diff --git a/apps/mobile/src/features/usage/UsageRouteScreen.tsx b/apps/mobile/src/features/usage/UsageRouteScreen.tsx
index ad54d6e323ee..b3232acc6810 100644
--- a/apps/mobile/src/features/usage/UsageRouteScreen.tsx
+++ b/apps/mobile/src/features/usage/UsageRouteScreen.tsx
@@ -67,7 +67,9 @@ const CHART_HEIGHT = 180;
 export function UsageRouteScreen() {
   const navigation = useNavigation();
   const insets = useSafeAreaInsets();
-  const [tab, setTab] = useState<UsageTab>("usage");
+  // Limits first: remaining quota and reset time are what most people open
+  // the screen for.
+  const [tab, setTab] = useState<UsageTab>("limits");
   const [windowSelection, setWindowSelection] = useState(() => ({
     days: 30,
     window: makeWindow(30),
diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/usage/usagePagePreferences.test.ts b/apps/web/src/components/usage/usagePagePreferences.test.ts
index dcdde98fa247..f5686de012be 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/usage/usagePagePreferences.test.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/usage/usagePagePreferences.test.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ afterEach(() => {
 
 describe("Usage page preferences", () => {
   it("uses defaults when no preference has been saved", () => {
-    expect(readUsagePagePreferences()).toEqual({ metric: "cost", windowDays: 30 });
+    expect(readUsagePagePreferences()).toEqual({ metric: "limits", windowDays: 30 });
   });
 
   it.each([1, 7, 30, 90] as const)("round-trips every metric with a %i-day range", (windowDays) => {
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ describe("Usage page preferences", () => {
     '{"metric":"cost","windowDays":365}',
   ])("replaces invalid preferences on the next save: %s", (value) => {
     values.set(key, value);
-    expect(readUsagePagePreferences()).toEqual({ metric: "cost", windowDays: 30 });
+    expect(readUsagePagePreferences()).toEqual({ metric: "limits", windowDays: 30 });
     saveUsagePagePreferences({ metric: "tokens", windowDays: 7 });
     expect(readUsagePagePreferences()).toEqual({ metric: "tokens", windowDays: 7 });
   });
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ describe("Usage page preferences", () => {
         throw new Error("SecurityError");
       },
     });
-    expect(readUsagePagePreferences()).toEqual({ metric: "cost", windowDays: 30 });
+    expect(readUsagePagePreferences()).toEqual({ metric: "limits", windowDays: 30 });
     expect(() => saveUsagePagePreferences({ metric: "tokens", windowDays: 7 })).not.toThrow();
   });
 });
diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/usage/usagePagePreferences.ts b/apps/web/src/components/usage/usagePagePreferences.ts
index ddd6d5341cc0..630e78e98fe2 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/usage/usagePagePreferences.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/usage/usagePagePreferences.ts
@@ -9,17 +9,17 @@ const UsagePagePreferencesSchema = Schema.Struct({
 });
 export type UsagePagePreferences = typeof UsagePagePreferencesSchema.Type;
 
+// Limits is what most people open the page for (how much subscription quota is
+// left, and when it resets), so it is the first-visit default; the last picked
+// tab sticks after that.
+const DEFAULT_PREFERENCES: UsagePagePreferences = { metric: "limits", windowDays: 30 };
+
 export function readUsagePagePreferences(): UsagePagePreferences {
   try {
-    return (
-      getLocalStorageItem(STORAGE_KEY, UsagePagePreferencesSchema) ?? {
-        metric: "cost",
-        windowDays: 30,
-      }
-    );
+    return getLocalStorageItem(STORAGE_KEY, UsagePagePreferencesSchema) ?? DEFAULT_PREFERENCES;
   } catch (error) {
     console.error("Could not read Usage page preferences.", error);
-    return { metric: "cost", windowDays: 30 };
+    return DEFAULT_PREFERENCES;
   }
 }