The Free Mac App That Tells You If Claude Code Is Worth the Money

I made a quick video on the tool I use to answer two questions every coding-agent user has: how much am I using this, and what would it cost at API rates. It is a free Mac app called CodexBar. Here is the gist and my take.

One place for every coding-agent bill

CodexBar is a macOS menu bar app that tracks Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, and other coding-agent usage together. Instead of checking each provider's own dashboard, you see all of them in one small dropdown at the top of your screen. It is open source, made by the same person who built OpenClaw, and it supports providers like OpenRouter and Ollama.

The number that matters

CodexBar shows your plan, your session limits, and your weekly allowance. The one I watch most is the API-equivalent cost, which estimates what your usage would have run at metered API rates. That single comparison settles the "is my subscription worth it" argument. Line up the API-equivalent figure against your flat fee. Higher means the plan is saving you money. Lower means you would be better off metered.

In the video I show my own case. I was ten days into a $100 Codex plan and CodexBar already put my usage at $738 of API-equivalent cost, more than seven times what I paid, with weeks still left on the cycle. It also showed I had about 23 percent of my weekly allowance left, and even the moment I canceled Claude Max and moved to Codex.

Why it changes how you work

Because it shows remaining limits per provider, CodexBar helps you route work. When one agent is nearly tapped out and another has room, you send the next task to the one with headroom instead of getting blocked. Small habit, real time saved.

Install is a couple of minutes on macOS. It is free and open source, nothing is locked to one vendor, and you can contribute to it if you want. You can find it at codexbar.app.

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