Looking for a Cheaper Alternative AI Model
al_kRicha · reddit · 2026-07-12
The poster mentions primarily using DeepSeek's v4 pro and flash for their project because they are "smart enough and very cheap," making them especially suited for high-volume, repetitive requests and cache-heavy scenarios.
They occasionally use mimo 2.5 / pro but find them more expensive and prone to being used for "retraining." Currently routing through OpenRouter, they are looking for alternative models that are equally fast, smart, and cheap. They are also open to solutions that are both smarter and more affordable.
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