Stringers

The other side: AI coding usage trackers / mobile companions for coding agents (check Claude Code and Codex quotas, remote control and notifications) are already crowded and barely make money.

Closed Inspiring (the other side) · looks hot but already crowded First seen 2026-10-31 · last updated 2026-11-02
Status
Closed (don't enter)
Why this is written up
These apps are very visible on charts, so they're easy to misread as opportunities. In practice, free open-source alternatives are the default, and the vendors are building usage displays themselves.
Confidence
High. What would overturn this: a companion app earning over $10k in 30 days as an indie, or Anthropic / OpenAI tightening the API so the open-source versions break.

Evidence

Grouped by store. Each group starts with the charts that can be graphed (real curves, data dates below the chart), then the scanner's original notes and source links.

App Store1 evidence items · 2 products with curves

Limits: AI Usage Tracker Pranav Karthik Mruthyunjayan
App Store · launched 2026-07-14 · US store rating 45 · charted in 11-08 of 64 stores
Best category chart rank · by store
5010015010-2810-3111-0311-0511-0835 Japan37 Brazil88 US
US storeJapanBrazil
Data 2026-10-28 → 2026-11-08 (12 days, 12 observations). Lower rank is higher; gaps mean it wasn't charted that day
Ratings count · US store
4243444510-2810-3111-0311-0511-0845
Data 2026-10-28 → 2026-11-08 (12 days, 12 observations). Apple doesn't publish download counts; rating growth is a proxy for downloads.
Nowdex Tao Nan Lu
App Store · launched 2026-07-20 · US store rating 16 · charted in 11-08 of 18 stores
Best category chart rank · by store
5010015010-2810-3111-0311-0511-0816 ChinaKorea 4663 US
US storeChinaSouth Korea
Data 2026-10-28 → 2026-11-08 (12 days, 12 observations). Lower rank is higher; gaps mean it wasn't charted that day
Ratings count · US store
12141610-2810-3111-0311-0511-0816
Data 2026-10-28 → 2026-11-08 (12 days, 12 observations). Apple doesn't publish download counts; rating growth is a proxy for downloads.
  • App Store (all stores, 2026-10-31): at least 20 companion apps with usage / tokens / Claude / Codex in the name are charted, and several made the Top Grossing chart in the developer tools category across multiple stores: Limits: AI Usage Tracker (6783130074, debuted July) has charted in 56 stores, #56 Top Grossing in developer tools in the US, with only 43 ratings; Nowdex (6791450777) in 19 stores; Vicoa (a mobile IDE for Claude Code and Codex) in 38 stores; Happy: Codex & Claude Code App has 1,051 ratings; UsageNow and TokenMaxxer are new this October. The bar for Top Grossing in the developer tools category is low, so charting doesn't mean the revenue is substantial.

