Slash Your AI Tool Costs: 9 Workflows to Save You Hundreds Per Month
In today’s rapidly evolving AI landscape, many online businesses find themselves subscribing to a multitude of expensive AI tools. However, the speaker in this video demonstrates that you can significantly reduce your overhead by adopting smarter, more integrated workflows. This article breaks down nine practical workflows that can help you save money and streamline your business operations.
[00:00] “Most online businesses,” the speaker states, “are spending hundreds of dollars a month on AI tools.” These tools, while powerful, can quickly become a significant expense, especially when newer, more efficient alternatives emerge. The video aims to reveal how to replace these costly subscriptions with more cost-effective solutions.
[00:14] “But here’s what nobody is telling you: Half of the tools that you’re paying for to accomplish things in your business today, you don’t even need anymore.” This is a bold claim that highlights the potential for significant savings by re-evaluating your current AI tool stack.
[00:31] The video proposes a strategy to “replace eight expensive AI tools you’re likely using today with just a handful of cheap or even free ones, using smarter workflows.” This transition can lead to substantial cost reductions, as illustrated by the following workflow examples.
[00:44] Workflow 1: Meeting Transcription & Notes
Traditionally, tools like Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai are used for meeting transcription and note-taking, with Otter.ai costing around $19 per month for its pro features.
[01:02] However, the video introduces a more cost-effective alternative: Fathom AI notetaking. Fathom offers unlimited recordings and transcription, and even an AI chat feature to get answers from your meetings. Crucially, Fathom provides a generous free plan that is “sufficient for individuals and teams,” allowing you to access all its core features without any monthly cost. This immediately saves you $19 per month compared to Otter.ai.
[01:09] Workflow 2: Deep Research & Analysis
For deep research and analysis, many businesses rely on tools like Perplexity Pro, which can cost around $20 per month. The video suggests replacing this with NotebookLM, a tool that is “totally free.”
[01:11] NotebookLM offers a free plan for individuals, making it a zero-cost alternative for in-depth research and analysis. While NotebookLM does have a pro plan, the free version is more than capable for many users, allowing you to “upload PDFs, websites, Google Docs, and Slides, YouTube URLs, and more,” to then ask questions and receive detailed answers. This saves you $20 per month.
[01:41] The process involves uploading your transcribed meeting notes into NotebookLM. You can then “track trends, ask questions, and write follow-ups.” This seamless integration allows for efficient analysis and insight generation.
[02:02] Workflow 1 & 2 Cost Savings: By replacing Otter.ai ($19/month) with Fathom (free) for meeting notes and Perplexity Pro ($20/month) with NotebookLM (free) for research, you can save a total of $39 per month.
[02:09] Workflow 3: Content Creation
For content creation, tools like Jasper Pro ($69/month) and Copy.ai ($29/month) are popular choices. However, the video highlights Claude Pro, which offers a comparable experience for $20 per month.
[03:43] The new workflow utilizes Claude’s capabilities for content creation, including generating various forms of written content such as emails, sequences, articles, reports, and scripts.
[03:50] “Many AI writing tools are not that great,” the speaker notes, implying that while some tools are expensive, their output may not always be optimal. Claude, on the other hand, excels at writing because it “understands nuance, context, and tone.”
[04:04] By switching to Claude Pro for $20 per month, you can replace the combined cost of Jasper and Copy.ai, saving an additional $78 per month ($69 + $29 - $20).
[04:22] Workflow 3 Cost Savings: By switching from Jasper and Copy.ai to Claude for content creation, you save approximately $78 per month.
[04:37] Workflow 4 & 5: Image Generation & Design
For image generation and design, tools like Midjourney ($30/month for standard) and Ideogram ($20/month for Plus) are commonly used. The video suggests using Google AI Studio, specifically its Nano Banana models, which offer free image generation and editing capabilities.
[04:45] “Nano Banana Pro is free,” the speaker states, “but you need an API key.” The Nano Banana model itself is also free to use. This allows for image generation in seconds, potentially saving you the $30-$50 monthly cost associated with dedicated AI image tools.
[06:53] Workflow 4 & 5 Cost Savings: By using Google AI Studio’s Nano Banana models for image generation and design, you can save an estimated $50 per month.
[07:00] Workflow 6: Presentations & Slide Decks
Creating presentations and slide decks can be a time-consuming task, and tools like Gamma ($20/month) and Canva Pro ($13/month) are often employed. The video recommends leveraging Gemini, which can “create full presentations for free.”
[07:33] By simply prompting Gemini within Google AI Studio to “create a slide deck that I can present to my team,” you can generate a comprehensive presentation. This eliminates the need for costly subscription-based presentation tools, saving you an additional $33 per month.
[08:36] Workflow 6 Cost Savings: Replacing Gamma and Canva for presentation creation with Gemini (free) can save you around $33 per month.
[08:44] Workflow 7: Automation & AI Workflows
For automation and building AI workflows, tools like Make.com Pro ($19/month) and MindPal ($49/month) are frequently used. The video suggests using Claude’s skills to create custom workflows.
[09:06] Claude’s “skill creator” feature allows you to build custom AI agents and workflows. By leveraging these skills, you can automate various tasks without needing multiple, expensive specialized tools. This can save you up to $68 per month (the combined cost of Make and MindPal).
[09:37] Workflow 7 Cost Savings: By using Claude’s free skill creation capabilities to build custom automation workflows, you can save approximately $68 per month.
[09:50] Workflow 8: Social Media Content Repurposing
Repurposing content across social media platforms can be efficiently handled with tools like Descript Creator ($35/month). The video suggests using Relay.app, which offers a free plan that is “sufficient” for building automated AI agent workflows.
[10:11] Relay.app allows you to create “no-code automated AI agent workflows,” enabling you to automate tasks like transforming video transcripts into LinkedIn posts, Instagram posts, tweets, and emails. This can save you the $35 per month subscription fee for Descript.
[11:53] Workflow 8 Cost Savings: Utilizing Relay.app’s free plan for social media content repurposing can save you around $35 per month.
[12:00] Workflow 9: Notion AI for Task Tracking and More
Finally, for tasks like creating a bug tracking dashboard, Notion AI offers powerful built-in functionality. By connecting Notion AI to your workspace and leveraging its various models like Claude Sonnet 4.5, Gemini Pro, or GPT-5.1, you can create custom databases and workflows within Notion itself.
[12:40] This eliminates the need for separate, often costly, tools for task management and data organization. While Notion AI has different pricing tiers, its core capabilities for building databases and custom workflows are accessible, potentially saving you significant amounts on specialized project management or AI-powered organizational tools.
[13:33] Total Monthly Savings:
By implementing these nine workflows, you can potentially save hundreds of dollars per month on your AI tool subscriptions. Based on the examples provided:
- Workflow 1 & 2 (Meeting Transcription & Research): $19 + $20 = $39 saved
- Workflow 3 (Content Creation): $69 + $29 - $20 = $78 saved
- Workflow 4 & 5 (Image Generation & Design): $30 + $20 = $50 saved
- Workflow 6 (Presentations & Slide Decks): $20 + $13 = $33 saved
- Workflow 7 (Automation & AI Workflows): $19 + $49 = $68 saved
- Workflow 8 (Social Media Content Repurposing): $35 saved
- Workflow 9 (Notion AI for Task Management): Potential savings vary, but can be significant by consolidating tools.
Estimated Total Monthly Savings: $313+
“Leverage AI to make your business profitable,” the speaker concludes, emphasizing that by adopting these smarter workflows, you can “save hours” and “streamline your business,” ultimately leading to a more efficient and cost-effective operation.