Blog
Long-form writing and data analysis. Posted infrequently — but every piece starts from real numbers.
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224 New Models in One Quarter? Only 95 Are Real: How Q3 2026's LLM Launches Are Priced
Our database logged 224 new model rows between July and September 2026. After removing batch mirrors, aliases and free duplicates, 95 distinct models remain, and seven of the eight points on the price-versus-intelligence frontier belong to them. Data as of 2026-10-05.
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Prompt Caching Pricing Explained (2026): How Much Each Provider's Cache Actually Saves
We compare cache-read discounts and cache-write premiums across 520 priced models, then work through a 20k-token-prefix, 1,000-requests-a-day example to show monthly cost with and without caching, plus the break-even hit rate.
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2026 Q3 LLM API Price Change Report: Who Actually Cut Prices (Jul 1 – Sep 30)
We compared two-week median blended prices from early July and late September across 273 models. Nearly 80% barely moved, ten cuts and ten increases held up, and about 42% of all logged price changes were just aggregator flapping.
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The 2026 LLM API value benchmark: the cheapest model that is actually good enough
Cheapest is not the same as best value. Using this site’s daily-updated pricing and the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, we set a quality floor of AA Index ≥ 40, rank what survives by intelligence per dollar, and work out the real monthly cost for three typical workloads.
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China vs US LLMs in 2026: pricing, capability, and context window compared
This site tracks 228 US models and 128 Chinese models. On one table a clear trend appears: China’s top tier (GLM 5.2, Qwen3.7 Max) now rivals GPT-5.4 on the Intelligence Index at roughly half the input price and a quarter of the output price, sometimes with a higher coding score. We break down pricing, capability, and context with real data — and how to weigh compliance and latency.
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The complete guide to LLM token pricing: input, output, cached, and reasoning tokens
They are all quoted as “$/1M tokens,” but input, output, cached input, and reasoning tokens are billed in completely different ways — and the final number is usually decided by the part you cannot see. Using real model pricing (Claude caches at 10% of input, OpenAI o1 only at 50%), this guide explains how each token type is charged, why output is usually 3–5× input, and how to estimate and cut the bill.
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Picking the open-weight value king: DeepSeek V4, MiniMax M3, Kimi K2.6, and GLM 5.2
In 2026 almost every best-value model is open-weight, and most come from Chinese labs. DeepSeek V4 Flash ($0.09, AA 40), MiniMax M3 ($0.30, AA 44, 1M context), Kimi K2.6 (strong agentic), and GLM 5.2 ($1.2, AA 51, coding 68.8) each occupy a different niche. Using real pricing and coding/agentic scores, we place all four on one price–capability map and say which to pick for which job.
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Why the same model costs different amounts on different platforms
The same model can cost different amounts on the official API, on OpenRouter, and on Bedrock/Vertex/Azure. This piece explains where those gaps come from — routing margin, volume and committed-use discounts, region and hosting cost, batch APIs — and why this site shows OpenRouter’s routed price (not the official price; a feature, not a bug). You will leave knowing how to find the cheapest source for your own usage.
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MiniMax M3 deep dive: 1M context, launch pricing, and the coding-agent price war
MiniMax M3 bundles 1M context, native multimodality, coding-agent benchmarks, OpenRouter routing, and a first-week 50% API discount. It is not a simple Claude replacement; it pressures the cost floor for long-running agents.
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Claude Code 2026 guide: Opus 4.8, dynamic workflows, auto mode, and plugins
Claude Code has changed quickly: Opus 4.8, dynamic workflows, auto mode, agent view, /goal, /usage, /code-review, and the security-guidance plugin all change the practical workflow. This guide turns the new features into a repeatable playbook.
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Claude Opus 4.8 didn't cut standard prices: how premium LLMs defend their value
Claude Opus 4.8 keeps the standard $5/M input and $25/M output price, while fast mode costs $10/$50. This is not a price-war move; it is Anthropic's case for premium models through reliability, long-horizon agents, and less rework.
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DeepSeek V4-Pro and MiMo V2.5 price cuts: has the LLM API price war begun?
DeepSeek V4-Pro made its 75% discount permanent, while Xiaomi MiMo V2.5 announced permanent API price cuts of up to 99%. This is not a one-off promotion; it resets the lower bound for LLM API costs.
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Gemini 2.0 Flash is shutting down: 2026 API pricing and migration options
Google marks Gemini 2.0 Flash and 2.0 Flash-Lite for shutdown on June 1, 2026. This guide compares 2.5 Flash-Lite, 2.5 Flash, Gemini 3 Flash, and 3.1 Flash-Lite as migration paths.
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5 things that actually matter when picking an LLM API in 2026
Headline price doesn't matter much anymore. What actually moves the bill in 2026 is context efficiency, reasoning-token billing, cache hit rate, output speed, and the open-vs-closed source decision.
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