Setting Up the Accounts That Actually Matter

You don't need ten AI subscriptions. You need two or three, chosen on purpose. Here's how to pick.

Start with one general-purpose assistant, ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. If you already used the free tier while meeting your assistant in the last lesson, the paid tier is worth it once you're using the tool most days of the week, not before. The paid plans mainly buy you faster responses, longer conversations, and (on some tools) the ability to save custom instructions so you're not re-explaining your business every time. If you're using it a few times a week, free is genuinely fine.

Add one image tool once you have an actual need, a product photo, a social graphic, a thumbnail, not before. Midjourney and similar tools charge monthly for generation credits, so this is the one to add last, when you know you'll use it regularly.

Skip anything that bundles "everything AI" into one subscription. Those tend to do five things adequately instead of one thing well, and you're paying for four tools you won't touch.

Before you pay for anything, ask yourself what task this account replaces or speeds up, and how often you'll actually do that task. If you can't answer both, wait. Tech Stackz's curated picks will tell you when a specific tool is worth the money for what you're trying to do, so you're never guessing alone.