FIVE APPS ON MY DOCK
The five I use most every day in May 2026, ranked by how much I would pay to keep them. Updated quarterly.
How this list is ranked
Not by features, not by marketing, not by what the productivity blogs recommend. By how much I would pay monthly to keep each one. The order changes quarterly as new tools earn slots and old tools lose them.
1. Claude Code
Single highest-leverage tool I added in 2025. Lives in the terminal, has full project context, runs shell commands, reads and writes files, integrates with MCP servers. Most engineering work now happens in Claude Code rather than in an editor directly. The underlying Claude API costs apply (usage-based) but the value is hard to overstate.
What I would pay: easily 200 USD per month if I had to.
2. Cursor
Best in-editor AI experience for working on a single file. Tab completion is excellent, inline edits are precise, side-by-side diffs catch the AI making subtle mistakes. I use Cursor when work is concentrated on one or two files; Claude Code when work spans the project. They complement each other rather than competing.
What I would pay: 50 USD per month. Currently 20 USD.
3. Linear
Project management for engineering teams. Keyboard-shortcut-first, beautiful, fast. Runs Seahawk Media and my personal projects. The cycle and roadmap views earn their place; the keyboard ergonomics earn loyalty.
What I would pay: 25 USD per user per month. Currently 8 USD per user.
4. Arc
Default browser since 2024. Workspaces feature is genuinely useful for keeping client work, agency work, and personal projects mentally separated. The split-view and command-bar shortcuts make it materially faster than Chrome or Safari for serious work.
What I would pay: 15 USD per month. Currently free.
5. Notion
Internal documentation, client-facing docs, meeting notes. The page hierarchy and database views earn their place across the team. Not the best at any single thing but consistently good enough at all the things you need a workspace tool to do.
What I would pay: 20 USD per user per month. Currently 10 USD.
What did not make the list
Slack: replaced by Linear comments and direct iMessage. ChatGPT: still on my dock but used less than Claude. Figma: I do less Figma work in 2026 than I did in 2023. Spotify: not work software, lives elsewhere.
The dock is for what I open daily. Five is roughly the right number; ten is too many.
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