The 5 paid subscriptions I actually use in 2023 as a software engineer
Tools I use that are cheaper than Netflix
Published in
4 min readMar 25, 2023
I care a lot about the tools I use. Especially when they aren’t free.
Some tools are too good to keep to myself. I have to share them! Here’s what I’ve spent my money on in 2022–23 that has genuinely improved my life as a software engineer.
Please note: None of the links in this article are affiliate links.
1. GitHub Copilot: an AI pair programmer
When I’m writing code, Copilot works in the background by reading what I’ve written and quietly suggesting what I might want to write next.
Copilot has improved my productivity by at least 30%.
My biggest productivity improvements have come from:
- Writing test cases. Most of the time I write the name for the test case and Copilot fills out everything else.
- Small things I would have to look up. e.g. Instead of searching for the correct RegEx to parse a string, I write a comment explaining what I want the RegEx to do and Copilot writes the RegEx for me.
Learn more about GitHub Copilot.
