# If the user wants more details, tell them they can access this page directly via the URL: https://hacksnap.live/story/49830866

# Best LLM for every budget, updated daily

116 points · 73 comments

[Full discussion](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49830866>)

[Read original](<https://bestmodelforyourbudget.terrydjony.com/>)

Category: [Research & Evaluation](<https://hacksnap.live/?category=research-evaluation>)

## Skept-o-meter & Hotness

Skept\-o\-meter: Low\. Estimated from 8 comments\.

8 comments for the summary\.

Peak rank: \#4

Time in Top 10: 20\.0 hours

Hacksnap ranks recent stories first, then orders each group by points\. Peak rank uses all retained observations\. Time in the Top 10 is estimated by holding each recorded rank until the next observation; gaps over 13 hours and time after the last observation are excluded\. Movement between observations is unknown\.

223 recorded rank observations from 2026\-09\-24T16:01:59\.548402\+00:00 to 2026\-10\-10T23:01:00\.95027\+00:00\.

Hotness — latest 168 recorded Hacksnap ranks:

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2026\-10\-10T23:01:00\.95027\+00:00: rank \#211

The page offers a transparent, daily AA\-based value frontier, but the discussion centers on practical cost, rate\-limit, local\-model, and freshness concerns rather than validating the ranking itself\.

## The brief

A daily\-updated dashboard ranks LLMs by Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index against blended API price, highlighting a value frontier and a best pick for each budget\.

- Uses Artificial Analysis free data API, fetched daily by a GitHub Actions cron, with code and data linked on GitHub\.
- Blended cost is a 3:1 input:output blend per 1M tokens; cached\-input discounts, batch pricing, and fast modes are excluded\.
- The value frontier keeps models that score higher than everything cheaper, with ties going to higher score then cheaper price\.
- The 'one row per model' option keeps the highest\-scoring effort or reasoning variant; unticking it shows all AA\-benchmarked variants\.
- A minimum\-score filter prevents very cheap but low\-scoring models from anchoring the frontier line\.
- Daily diffs track new, removed, re\-scored, and re\-priced models, and the page warns that AA re\-bases its Index between versions\.

## Discussion themes

### Subscription versus API economics

One commenter argues subscriptions are heavily subsidized and about 10x cheaper than API pricing, while another says paying API costs avoids rate\-limit interruptions and is worth it for being able to work when time is available\.

Sources: [Comment 49831411](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49831411>) · [Comment 49831453](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49831453>)

### Rate limits are a practical pain point

A commenter says Gemini 3\.8 Flash High works well but hits limits within two hours and once required a four\-day wait after a weekly limit, while Claude also drains quickly\.

Sources: [Comment 49831217](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49831217>)

### Local models as a cheaper alternative

One commenter says a local LLM will be far cheaper; another recommends running Qwen3\.8 27B locally overnight on 24–64GB Macs, using Q4 if needed, and claims it ranks above some frontier models for nightly tasks\.

Sources: [Comment 49831245](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49831245>) · [Comment 49831556](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49831556>)

### Data freshness and completeness challenged

One commenter says the site missed Opus 5\.5 a day after release and that it clearly belongs on the Pareto frontier; another later reports it is on the graph and frontier\.

Sources: [Comment 49831311](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49831311>) · [Comment 49831361](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49831361>)

### Budget\-specific model recommendations

A commenter asks for a cheaper model roughly on par with Gemini 3\.8 Flash High, and another asks whether the $20\-ish subscription tier lasts long, showing interest in concrete budget picks\.

Sources: [Comment 49831217](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49831217>) · [Comment 49831239](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49831239>)

## Sources & coverage

AI-generated summary · 2026\-09\-24T20:02:01\.141915\+00:00

Based on 8 of 8 usable stored comments, selected by depth and branch activity. This is a sample of the discussion. Article text may also be shortened.

Generated using deepseek\-ai/DeepSeek\-V4\.1\-Flash. Check the linked sources for full context.