• Playlab

Cost Optimization

Strategies and results from cost optimization efforts, including model migration, token reduction techniques, and workflow improvements that reduced operational costs while maintaining quality.

Model Pricing Comparison
USD per 1 million tokens - comparing input and output costs
Up to 80% cost savings with model migration
Input Price: Cost per token in the request. Output Price: Cost per token in the response.

Detailed Pricing Table

ModelInput ($/1M tokens)Output ($/1M tokens)Cost Index
Kimi K2$0.60$2.50100%
Qwen3 235B$0.70$2.80113%
Claude 4.5 Haiku$1.00$5.00194%
Claude 4.5 Sonnet$3.00$15.00581%

Cost Index: Relative cost compared to Kimi K2 (baseline 100%)

Optimization Strategies

Model Migration

Impact: 60-80% cost reduction

Switching from Claude 4.5 Sonnet to cost-effective alternatives like Kimi K2 or Qwen3 for appropriate tasks.

Prompt Optimization

Impact: 30-40% token reduction

Streamlining prompts by removing redundancy and using more efficient instructions.

Context Window Management

Impact: 20-25% reduction

Reducing conversation turns and implementing smarter context pruning strategies.

Caching Strategies

Impact: Variable savings

Implementing response caching for common queries and static content.

Cost Optimization Timeline

Week 1

Initial Assessment

Baseline measurement of token usage across all apps

Week 2-330-40% reduction

Prompt Engineering Phase

Systematic prompt optimization and format standardization

Token reduction: Significant reduction in prompt length

Week 460-80% reduction

Model Evaluation & Migration

Testing Kimi K2, Qwen3, and other alternatives

Cost impact: Major cost savings while maintaining quality

Key Results

30-40%
Token Reduction
60-80%
Cost Savings via Migration
Maintained
Output Quality