Comparison

aibill vs ccusage

First, credit where it's due: ccusage is excellent. It's mature, fast, widely used, and it popularized the idea that local coding-agent logs can tell you what usage would cost at API rates. It now documents both Claude Code and Codex support. If you want a detailed local usage readout, it's a strong choice.

aibill starts from the same insight — read the logs you already have — and asks the next question: okay, that's the number. Now what? It adds API-rate comparison beside plan context, evidence-ranked candidates with approval and matched future-session comparison, hook-aware Context Health, and optional official provider cost reports kept separate from local estimates.

aibillccusage
Local agent coverageClaude Code + Codex15 local sources; Codex support is experimental
Claude Code session logsYesYes
Codex session logsYesYes — documented as beta
Estimates usage at API-equivalent ratesYesYes
Primary focusEvidence-constrained spend decisionsDetailed local usage and cost reporting
Adds official provider cost reports (user-referenced OpenAI/Anthropic admin credential)Connector validation: live_verified on non-empty Admin API data; tested OpenAI Costs reconciled to invoiced credits less the UI balance with $0.00 variance. Final invoices remain separate and financial evidence stays labeled per rowNot a stated focus
Subscription-vs-API plan mathAPI-rate comparison beside detected/declared plan; no entitlement inferenceBlock, quota, and usage reporting
Evidence-ranked action candidatesObserved exposure locally; modeled $ only with a source-supported counterfactual
Context inventory and invocation coverageYes — loading/overhead stays unmeasured where the host does not expose it
Local-first analysisYesYes
Open sourceMITMIT
Installnpx aibillnpx ccusage

Reviewed against ccusage's documentation on July 28, 2026 — check ccusage.com for the current feature set. “—” means not a stated focus, not necessarily absent.

aibill's validation labels describe connector coverage, not the financial evidence of every number. Local log values remain estimates even when their reader is live_verified.

Which should you use?

Use ccusage when detailed Claude Code or Codex usage reporting is the job. Use aibill when you want the decision layer on top: plan economics, evidence-backed actions, and — when you connect an user-referenced admin billing credential — official provider cost reports beside local estimates. Both are free and local-first; running both is a sensible comparison.

See your own evidence locally

Free and open source. The default CLI runs locally with no account, and your code, prompts, and financial data never leave your machine; provider connections and MCP sharing are always explicit.

Requires Node 22+. Also on npm as ai-spend-agent.

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