Both claim to cut your Claude bill. They solve different problems. Here's how to pick.
Run the free audit at aiusage.ai →| Dimension | AIUsage | Meridian |
|---|---|---|
| Pitch | Stop overpaying for Claude — 70-90% on same prompts | Proxy that bridges your Claude Max subscription to OpenCode/Aider/Cline |
| Savings claim | 70-90% (6 verified cases: 76-84%) | N/A — access, not reduction |
| Workload coverage | Any Claude API workload — support, agents, code review, content, CRM codegen | Claude Max subscribers using 3rd-party CLIs |
| Setup | One-line code change (swap API endpoint) | Self-host proxy |
| Free audit | Yes — paste bill, see number, no signup | Typically no |
| Mechanism disclosure | Private — "try it, the number is testable" | Subscription bridging |
| Scope | Broad (workload-agnostic) | subscription bridge |
If your Claude usage is claude max subscribers using 3rd-party clis and you're comfortable with self-host proxy, Meridian is purpose-built for that shape. 884 GitHub stars if that matters to you.
If your Claude spend spans multiple workload types (support automation, agent loops, code review, content drafting, daily coding) or you want to audit your bill before you commit to any cost-reduction tool, AIUsage gives you the number first. No CLI install, no platform dependency, no code rewrite.
Meridian is a subscription bridge (ToS-risky in the current Anthropic climate). AIUsage operates at the paid API level, not the subscription level.
Across six audited workloads, AIUsage's measured delta was 76-84% on the same prompts, blind A/B tested: