The best AI for a tight budget
Which model to use for a tight budget, why, and how to try it without paying for three separate subscriptions.
Model data updated: 2026-08-16
Top pick: DeepSeek
Among the lowest prices per million tokens while still handling reasoning and code.
An open-weight family known for strong reasoning and coding at a very low price point.
- Very low cost for the quality
- Competitive maths and coding
- Open weights, widely audited
| Representative model | Provider | Context | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | DeepSeek | — | — | — |
per 1M tokens. Prices are the providers’ list prices in USD per million tokens and can change at any time. Use them for comparison, not billing.
Also good
Gemini
Strong price-to-performance with fast responses and generous free access — the model behind Blend’s free trial.
Llama (Groq)
Open models served on Groq hardware — the fastest first-token latency available in Blend.
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I use AI all day — which model keeps the cost down?
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Model capabilities and prices change often. Figures come from Blend’s automatically synced registry and are shown for comparison. All model prices