Compare $/M tokens, latency, and quality across models — choose the best model for your budget and requirements.
Five passes over the same idea, each from a different angle. Do them in order, or jump to whichever you need.
Model selection is a cost-performance trade-off. Frontier models offer the best quality but highest cost. Smaller models are cheaper and faster but may sacrifice accuracy. Techniques like model routing, cascading (try cheap first, fallback to expensive), and batch API pricing help optimise the cost curve.
Where this topic shows up outside its home domain:
