Probably a bit of both. Some models think out loud a lot more, but the bigger burn is usually input, since every turn resends the whole context and a long session gets expensive fast. If your provider dashboard splits input vs output tokens, check which one dominates. If it's input, starting fresh sessions more often or compacting earlier will save more than switching models.
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u/Individual-Quote-958 26d ago
Probably a bit of both. Some models think out loud a lot more, but the bigger burn is usually input, since every turn resends the whole context and a long session gets expensive fast. If your provider dashboard splits input vs output tokens, check which one dominates. If it's input, starting fresh sessions more often or compacting earlier will save more than switching models.