cost-guard vs Argus API Spend
cost-guard is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by oggeh-dev. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). Argus API Spend is an MCP server published by argus.town. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-23. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.
Where each is published
| Marketplace |  cost-guard | |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 Stars (GitHub): 1 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.0.1 No figure published Not marked · First seen |
Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.
The facts side by side
| Fact | cost-guard | Argus API Spend |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 1 | No figure on GitHub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 1 | No figure on GitHub |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-10-17 |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | Remote server (api.argus.town/mcp) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | Streamable HTTP |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for | Not published | Not published |
| Hooks it runs (differs) | 6 | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 17 | Not a bundle |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/oggeh-dev/claude-cost-guard | Not stated |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 5 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-17 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | no remote endpoint we check | not checked yet |
Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.
What each says it does
cost-guard
Real-time USD cost enforcement for Claude Code. Halts runaway agentic loops mid-step before they burn through your budget. The plugin enforces real-time USD cost limits in Claude Code. It uses hooks to read the session's the moment any cap is crossed — between tool batches, between turns, or at prompt-submit time. The result: a single greedy turn cannot spiral into a $30+ spend, sessions cannot silently accumulate cost over hours, and runaway burn rates are stopped before they hurt. Five configurable USD-based caps: • Per-session total spend • Per-step (prompt → response) cost • Trailing 5-minute burn rate • Per-step subagent fan-out count • Compaction gate (blocks the expensive context-compaction model call when limits are tight) Eleven slash commands for status, runtime config, pause/resume, and an optional bottom-row indicator. The indicator shows session spend, rate, current step cost, context %, and (on Claude.ai Pro/Max) 5-hour slot consumption with an estimated USD plan value. It composes with any exis
Argus API Spend
Track API spend, credit balances and runway across OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter and 25 more.
How to run each
cost-guard As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install cost-guard@claude-communityArgus API Spend As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http argus https://api.argus.town/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_TOKEN>"Requires: Authorization header
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
Neither one's marketplaces publish the settings it asks for.
What it can do: cost-guard · What it can do: Argus API Spend · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.