Value Index methodology audit contract
Coding subscriptions are modeled as metered headroom, not flat unlimited plans. This is the receipt trail for how a ranked $/M-token number moves from native vendor meter to normalized Value Index row.
The Value Index does not treat “unlimited,” credits, ACUs, effort, requests, five-hour windows, or Auto pools as interchangeable. It keeps the native meter visible, accepts only current official sources for plan facts, then applies a dated token-normalization policy with confidence labels and caveats where vendors do not publish exact quotas.
Source hierarchy: current official sources outrank everything else
For plan facts, current vendor pricing pages, product docs and changelogs outrank launch blogs, stale comparison pages, generic marketing copy, and community reports. Community anecdotes can explain sentiment or buyer pain; they cannot establish a quota, price, meter, or included entitlement.
- Prefer current official docs, pricing pages, admin/billing docs, and changelogs.
- Use launch blogs only when they are the current vendor announcement for a billing change, and demote them if docs/pricing later conflict.
- Do not use community reports as plan-fact authority; they are sentiment evidence only.
Copilot usage-based billing ↗Cursor usage limits ↗Claude Code costs ↗
Meter normalization: preserve the native unit before converting
Every row starts from the vendor's native meter — credits, API usage, requests, quotas, effort, ACUs, local/cloud tasks, or rolling windows — and only then becomes estimated tokens. A normalized token number is a comparison instrument, not a vendor promise that the plan includes a fixed public token bucket.
- Native meter stays visible in the row and provider detail before token conversion.
- Direct API or vendor overage pricing is used as the reference when the vendor documents token-priced or pass-through billing.
- If the vendor publishes ranges or policy language rather than exact counts, the row remains bounded-estimate or unpublished/opaque.
Copilot model pricing ↗Cursor models and pricing ↗Replit AI billing ↗
Routing assumptions: model menus and Auto pools are not one model
When a subscription can route across models, the Value Index separates documented API-agent usage from Auto/Composer-style pools and labels any unknown routing mix. The Flagship/Efficient toggle tests documented multipliers or model swaps, but it does not claim to know an unpublished Auto routing distribution.
- Cursor API agent usage is separated from Auto/Composer pool mechanics.
- Copilot premium surfaces are modeled through AI-credit/token-based billing mechanics when docs say those surfaces consume that meter.
- Unknown routing mix stays a caveat instead of being silently collapsed into the flagship model.
Cursor usage limits ↗Cursor models and pricing ↗Copilot billing docs ↗
Cache, compaction, and window treatment: hidden cost drivers stay in the caveat
Agentic coding cost is not just output tokens. Cache reads/writes, long-context compaction, tool results, failed or exploratory turns, and rolling-window throttles can decide whether a subscription has enough usable headroom. The model includes these only where a specific source supports the mechanic.
- Claude Code /usage dollar figures are local estimates and are not authoritative Pro/Max subscription billing.
- Replit Agent is effort-based; all Agent interactions can be billable, with spend controls available for guardrails.
- Codex local messages and cloud tasks are window/range based and can share a five-hour window; weekly caps may apply.
Confidence bands: precision is earned, not implied
The confidence label is part of the result. “Official” means the plan fact itself is published by the vendor. “Derived” means the site computes from official inputs. “Bounded estimate” means the vendor publishes a range, multiplier, or policy but not a precise count. “Dashboard-visible / unpublished / unknown” means no exact public quota should be inferred.
- Color is never the only confidence carrier; labels and caveats carry the meaning.
- A precise-looking $/M-token figure can still sit on an estimated quota; the caveat must travel with it.
- Unpublished exact quotas remain unknown even when a plan has a visible dashboard for the signed-in buyer.
Claude Pro/Max support ↗Devin billing docs ↗Devin usage docs ↗
Unknown quotas: no false precision for Claude Code or Devin
Claude Code and Devin are explicitly labeled dashboard-visible / unpublished / unknown where exact public subscription quotas are not derivable from current docs. A row can still be compared with bounded assumptions, but the Value Index must not imply a vendor-published fixed token entitlement that does not exist.
- Claude Code Pro/Max: exact public subscription caps are not published; local /usage dollars are not authoritative Pro/Max billing.
- Devin self-serve: docs explain quota, on-demand credits, ACUs, and usage drivers; exact public subscription quotas are not derivable from those docs.
- When unknown quotas bind the answer, the row remains auditable through this page rather than hiding the uncertainty.
Claude Code costs ↗Anthropic higher limits ↗Devin self-serve billing ↗
Opaque meters, normalized without pretending they are identical
The normalized unit is the Value Index comparison unit. The native meter and caveat stay attached so a buyer can see where the number is official, derived, bounded, or unknown.
| Provider | Native meter | Normalized unit | Accepted source type | Confidence | Caveat + sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot | AI credits / token-based billing for chat, CLI, cloud agent, and similar premium work. | AI-credit spend converted through documented model pricing into token-equivalent headroom. | Current Copilot billing docs and model-pricing reference. | official + derived | The meter is official; the Value Index token conversion is derived and depends on documented model pricing and the site usage blend. |
| Cursor | API agent usage is split from the Auto/Composer pool and Auto routing/pricing mechanics. | API-priced agent usage plus bounded Auto/Composer pool headroom, kept separate when routing is unpublished. | Current Cursor usage-limits and models/pricing docs. | bounded estimate | Auto is not treated as a fixed public flagship-token quota; unpublished routing mix remains a caveat. |
| Windsurf | Daily/weekly quota allowances with API-pricing overage after the March 2026 move away from credits. | Quota-window headroom plus documented API-priced overage reference. | Current Windsurf account/usage docs plus the vendor pricing-plan announcement. | official + derived | Do not model current Windsurf as the old monthly credit pool; the quota-window mechanics changed. |
| Replit | Effort-based Agent billing; all Agent interactions can be billable, including Plan Mode. | Billable effort converted to token-equivalent value only as a bounded comparison policy. | Current Replit billing docs, spend-control docs, and effort-pricing announcement. | bounded estimate | Effort is an opaque work meter, not a token bucket; budgets/spend controls are part of the buyer-risk read. |
| Devin | Self-serve quota, on-demand credits, and ACU/usage drivers. | ACU/on-demand-credit headroom; exact public subscription quota remains unknown unless visible in account context. | Current Devin pricing and admin billing docs. | dashboard-visible / unpublished / unknown | Docs explain the meter mechanics, but exact public subscription quotas are not derivable; no false precision is inferred. Devin pricing ↗Billing docs ↗Usage docs ↗Self-serve billing ↗ |
| Codex | Local messages and cloud tasks are range/window based and share a five-hour window; weekly caps may apply. | Message/task-window headroom converted by the visible prompt-token assumption. | Current OpenAI Codex pricing pages. | bounded estimate | Published ranges/windows are not exact token entitlements; weekly caps and shared windows can bind before monthly extrapolation. |
| Claude Code | Pro/Max included subscription usage with dynamic limits; /usage dollar figures are local estimates. | Rolling subscription headroom converted with bounded assumptions; exact public caps are not treated as published. | Current Claude Code costs docs, support article, and official limits announcement. | dashboard-visible / unpublished / unknown | Exact public subscription caps are not published; /usage dollars are not authoritative Pro/Max billing. Claude Code costs ↗Pro/Max support ↗Higher limits announcement ↗ |
How to audit a ranked number
Start at the row, open the source links, then check this contract in order: source hierarchy, native meter, routing assumption, hidden cache/compaction/window cost, confidence label, and caveat. If any step is unpublished, the row must stay labeled as an estimate instead of gaining false precision.
Return to the ranked Value Index →