Tonight I cancelled my Claude Pro subscription.
Claude Code Post Mortem
My first session with Claude Code was practically magical. I was speaking to my computer, telling it with natural language what I wanted it to do, and it was able to just do it. It did ( and still does ) feel like a completely new form of input, a new way to control my machine. I have misgivings about using AI in this way, but I still think this is a great tool for sufficiently low-level tasks. I’m waiting eagerly for the day that I can spin up a local LLM that can perform this function as well as Claude Code does.
I used Claude Code to build projects. Some with minor assistance, and some completely vibe-coded ( iterative prompting without reading or understanding the generated code ). I’ve had success and failure using both approaches.
I used it to help me start a solo IT business. The idea predates my subscription, but I had been dragging my heels. The mere act of planning the launch with Claude motivated me. Watching it build the business plan in real time, write todos, set deadlines made me feel as though this was all actually possible. And if I’m being honest even now I believe that it played a role in getting me to launch at all.
So far I’ve only had one real customer, and that was just pure luck. My neighbour’s husband needed some work done on his laptop, and she asked me to help. She had no idea I had started the business. He agreed to a paid service, and seemed genuinely satisfied but I have doubts about whether it was appropriate for me to charge, and in hindsight I even feel a bit embarrassed. She must have been expecting a simple neighbourly favour.
It feels as though all the work I did has yet to amount to anything. No formal service requests, no phone calls, no emails, or even messages on Facebook. I’m not giving up on this business. My operating costs are almost non-existent so I’m willing to let this exist as a side hustle for now.
Claude helped me get my idea off the ground, for which I am grateful. I do genuinely believe that otherwise I would not have accomplished this goal, at least not as well or as soon as I otherwise did.
Why I’m Cancelling
I love computing. And I love programming. My entire adult life I’ve struggled to leverage this passion for my own material gain, or at least to have a positive impact on the world. By and large I have failed at both, and as of now I don’t see a Claude Pro subscription helping me to change that.
The decision to cancel is justified for the financial cost alone, but I clearly see a sentimental cost as well. To see a brand new, complete and functional program that I wanted yet did not create myself is surreal. Even just copying & pasting a code snippet from a chat bot feels like a minor sacrifice. I allowed the AI to do something on my behalf that I would have otherwise been able to do for myself ( even if more slowly, or of poorer quality ).
It’s easy to ignore this reality when the task is small, tedious or time consuming. It’s completely justifiable to ignore if there is a clear financial gain. That just isn’t the case for me.
I’d rather just slow down again, and work at a pace at which I am comfortable. If this is all just going to be for my own satisfaction anyway, then there’s no point letting an AI do any of it for me.