Cheapest ways to run agent loops in 2026: pay-per-token beats free tiers and subs
my-coffee-where · reddit · 2026-09-21
A practical guide to cheaply running real agent loops (tools + memory) while learning:
- Free tiers die after 50 loop iterations, right when things get interesting
- What matters: can the model hold tool calls together past a few hundred k of context, and are output tokens cheap (agent runs are output-heavy)
- Biggest learning lever: one endpoint where you swap model ids and A/B models on the same harness
Current cheap picks: DeepSeek v4 flash-class ($0.06/M input), GLM 5.3 flash nearby, with v4.1 flash, MiMo and Qwen a bit higher for harder tasks — direct from DeepSeek or z.ai or via hosts like DeepInfra. Local Ollama gives free reps but small models still fumble long tool chains. Verdict: pay-per-token is saner for loops than subscriptions with weekly walls.
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