LLM Cost vs Quality — How to Choose the Right Model for the Right Task

GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet, Mistral, Llama… dozens of models, huge price differences. Smart model routing saves 60% without quality loss.

Model Tier System¶

• Tier 1 (premium): GPT-4o, Claude Opus — complex reasoning
• Tier 2 (standard): Claude Sonnet, Gemini Pro — most tasks
• Tier 3 (economy): GPT-4o-mini, Haiku — classification, extraction
• Tier 4 (free): Self-hosted Llama/Mistral — high-volume

Routing Strategy¶

Classifier-based: A small model classifies complexity → routes to tier. Cascading: Try Tier 3 → escalate if confidence is low.

Real Savings¶

E-commerce client: 73% of requests → Tier 3, 22% → Tier 2, 5% → Tier 1. Total savings: 62%.

Smart Routing = Smart Spending¶

Implement model routing from day one. A quick win with massive impact.