The original title is: "LLM API Pricing Guide 2026: Comparing Sonnet 5, GLM-5.2, and cost optimization"

Short summary

Frontier LLM APIs show 30–90x price variation; Sonnet 5 offers mid-tier pricing at frontier capability while GLM-5.2 is the cheapest frontier option. Input caching cuts costs 90%. Compare providers hosting the same open-weight models at different rates, and track live pricing via APIs since rates shift monthly.

• •Frontier LLM APIs range $1–$30 per 1M input tokens; bucket by capability tier first
• •Sonnet 5 mid-tier pricing; GLM-5.2 cheapest frontier; caching saves ~90%
• •Track live pricing—rates change frequently; compare multi-host providers for open models

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.