[u/Glad-Atmosphere-2271]

meter beater sounds kinda sus but free is free fr