How to Use Multiple AI APIs Without Breaking the Bank

Direct API access beats any subscription on price. The catch is that costs creep up fast if every request goes to the same expensive model. Route tasks by difficulty instead, and the savings are dramatic.

A grammar check costs a fraction of a cent

Models charge per token, roughly 0.75 words each, and output tokens cost more than input tokens because generating text is harder than reading it. A short grammar check on a Slack message stays well under a cent on any current model, cheap tier or flagship.

GPT-5.6's three tiers price the routing decision for you

OpenAI's GPT-5.6 ships in three sizes built for exactly this: match the model to the task.

Claude Opus 5 sits in flagship territory alongside Sol, priced for the hardest work rather than daily volume. Gemini, Grok, and Kimi round out the field, each with their own cheap-and-fast tier worth checking against Luna. If you're still deciding which provider's flagship is worth the extra cost, I compared them head to head in ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini for writing.

Type Mac lets you switch models per task with your own API key, so you only ever pay the provider, never a subscription markup.

Match the model to the task, not the task to your default

Grammar check on a Slack message: send it to Luna. An important email: Terra or a mid-tier Claude model. Published content where every word matters: Sol or Claude Opus 5. Most people use one model for everything, which is like taking a taxi to the corner store. For the task-by-task breakdown I use, see which AI model to reach for and when.

Trim the prompt, not just the model

"I would really appreciate it if you could please help me fix any grammar or spelling mistakes..." wastes tokens saying what "Fix grammar and spelling:" says in five words. That adds up across hundreds of requests. Send only the paragraph you need fixed, not the whole document.

Get API keys from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google

Sign up at platform.openai.com, console.anthropic.com, and aistudio.google.com. Each takes a few minutes and a small minimum payment; Google often has a free tier. Set a spending limit, start low, and check your dashboard weekly at first.

What routing actually saves

Compare metered API routing to a flat subscription like ChatGPT Plus or Grammarly Premium, both of which run $20–30 a month regardless of how little you use them. Route by task instead and even heavy daily use, hundreds of checks and dozens of rewrites a month, stays a fraction of that flat fee. The savings come from paying for what you use, not for headroom you don't.

If your bill looks high, check routing before switching providers

Are you sending Sol-tier tasks that Luna handles fine? Is the prompt bloated? Are you pasting a whole document when one paragraph needs fixing? The fix is almost always the same: match model capability to task difficulty. Still on a flat subscription instead of BYOK? Compare it against an AI writing setup with no subscription at all.

Where my API spend actually goes

I still route API calls by hand for scripts, but for day-to-day writing I let one app manage it. Type Mac is what's still installed:

• It sends the request straight to whichever provider I picked, using my own key, no markup on top of the API cost.
• Switching to a flagship model for one important paragraph is a menu, not a new integration.
• I can see which provider I'm using at a glance instead of guessing which tab has which key pasted in.

The honest limitation: it's a paid app on top of API keys you're already paying for. For anyone routing between providers by hand, the fee buys back the time spent context-switching between tabs and keys. Type Mac is where that routing happens now.

Stop managing three API tabs by hand. Type Mac supports GPT-5.6, Claude, and Gemini with BYOK, so you switch models per task from one place.