Keep, Test, Cut

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Every letter that was actually published. Each row keeps that week's keep, test, and cut line so you can scan the call before you open it.

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Published issues

Issue 8 · 3 Nov 2026

Synthesia’s $9 Starter lasts one month

Synthesia cut its Starter renewal from $29 to $19 and put $9 on the first month. You still need only one AI avatar seat.

KEEP One avatar seat you render with weekly: HeyGen Creator ($29/mo, checked 18 Sep) or Synthesia Starter.TEST Synthesia Basic (free, 500 credits/mo), then Starter at $9 for month one and $19 after, checked 3 Nov.CUT A second avatar seat kept for one old translation job.

Issue 7 · 27 Oct 2026

v0’s $20 tier is closed to new signups

Vercel’s $20 individual rung is closing and Replit’s free Starter tier is off the page. Don’t pay for two prompt-to-app builders at once.

KEEP Legacy v0 Premium ($20/mo) if you already hold it, or one active builder.TEST Bolt.new Free (1M tokens/mo) or Lovable Free (5 daily credits), checked 25 Oct.CUT A second paid app-builder seat sitting idle between prototypes.

Issue 6 · 20 Oct 2026

Cursor’s $20 Pro is off the page

Cursor now sells one five-rung ladder. If you already pay for a plan, nothing forces you to move.

KEEP The Cursor plan you already pay for. xAI’s docs (checked 13 Oct) say existing plans continue.TEST Cursor Plus at $8/mo (checked 13 Oct). One real week before it replaces anything.CUT Upgrading on reflex to Premium at $30 or Super at $100.

Issue 5 · 13 Oct 2026

ChatGPT Go is $8 a month

OpenAI’s official pricing page finally printed US dollars again.

KEEP Keep the seat that finishes your weekly work.TEST Run the same real brief in Free ChatGPT and in the Claude seat you already renew.CUT One cut to watch: Plus at $20 plus Claude Pro at $17 is $37 before Go ever enters the picture.

Issue 4 · 15 Sep 2026

Sonaopus is $99 once

Sonaopus hit our directory this week as a one-time bill, not a monthly seat.

KEEP Keep the one profession you actually do every week.TEST If you already renew Claude Pro, run the eight free generations on one real HR letter or status report before you pay $99 for that profession.CUT Do not stack Sonaopus next to a second chat subscription “just in case.”

Issues 2 and 3 were not published.

Issue 1 · Week of 25 Aug 2026

The AI bill you forgot to cancel

You might be paying $130 a month so three different tools can fix the same bug.

KEEP These are meaningfully different tools — the problem is paying for more than one of them:TEST Test it against your actual presentation workflow before you add a seat.CUT If you have Cursor, you probably don't need Copilot — Cursor's completions cover the same ground, and paying for both is paying for the same tab twice.