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 | ShadowGit |
|---|---|---|
| Pitch | Stop overpaying for Claude — 70-90% on same prompts | Cut Claude API bill 66% via Git-based AI memory |
| Savings claim | 70-90% (6 verified cases: 76-84%) | 66% |
| Workload coverage | Any Claude API workload — support, agents, code review, content, CRM codegen | Code / IDE AI tools only |
| Setup | One-line code change (swap API endpoint) | $29 lifetime. Local daemon auto-commits every keystroke |
| Free audit | Yes — paste bill, see number, no signup | Typically no |
| Mechanism disclosure | Private — "try it, the number is testable" | Feeds your coding history to AI via MCP so Claude stops re-reading files |
| Scope | Broad (workload-agnostic) | code-context only |
If your Claude usage is code / ide ai tools only and you're comfortable with $29 lifetime. local daemon auto-commits every keystroke, ShadowGit is purpose-built for that shape. — 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.
ShadowGit requires a local daemon + focuses on coding context. AIUsage requires no install, works on any Claude workload.
Across six audited workloads, AIUsage's measured delta was 76-84% on the same prompts, blind A/B tested: