Why I Need GPT-4 AND Claude And How I Stopped Paying Double

Client wants technical documentation AND a blog post. By Monday.

I open ChatGPT for the code docs. Claude for the blog. Two subscriptions, two tabs, $40 monthly for what’s basically one job.

And before you say “just use one” – tried that. Let me show you why it’s impossible.

GPT-4: The Engineering Brain

Last week GPT-4 rewrote my garbage Python script. 200 lines down to 50. Same functionality, 10x faster. I literally just pasted my mess and said “fix this.”

It explained every change like I’m five years old. Which I needed because I wrote the original at 3am running on Red Bull and spite.

Where GPT-4 Saves My Ass:

• SQL queries that don’t take 5 minutes to run
• React hooks that actually make sense
• Finding security holes I didn’t know existed
• Debugging that weird TypeScript error that makes no sense

But then I asked it to write a client email.

“Dear Valued Customer, I hope this message finds you in good health. I am writing to inform you regarding the status of your recent inquiry…”

Jesus Christ. It’s like a robot learned English from 1990s business textbooks.

Claude: The One Who Sounds Human

Same client situation. Asked Claude to write the follow-up email.

“Hey Sarah, Quick update – we found the bug and fixed it. The dashboard should load way faster now. Let me know if anything still feels slow.”

Client responded in 5 minutes. Happy.

Claude’s Superpower:

• Emails that don’t sound like AI
• Blog posts people read past the first paragraph
• Product descriptions that actually sell (CTR went up 32% btw)
• Turning angry customer rants into “wow thanks for the help” responses

Remember that complaint email about our pricing? Claude turned it into a case study opportunity. Customer ended up upgrading.

But ask Claude to help with async JavaScript?

Might as well ask my cat. At least the cat doesn’t pretend to know.

The Daily Juggling Act

Here’s what my typical Monday looks like:

9am: GPT-4 for code review 10am: Copy-paste context to Claude for documentation
11am: Back to GPT-4 because Claude’s code example is wrong 2pm: Claude for client emails 3pm: GPT-4 for debugging 4pm: Realize I have the same conversation in 3 different chats

Fifteen browser tabs. Two subscriptions. One headache.

Tried teaching GPT-4 to write like a human. Spent a whole Saturday on custom instructions. “Be more casual. Use contractions. Sound natural.”

Now it writes like a robot trying to be casual. Somehow worse.

The Expensive Bandaid Solutions

The Alternating Month Strategy

January: Cancel Claude, suffer through GPT-4’s robotic writing February: Cancel GPT-4, cry while Claude attempts to explain code March: Subscribe to both again because this is stupid

Saved exactly $0. Lost hair from stress.

The API Frankenstein

Built my own interface with API keys. Both models, one dashboard. Felt like Tony Stark for about three days.

Then I got the bill. $67 for one week because I didn’t set limits properly. Also broke every time OpenAI updated anything.

Multi-Model Platforms (The Actual Solution)

Started researching aggregator services at 2am. You know, normal behavior.

Poe was okay but the interface felt like a Discord bot. Too many “enhanced” versions of models. I just want vanilla Claude, not “Claude-but-better-2000-ULTRA.”

AskGPT App made more sense. One chat, switch models mid-conversation. No context lost.

Found this really detailed review about AskGPT App where someone tested the model switching specifically for work tasks. They timed everything – response speeds, queue times during business hours, how fast you can switch between models. Exactly the boring details that matter when you’re on deadline.

Been using it for 4 months now. $20 instead of $40.

My Actual Workflow Now

Morning standup prep:

• GPT-4 generates the technical summary
• Switch to Claude in the same chat
• Claude makes it sound like I’m awake and engaged

Client project:

• GPT-4 for the API design
• Claude for the documentation
• Gemini for research (yeah it’s included too)
• All in one conversation thread

Yesterday’s actual example: Debug authentication issue (GPT-4) → Write incident report (Claude) → Create blog post about the fix (Claude) → Technical implementation guide (GPT-4).

Used to be 4 different chats across 2 services. Now it’s one thread I can actually reference later.

The Backup Plan

Still keep ChatGPT Plus. Trust issues.

When AskGPT gets slow (usually 6pm EST), I switch. When I absolutely cannot have any delays, ChatGPT Plus. It’s my insurance policy.

$40 total now. Not amazing but better than $60+.

The Weird Discoveries

Gemini occasionally finds solutions both GPT-4 and Claude miss. Didn’t expect that. Last week it suggested a database optimization neither thought of. Saved 3 seconds per query.

Claude and GPT-4 together in one chat creates interesting dynamics. Like they’re building on each other’s ideas. Probably just my imagination but the output seems better.

Still Waiting for The Future

You know what would be perfect? An AI that automatically picks the right model for each task.

Writing email? Claude. Debugging? GPT-4.
Research? Gemini. No manual switching.

Someone will build this eventually. Probably charge $100/month for it. I’ll complain and then subscribe immediately.

Until then, my weird AskGPT + ChatGPT Plus combo continues.

GPT-5 will probably ruin everything soon anyway. Then Claude 3 drops. Then Google makes Gemini actually incredible. The cycle of “this changes everything” continues.

At least I’m not paying double anymore.

Though honestly? If it saves me 2 hours weekly, even $100 would be worth it. Don’t tell the AI companies that.

Anyway, back to my client’s documentation. Where’s my Claude…