Opportunities › AI code editor pricing and quotas › Proposed app
Tankline
Budget gateway for AI coding: caps, model routing and cost per request
- Score
- 37
- confidence 45
- Evidence
- 5
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 6
- named in sources
- First version
- 35 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 2023
- Emerging market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: Developers integrate Tankline into their editor and terminal for coding work, with continuous monitoring at their desk; mobile alerts are secondary to the main workflow. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
This month
68% of $46 cap$31.40
About this appAI proposal
Tankline is a budget gateway and dashboard for AI coding. You use your own model keys, point your editor or terminal agent at one OpenAI-compatible address, and Tankline shows what each request costs before the month ends.
It is for developers who hit the fast-request limit of a flat plan within days, especially on personal projects. You set a monthly cap, pick which model handles which kind of task, and keep a premium model such as Opus for the hard prompts.
It does not replace your editor. It sits between the editor and the model providers, so you can change editors or models without losing your usage history. Pricing is per seat, with no request quota to run out.
- Tagline
- See what every AI request costs. Spend Opus only where it counts.
- Voice
- PlainFrankPractical
- Why this name
- A tank line is the mark on a fuel gauge. The name says the product shows how much is left and keeps you from running dry.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
One address for every editor
Point any editor or agent that accepts a custom OpenAI-compatible base URL at Tankline. Your keys stay encrypted and your usage is counted in one place.
No member yet
Live cost per request
Each prompt shows tokens in and out, the model used and the cost in dollars, so you see which habits drain the month.
No member yet
Monthly cap with soft stops
Set a dollar cap. At 80% you get a warning. At 100% Tankline switches to the cheaper model you chose, or pauses.
No member yet
Task-based model routing
Rules send quick edits and explanations to a low-cost model and hard refactors to Opus. You see every rule's effect on your bill.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#F6F1E7Paper · surface#1D2A24Pine Ink · text#1F6F5CGauge Green · primary#E2823AAmber Needle · accent#3B5B8CSlate Blue · data
Typography
Aa
Tankline
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
See what every AI request costs. Spend Opus only where it counts.
PricingAI proposal
Cursor's pricing page (verified) lists paid plans from $20 to $40 a month, plus a free plan. These tiers sit near or below that range as a starting point to test. Model costs are billed by providers to your own keys.
Free
Free
- One editor connection
- 30-day usage history
- Monthly cap and alerts
Solo
$9 a month
- Unlimited requests through the gateway
- Task-based routing rules
- Model replay and compare
- Public cost card
Team
$15 a month
- Per seat, three seats minimum
- Shared budgets and per-person caps
- Team usage reports
- Shared routing rules
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$190,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- Shared outputs. Users can publish a read-only monthly cost card showing models used, cost per merged change and savings. People share it in posts and team chats, and viewers see the Tankline name and a setup link.
- Do they become customers?
- Viewers are developers with the same cost problem, so some could sign up. We would have to test how many cost-card views turn into gateway setups and then paid seats.
- First customers
- Solo developers and freelancers who pay for an AI editor out of pocket and have complained about running out of premium requests.
- Where to reach them
- Hacker News and Reddit: Post a plain cost breakdown of one week of AI coding with and without routing, with a free signup link.
- Developer newsletters: Offer a sponsored slot or guest post about capping AI coding spend to cost-conscious indie developers.
- Open-source setup guides: Publish config snippets for popular editors and agents that already accept a custom base URL.
- First milestone
- Fifty free gateway setups and ten paying solo developers within eight weeks, with at least half still active in week four.
Why people already pay for this
- Public claimUsers pay $20/month for AI code editor plans with fast request quotas
- Public claimFast request quotas are quickly exhausted, limiting access to advanced models like Opus in personal use
- Public claimPrice sensitivity is driving users to evaluate and switch to competing code editors
- VerifiedCursor's pricing page lists 2 paid plans, from $20 to $40 a month, plus a free plan and prices on request for larger customers
- Public claim
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Streaming API gatewayEdge functions that proxy streamed model callsEditors need low-latency, streamed responses on an OpenAI-compatible endpoint, with token counting on each call.
- This app · Secrets encryptionEnvelope encryption with a managed key serviceUsers' provider API keys must be stored encrypted and be unreadable by staff.
RisksAI inference
- PlatformSome editors only use their own bundled models or do not allow a custom base URL, which limits who can use the gateway.
- TechnicalA proxy in the request path adds latency and becomes a point of failure. It must stream responses reliably and fall back safely.
- DataDevelopers must trust the service with API keys and prompts that may hold private code. Encryption, no prompt storage by default and clear policies are needed.
- CommercialEditor vendors may change pricing or add their own usage tools, and users who pay flat fees may not want to manage keys.
- AIRouting a prompt to a cheaper model can lower answer quality. Poor routing rules would make users distrust the savings.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.