Burnban: A Local, Open-Source AI Spend Meter

Research Context and Background

Burnban is a free, open-source tool designed to help individuals and teams control their spending on artificial intelligence services. It works directly on your computer without needing to sign up for an account or send your data to the cloud. The tool acts as a local meter that tracks how much you are spending on AI agents and stops you from going over your budget.

Benefits

Burnban offers several key advantages for managing AI costs. First, it keeps all your data private. Your usage information stays on your machine in a local database, and no data is sent to Burnban servers. Second, it provides clear visibility into your spending. You can see exactly how much you have spent and compare it to your budget in real time. Third, it gives you control. You can set limits for daily, weekly, or monthly spending and the tool will block requests if you reach those limits. Finally, it is completely free to use forever with no hidden fees or subscriptions.

Use Cases

Burnban is useful for anyone who uses AI agents or tools that make API calls. It works on macOS, Linux, and Windows computers. Developers can use it to track the costs of their local AI projects without worrying about unexpected bills. Teams can ensure that individual machines stay within budget before a larger, future tool is released to manage multiple devices. It is also helpful for users who want to estimate the cost of their past AI usage by reading logs stored on their computer. The tool is ideal for people who value privacy and want to avoid sending sensitive prompts or responses to third-party services.

Pricing

Burnban is free forever. There are no subscription fees, no credit card requirements, and no hidden costs. The tool is open source, meaning the code is available for anyone to inspect or modify. The only cost is the time it takes to install and configure the software on your own machine.

Vibes

Burnban has been well received by users who are concerned about AI spending and data privacy. The community appreciates that it requires no account setup and does not collect telemetry data. Users value the ability to see a live dashboard showing their current spend against their budget. The fact that it works as a single binary file makes it easy to install and run without complex configuration. Early feedback suggests that the tool effectively prevents runaway spending on AI services while maintaining full control for the user.

Additional Information

Burnban is currently available as a free local meter. The developers have announced plans for a future product that will allow budget coordination across multiple machines and provide organization-wide policies for teams. This new feature will be released as a separate product in the future. For now, Burnban focuses on providing a secure, local solution for individual users to manage their AI spending on a single device.