The AI Tool Stack I Use Daily as a CTO (And What I Dropped)
After two years of testing every AI tool on the market, my daily stack narrowed to 8 tools. Here is exactly what I use, why each earned its spot, and the popular tools I dropped along the way.
Two years ago, I subscribed to 14 AI tools simultaneously. Ambitious? Sure. Productive? Barely. Most tools overlapped, several underperformed, and managing 14 subscriptions distracted me from actually using any of them well.
Today my daily stack runs 8 tools. Each one handles a specific job better than any alternative I’ve tested. Nothing overlaps. Nothing sits unused. The monthly cost dropped from $430 to $160 while my productivity increased by roughly 30%.
Here’s the exact stack, why each tool earned its position, and the casualties that didn’t survive the cut.
The Daily Stack
1. Claude (Pro — $20/mo)
Job: Deep work partner — writing, analysis, architecture, strategy
Every significant piece of writing starts with Claude. Client proposals, strategy documents, technical architecture docs, this article — Claude drafts, I refine. The 200K token context window handles entire project contexts that other tools lose track of. I feed Claude a project brief, existing documentation, and constraints in one conversation, then work through deliverables without repeating context.
Why it won: Output quality on professional writing exceeds every alternative I’ve tested. Not by a small margin — by 20-30%. Detailed analysis in my Claude vs ChatGPT comparison.
2. Claude Code (included with Pro)
Job: Engineering partner — coding, refactoring, debugging, architecture
Claude Code operates directly in my terminal with full access to my codebase. Multi-file refactors, debugging complex issues, building features across the full stack — Claude Code handles engineering work that browser-based AI tools can’t touch because they lack project context.
Why it won: No other AI coding tool understands an entire codebase and executes changes across it autonomously. Full review in my coding assistants article.
3. ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo)
Job: Research, data analysis, image generation, quick tasks
ChatGPT handles everything Claude doesn’t: web search for current data, Code Interpreter for quick data analysis, DALL-E for image generation, and plugin integrations for specialized tasks. When I need a chart from a CSV in 30 seconds or current market data for a client presentation, ChatGPT delivers.
Why it survived alongside Claude: Each tool dominates different tasks. Using both eliminates blind spots. Detailed breakdown in my Claude vs ChatGPT comparison.
4. GitHub Copilot ($10/mo)
Job: Inline code completion — the background assistant
Copilot runs silently in my editor, completing lines and functions as I type. It saves 15-30 minutes daily on boilerplate, repetitive patterns, and predictable code. I barely notice it working — which means it works perfectly.
Why it coexists with Claude Code: Different scopes. Copilot handles tactical, line-by-line completion. Claude Code handles strategic, multi-file engineering. They complement rather than compete.
5. Perplexity Pro ($20/mo)
Job: Research engine — market research, competitive analysis, fact-checking
Perplexity replaced my Google searches for business research. Ask a complex question, get a structured answer with citations I can verify. Pro Search digs deeper, asking clarifying questions before delivering comprehensive research briefs. When writing AI tool reviews, Perplexity surfaces current pricing, features, and competitive positioning faster than manual research.
Why it won over ChatGPT for research: Perplexity cites every source. ChatGPT summarizes without always showing where the information came from. For research that informs business decisions or published content, citations matter.
6. Make ($16/mo)
Job: Workflow automation — connecting tools, automating processes
Make automates the repetitive workflows across my business: lead qualification, email sequences, data syncing, report generation, notification routing. The visual builder handles complex branching logic that simpler tools can’t express. I build client automations on Make too — the visual interface impresses stakeholders during handoff.
Why it won over Zapier: More operations per dollar, better visual builder for complex logic, and direct LLM integration for AI-powered automation steps. Full comparison in my automation tools article.
7. Otter.ai ($17/mo)
Job: Meeting transcription and notes — never miss a detail
Otter joins every meeting automatically, transcribes with ~95% accuracy, and delivers summaries with action items before I close my laptop. As a fractional CTO managing multiple client engagements, I sit in 15-25 meetings per week. Otter freed roughly 5 hours weekly that previously went to manual note-taking.
Why it won: Highest transcription accuracy I’ve tested, especially with multiple speakers and technical terminology. Full comparison in my meeting assistants review.
8. Gamma ($10/mo)
Job: Presentation creation — strategy decks and client deliverables
Gamma generates complete presentations from text descriptions in under a minute. I describe the narrative, Gamma handles layout and design, I refine the content. A process that once consumed half a day now takes 45 minutes.
Why it won: Narrative flow. Gamma builds presentations that tell a story rather than dumping bullet points on slides. Full review in my presentation tools article.
The Monthly Cost
| Tool | Cost |
|---|---|
| Claude Pro | $20 |
| ChatGPT Plus | $20 |
| GitHub Copilot | $10 |
| Perplexity Pro | $20 |
| Make Pro | $16 |
| Otter.ai Pro | $17 |
| Gamma Plus | $10 |
| Claude Code | included |
| Total | $113 |
$113/month for a productivity stack that replaces what would otherwise require a research analyst, a copywriter, a designer, an admin assistant, and several hours of manual work daily. The ROI materializes in the first week.
What I Dropped (And Why)
Jasper ($49/mo) — Dropped after 3 months. Claude produces better business writing at less than half the cost. Jasper’s brand voice training didn’t justify the premium over Claude’s ability to match tone from a single example.
Notion AI ($10/mo add-on) — Dropped after 2 months. The AI features added marginal value on top of Notion itself. Claude handles document drafting better. Notion remains excellent as a workspace — the AI add-on just didn’t carry its weight.
Grammarly Premium ($12/mo) — Dropped after 1 month. Claude and ChatGPT catch grammar issues as part of the writing process. A dedicated grammar tool became redundant.
Midjourney ($30/mo) — Dropped after 4 months. Beautiful image generation, but the Discord interface created too much workflow friction. DALL-E through ChatGPT handles 90% of my business image needs with zero context switching.
Descript ($24/mo) — Dropped after 2 months. Powerful video editing, but I don’t produce enough video content to justify the subscription. When I need video editing, I use the free tier on a project basis.
Two “AI writing tools” ($50-100/mo combined) — Dropped within weeks. GPT wrappers with markup. Identical output to ChatGPT at 3-5x the cost.
How to Build Your Own Stack
Start with one tool. Claude or ChatGPT — either one transforms your daily workflow immediately. Use it for 30 days before adding anything else.
Add tools to solve specific pain points. Don’t subscribe to a tool because it looks cool. Subscribe because you identified a specific task that consumes time, tested the tool on that task, and measured the time savings.
Audit quarterly. Every 90 days, ask: did I use this tool this week? If not, cancel it. Unused subscriptions drain budget without delivering value.
Overlap kills value. Two tools that do the same job mean one tool wasting money. When you add a new tool, identify what it replaces and cancel the overlap.
The perfect AI stack doesn’t exist. The right stack — the one that maps precisely to YOUR daily tasks with zero overlap and zero waste — delivers transformative productivity gains at a cost that pays for itself in hours saved during the first week.
This reflects my actual daily tool usage as of April 2026. I pay for every tool listed — no sponsored placements or free accounts influence the selection. Some links may earn a commission — see the about page for details.
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