Question 1

Which AI model is the cheapest?

Accepted Answer

For input tokens, Meta's Llama 3.1 8B via Groq and Llama 4 Scout 17B are among the lowest-cost options available, at $0.05 and $0.11 per million tokens respectively. For output tokens, DeepSeek V3.2 Chat and several open-weight models via Groq offer very competitive pricing. The cheapest model depends on your task — if you need large context or strong reasoning, a slightly more expensive model may deliver better cost-efficiency per useful output.

Question 2

What is a context window?

Accepted Answer

A context window is the maximum amount of text an AI model can process in a single request — including both your input (prompt, documents, conversation history) and the model's output. It is measured in tokens. A 1 million token context window, like the one on GPT-5.5 and Claude Opus 4.7, can hold roughly 750,000 words — equivalent to several full-length novels. Exceeding the context window causes the model to either refuse the request or silently truncate earlier content.

Question 3

How do I choose between different AI models?

Accepted Answer

Start with your primary constraint. If your use case involves processing long documents, prioritize context window size. If you are running high-volume API calls at scale, input and output token pricing will dominate your decision. If you need the most accurate or capable responses for complex tasks, look at benchmark scores and model generation. For most everyday tasks — summarization, drafting, classification — mid-tier models like Claude Sonnet 4.6, GPT-5.4 Mini, or Gemini 3 Flash offer the best balance of quality and cost.

Question 4

What is the difference between input and output token pricing?

Accepted Answer

AI providers charge separately for the tokens you send to the model (input) and the tokens the model generates in response (output). Output tokens are almost always more expensive — typically two to six times the input price — because generation is computationally heavier than processing. For cost optimization, keeping prompts concise and limiting max output length can significantly reduce API spend.

Metric	GPT-5.5 (Spud) OpenAI	Claude Sonnet 4.6 Anthropic
Provider	OpenAI	Anthropic
Context Window	1M★	1M★
Max Output	128K★	64K
Input / 1M tokens	$5.00	$3.00★
Output / 1M tokens	$30.00	$15.00★
Tokenizer	GPT (exact)	Estimate

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