Comparison

Model Usage vs MeterTab

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Model Usage

Features
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Model Usage is a real time dashboard for your AI coding tool usage. See how much of your five hour window and weekly quota you have used, watch your session tick up live, and get notified before you hit a limit. HOW IT WORKS A small client runs on your computer and reads the usage files that your AI coding tools already write locally. It forwards that usage to a server address you control. The apps pair with that server over a QR code or short pair code. No account, no email, no login. LIVE WHERE YOU ALREADY LOOK - Live Activity: a glanceable card with your current session and weekly usage, visible on the lock screen and Dynamic Island. - Home Screen widgets: compact and expanded sizes that show your session, weekly totals, and rate multipliers at a glance. - Lock Screen widgets: a tiny usage indicator right next to the clock. PAIRS WITH THE REST OF YOUR DEVICES Once you are paired on one device, the same setup flows to every companion app automatically. Send a snapshot to anyone in a conversation with the Model Usage messaging app. PRIVACY BY DESIGN No analytics. No tracking. No accounts. No advertising SDKs. Your usage data goes from your computer to a server you choose, and then to your own devices. Model Usage never sees it. FEATURES - AI coding tool usage tracking, side by side - Five hour session window and weekly window - Live Activity with Dynamic Island integration - Companion apps across every size of screen - Messaging app for sharing usage snapshots - Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets in all sizes - Live rate multiplier awareness. Rate changes are reflected in real time. - Open pair code or QR flow. No account required. - Dark mode throughout SETUP IN UNDER A MINUTE 1. Install the desktop client. 2. Copy the pair code. 3. Enter it in the app. That is it. The setup guide lives at modelusage.app/setup. Model Usage is built by a solo developer and does not collect, store, or share any personal data. See modelusage.app/privacy for details.

About

MeterTab

Features
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MeterTab puts your AI coding budget on your iPhone, Apple Watch, and Home Screen. See at a glance how much of your Claude, Codex, and Cursor budget you have left - before you hit a wall mid-task. WHY METERTAB AI coding assistants burn through 5-hour and weekly limits with no warning. MeterTab turns the usage the tools already log into a live budget you can plan around - synced from the MeterTab Mac app to your iPhone and Watch over your own private iCloud. WHAT YOU GET • Live budget - 5-hour and weekly usage with time-to-reset countdowns. • Answer your agents from anywhere - approve, deny, or pick an option when Claude Code asks, from your Mac, iPhone or Watch. • See what every session is doing - which worktrees are busy, the command in flight, and the agent's own task list. • iPhone & Apple Watch apps, Home Screen & Lock Screen widgets, and a Watch complication - your budget on every wrist and screen. • Multi-provider - Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor in one place. • Claude service status - on the main screen, in Settings, and on your widgets and complication, so an outage never looks like your budget running out. • Per-model cost breakdown - see exactly which models are spending your budget. • Activity heatmap + burn rate - spot your heaviest hours and how fast you are trending. • Every number carries its source - Claude's own figure, measured, or estimated - so you always know what you are reading. • Pay-as-you-go spend too - the API costs your Mac tracks from your own provider keys land here as well. • Speaks your language: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil) and Chinese (Simplified) - with figures formatted for your region. FOR AGENTS: A BUDGET THEY CAN TALK TO MeterTab's Mac app runs a local MCP server, so your own AI agents can ask "how much budget is left?" and throttle themselves - downshift to a cheaper model, or pause - instead of failing halfway through a job. Your iPhone and Watch keep that same budget in your pocket. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No backend. No account required. No data collected. Any keys you give the Mac app stay in its Keychain, on that Mac. Your usage never leaves your devices - iCloud sync uses your own private iCloud database and carries only counts. FREE & PRO Free: the live gauge, threshold notifications, and up to 4 providers. Pro (one-time purchase, covers Mac + iPhone + Watch via Universal Purchase, with a 14-day free trial): the MCP server your agents can query, billing-key exact-dollar spend tracking, iCloud sync, the heatmap, burn rate, unlimited providers, and the iPhone & Watch apps. A NOTE ON ACCURACY Anthropic does not publish exact token limits, so the 5-hour and weekly percentages are estimates: your Mac works them out from its Claude Code logs, and they can differ a few percent from Claude's own usage screen. Calibrating on the Mac anchors them and carries across to here. If you connect your Claude account there, your iPhone and Watch show the exact figures too - every number is tagged so you can tell at a glance which kind you are looking at. MeterTab is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic, OpenAI, or Cursor. Product names are used only to describe compatibility.

Screenshots

Model Usage3 screens
MeterTab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Model Usage at none against MeterTab's 1. Model Usage also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 days) and device support (6 vs 3). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. MeterTab sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Model Usage asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Model Usage ships an update every 3 days, MeterTab every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 3, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
Model Usage versus MeterTab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterModel UsageMeterTab
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, Mac, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRayan KhanPETER DONGO

In-app purchases

None

Model Usage

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

MeterTab

One-time1
  • MeterTab Pro$19.99

Questions

Is Model Usage free?
Model Usage is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MeterTab free?
MeterTab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Model Usage or MeterTab have ads?
Neither Model Usage nor MeterTab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Model Usage or MeterTab?
Model Usage ships an update every 3 days, and MeterTab every 6 days. Most recently, Model Usage was updated on September 3, 2026 and MeterTab on September 20, 2026.

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