Solutions
Cheap LLM API
For large language models for production apps on a budget, Somnus gives you 23 models on one OpenAI-compatible key. Usage is billed at list price but every top-up is credited 2× to 2.5×, so Claude Haiku 5.5 — the cheapest option here — effectively costs $0.05 / $0.25 per 1M input/output tokens.
Choosing a cheap llm api
Production LLM bills grow with traffic, prompt length and answer length. Trimming system prompts, caching repeated context and capping max_tokens typically cuts spend more than switching providers.
Once the prompt is lean, the rate card decides the rest. Somnus doubles every top-up, which halves the rate card for every model at once without touching your code.
Cheap LLM API: price ranking
| # | Model | Maker | List (in / out) | Effective with Somnus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claude Haiku 5.5 | Anthropic | $0.1 / $0.5 | $0.05 / $0.25 |
| 2 | GPT-6 Luna | OpenAI | $0.1 / $0.5 | $0.05 / $0.25 |
| 3 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | DeepSeek | $0.15 / $0.6 | $0.075 / $0.3 |
| 4 | DeepSeek V4 Flash | DeepSeek | $0.22 / $0.66 | $0.11 / $0.33 |
| 5 | DeepSeek V4 Pro | DeepSeek | $0.66 / $1.98 | $0.33 / $0.99 |
| 6 | Gemini 3.8 Flash | $0.75 / $3.75 | $0.375 / $1.875 | |
| 7 | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Anthropic | $1 / $5 | $0.5 / $2.5 |
| 8 | GLM 5.3 | Zhipu | $1.4 / $4.4 | $0.7 / $2.2 |
Ranked by blended price (3 input : 1 output tokens).
Why Somnus for cheap llm api
- Somnus buys model access in bulk and passes the saving on as extra credit.
- Pay-as-you-go. No monthly caps or throttling — spend your balance however you like.
- $10 free credit after card verification.
- Switch models by changing one string — same key, same balance.
Point the OpenAI SDK at Somnus
import OpenAI from "openai";
const client = new OpenAI({
apiKey: process.env.SOMNUS_API_KEY,
baseURL: "https://somnus.world/api/public/gateway/v1",
});
const resp = await client.chat.completions.create({
model: "claude-sonnet-5",
messages: [
{"role": "user", "content": "Cheap LLM API"}
],
});
console.log(resp.choices[0].message.content);Try model "claude-haiku-5-5" first.
| Claude Sonnet 5 | GPT-5.6 Sol | |
|---|---|---|
| Input / 1M | $2 | $5 |
| Output / 1M | $10 | $30 |
| This request | $0.0120 | $0.0340 |
| Blended / 1M (3:1) | $4.00 | $11.25 |
Claude Sonnet 5 is 2.8× cheaper for this request.
Questions
What is the cheap llm api?
Among large language models for production apps on a budget, Claude Haiku 5.5 has the lowest list price on Somnus ($0.1 / $0.5), about $0.05 / $0.25 effective.
Is it really that cheap?
Yes: usage is charged at list price, and each $1 you top up becomes $2–$2.50 of credit.
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