For cutting subscriptions
Which subscriptions can your AI plan replace?
A chat plan can replace the thinking part of many apps, like meal ideas, workout plans or a follow-up email, but not the part that remembers: your food log, streaks and client list. Ion is both: open-source apps that keep your data on your computer, powered by the Claude or ChatGPT plan you already pay for (its usage limits apply).
What can your AI plan replace, and what can’t it?
The thinking, yes. The remembering, no. A chat can suggest a meal, plan a workout or draft a follow-up, but it has nowhere reliable to keep a food log, a running total, a streak or a client list: chat memory holds a few facts about you, not records you can add up. An app that keeps the data, with your AI doing the tedious part, covers both.
| A chat plan alone | An app that keeps the data | |
|---|---|---|
| Counting calories | Estimates a meal from a description or a photo, and photo estimates can be far off. | Keeps the daily log, the running total and a target that moves with your training. |
| Meal planning and groceries | Suggests meals and writes a one-off shopping list. | Plans from the recipes you saved and builds one list for the week. |
| Workouts | Writes a plan for the week. | Logs every set and personal record, so next week builds on this one. |
| Habits | Talks through why a habit slipped. | Keeps the streak, and can tick it off when another app knows you did it. |
| To-dos | Breaks a project into steps. | Keeps the list, with due dates, and shares it with the household. |
| Clients and deals | Drafts a follow-up from whatever you paste in. | Remembers every deal and who is waiting to hear from you. |
| Invoicing | Words an invoice or a payment reminder. | Keeps every invoice and payment, and who still owes you. |
Which apps does Ion replace?
The everyday ones it has an app for. At launch, Ion’s library has an open-source app for each of these jobs. They run on your computer with no per-app subscription, share what they know through connections you approve, and your own AI can answer questions across them.
A calorie counterCaloriesA daily target that moves with your training.
A meal plannerRecipesPlan the week’s meals and send the list to Grocery.
A grocery listGroceryOne list for the week, built from what you’re cooking.
A workout logTrainingWorkouts, sets and personal records.
A habit trackerHabitsStreaks that fill themselves in when another app knows you did it.
A to-do appTasksPersonal lists and shared ones, with due dates from your other apps.
A CRMPipelineDeals and follow-ups. Your AI drafts the nudges; nothing is sent without you.
InvoicingLedgerInvoices, payouts and expenses, and who still owes you.
What if an app doesn’t work the way I want?
Change it. Tell your AI what you’d do differently, in plain language. It rewrites the app on a private draft, you try the draft, and you keep it only if you like it. The apps are open source, so the change is yours.
That is also the quickest way to build your own habit tracker with AI: start from Habits and ask for what it’s missing, like weekly streaks instead of daily ones, rather than starting from nothing.
At launch, updates keep your changes: new versions are merged with yours, and you preview before anything changes.
What does it cost?
Ion’s apps add no subscriptions of their own. What you pay for is what you likely have already: a computer that stays on, and your Claude or ChatGPT plan.
- No per-app subscriptions for Ion’s library.
- No second AI bill. Your Claude or ChatGPT plan does the work (its usage limits apply).
- Early access is free. Pricing hasn’t been announced.
What do I need?
A computer that stays on
A Mac mini is ideal; an old Mac or Linux laptop works.
A Claude or ChatGPT plan
Ion uses the plan you already pay for.
A guided setup
- One-line install, then a setup wizard.
- Start private: just you and your devices, over Tailscale (free for personal use), no domain needed.
- When you want to invite people outside that network, the wizard sets up sharing with a Cloudflare account and a domain.
What you don’t need: a new computer, a domain to get started, a credit card for Ion, or a second AI subscription.
Questions about cutting subscriptions
Which subscriptions can I cancel if I have ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro?
The ones where you only need the thinking: meal ideas, workout plans, a first draft. Keep the ones that remember things, like your food log, streaks or client list, unless you have an app that keeps that data for you. Ion’s library at launch covers those with open-source apps on your own computer, powered by the plan you already pay for (its usage limits apply).
Can ChatGPT or Claude replace a calorie-counting app?
Not on its own. A chat can estimate a meal from a description or a photo, but it doesn’t keep a reliable daily log, a running total or a target, and photo estimates can be far off. What works is an app that keeps the log, with an AI to do the tedious part. At launch, Ion’s Calories app keeps the log on your computer and moves your target with the workouts in its Training app.
How do I make a meal plan and grocery list with AI that remembers my recipes?
Keep your recipes in an app, not in a chat history, and let the AI plan from them. In Ion, Recipes plans the week and sends what you need to Grocery, which builds one list for the week. Everything stays on your own computer, and you can share the grocery list with your household by email.
Can I build my own habit tracker with AI?
Yes, and you don’t have to start from nothing. Ion’s library at launch includes Habits, an open-source habit tracker that runs on your computer. Tell your AI what you’d change, such as weekly streaks instead of daily ones, and it rewrites the app on a private draft you try before keeping it.
Is a ChatGPT or Claude plan worth it to replace other apps?
Only if the plan does work you would otherwise pay other apps for, and chat alone can’t keep your records. Paired with apps that keep your data, the same plan can do the planning, logging and drafting across all of them. Ion is built that way: its apps use your own plan, subject to its usage limits, and there is no second AI subscription.
Are there self-hosted apps that replace subscriptions?
Yes. Self-hosted apps already cover media, photos, passwords and files. For the apps you open every day, Ion’s library at launch adds a calorie counter, meal planner, grocery list, workout log, habit tracker, to-do list, CRM and invoicing. They are open source, run on a Mac or Linux computer you own, and need no per-app subscription.
Cutting subscriptions? Get your invite.
Invite-only, released in small waves. Free during early access.