The Hidden Cost of AI

Developers often default to the most powerful AI models without considering cost implications. This piece breaks down the three major AI model families (OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude) into basic, medium, and pro tiers, explaining what each tier is best suited for. It covers token-based pricing with concrete per-million-token cost estimates for both input and output, explains context windows and their trade-offs, and argues that enterprise licenses obscure true costs, eroding developers' intuition for cost-performance trade-offs. The core message: match the model tier to the task complexity rather than always reaching for the most powerful option.