GoKawiilMid-tier AI models now match flagship performance at fraction of the price, data shows
New industry data shows token usage for AI models has surged more than 25-fold over the past year, doubling in just the last month, even as per-token costs for high-intelligence models continue to fall. Mid-tier models from providers like Google and Meta are now delivering roughly 90% of the capability of pricier flagship systems such as Anthropic's Claude Opus at around one-sixth the cost, intensifying competition on what analysts call the 'Pareto Frontier' of price versus intelligence.