u/Papstark

I’m trying to optimize my AI setup on a $20/month budget, and I’d really appreciate some advice from people who’ve already tested different tools.

Here’s my current situation:

• I have a student account on Windsurf, so I can get Pro for $10/month
• I’m interested in trying Minimal 2.7 (looks promising) Starter for $10/month
• But the main one I’m considering is Claude Pro

My use cases:

• Building automations
• Creating interactive prototypes
• Working with RAG agents

What’s holding me back from Claude Pro:

• The design mode (Claude Design) seems really powerful, but I’ve read sessions are short and limited (weekly?)
• Regular coding usage seems to hit rate limits pretty quickly
• Still, the quality of outputs looks better than most alternatives

So I’m trying to figure out the best combo within $20:

• Windsurf Pro + Minimax?
• Claude Pro alone?
• Or maybe skip Claude and combine other tools?

If you were in my position, how would you spend the $20?

Looking for real-world experiences, especially if you’re doing similar things (automation, prototyping, RAG, etc.)

Thanks in advance