Indie product revenue (TrustMRR)2 evidence · 5 products with curves

TrustMRR · 30-day revenue $1,349 (−3%)
Monthly revenue (verified by payment platform)
$0$1k$2k26-0826-0926-1026-11
2026-08 → 2026-11 (4 pts). Light bars = current month, not yet complete
Daily revenue (UTC day)
$-100$0$100$20009-2910-0910-1810-2711-06$48.2
Data 2026-09-29 → 2026-11-06 (39 days, 39 observations). Single-day swings are big, so look at the trend in the monthly breakdown above.
Headroom extraheadroom.com
TrustMRR · 30-day revenue $3,068 (+6%) · MRR $2,233 · 251 subscriptions
Monthly revenue (verified by payment platform)
$0$2k$4k26-0426-0626-0826-1026-11
2026-04 → 2026-11 (8 pts). Light bars = current month, not yet complete
Daily revenue (UTC day)
$0$200$40009-2910-0910-1810-2711-06$30.6
Data 2026-09-29 → 2026-11-06 (39 days, 39 observations). Single-day swings are big, so look at the trend in the monthly breakdown above.
ClaudeUsageBar claudeusagebar.com
TrustMRR · 30-day revenue $39 (−48%)
Monthly revenue (verified by payment platform)
$0$50$10025-1126-0226-0426-0626-0826-1026-11
2025-11 → 2026-11 (12 pts). Light bars = current month, not yet complete
Daily revenue (UTC day)
$0$5$1009-2910-0910-1810-2711-06$5
Data 2026-09-29 → 2026-11-06 (39 days, 39 observations). Single-day swings are big, so look at the trend in the monthly breakdown above.
SessionWatcher sessionwatcher.com
TrustMRR · 30-day revenue $1,645 (-31%) · MRR $238 · 119 subscriptions
Monthly revenue (verified by payment platform)
$0$2k$4k25-1126-0126-0326-0526-0726-0926-11
2025-11 → 2026-11 (13 pts). Light bars = current month, not yet complete
Daily revenue (UTC day)
$0$100$200$30009-2910-0910-1810-2711-06$0
Data 2026-09-29 → 2026-11-06 (39 days, 39 observations). Single-day swings are big, so look at the trend in the monthly breakdown above.
QuotaRing quotaring.app
TrustMRR · 30-day revenue $0 (+0%)
Daily revenue (UTC day)
$0$0.5$109-2910-0910-1810-2711-06$0
Data 2026-09-29 → 2026-11-06 (39 days, 39 observations). Single-day swings are big, so look at the trend in the monthly breakdown above.
  • indie (as of 10-30,30-day revenue): Nowdex $1,597 (highest in this group), Headroom (a menu bar app that helps cut Claude Code costs) $3,409, MRR $2,072; ClaudeUsageBar $39 (−60%); ShowMyTokens, QuotaRing, and ClockedCode are each $0.
  • indie (11-01 core): Headroom (extraheadroom.com) $2,962, 232 subscriptions, listed for sale at $199,999 (about 5.6× annualized revenue); SessionWatcher (sessionwatcher.com) $1,298 (−52.6%), 118 subscriptions, listed for sale at $49,900; Nowdex (iOS usage viewer, $5.99 one-time purchase) $1,410; QuotaRing (quotaring.app) $0; ClaudeUsageBar $39 (−56%).

GitHub2 evidence · 1 products with curves

GitHub · created 2025-11-16 · 23,052 stars · 7 days +138
Show usage stats for OpenAI Codex and Claude Code, without having to login.
Stars
20k21k22k23k08-2510-2811-0111-0411-0823k
Data 2026-08-25 → 2026-11-08 (76 days, 16 observations). Points before 10-28 come from deeply / archive backfill, not every day has one
  • GitHub: the free open-source steipete/CodexBar has 22,899 stars; Claude-Usage-Tracker has 3,721 stars; claude-swap has 4,270 stars; there are plenty of Windows, Waybar, and status-bar versions.
  • GitHub (11-02): steipete/CodexBar has 22,932 stars, +1 in 18 days.

Chrome Web Store 1 pieces of evidence

  • Chrome Web Store (11-02): free browser-side usage counters exist too: Claude Usage Tracker — Chat Export (jfds.tech, listed 2025-10-31) has 7,000 users and 194 ratings; Superpower for Claude (usage counting plus export) has 4,000 users.

Already being built (11-02 backfill)

SessionWatcher (declining, for sale); Claude Usage Tracker and Superpower for Claude on Chrome.

Who it's for

Nobody. Unless you're building around saving money (like Headroom) instead of just showing usage numbers.

Should every product builder know this?

Yes. Developer tool makers especially need to know this.

Change log

2026-11-02
Backfill (from 《收入库「最近开始赚钱」》§1.1 (c) tier, 《Stringers》§3.1 "Avoid"): SessionWatcher −53% over 30 days, listed at $49,900; Headroom listed at $199,999. The two highest earners in this bucket are both for sale, which fits "crowded, little money." A free usage-counter extension has also landed on the Chrome Web Store. The conclusion stands.
2026-11-02
Nowdex $1,410, Headroom $2,962. Unchanged.
2026-11-01
Nowdex $1,479, Headroom $2,974, ClaudeUsageBar $39; CodexBar 22,914 stars. The conclusion stands.
2026-10-31
First recorded.

Original: Scanner opportunity library #004 (updated daily, 06:00); this page was generated on the 2026-11-08 edition.