Cut Your AI API Costs by 70%
With Hybrid Model Routing
Route tasks across DeepSeek, Claude Sonnet, and Opus by complexity — so you stop paying frontier model prices for routine queries.
Built for OpenClaw users · principles apply to any LLM API setup
Tools & articles free · PDF guides via Google sign-in
Which describes you?
Already using OpenClaw
Jump straight to the routing guides and cost tools.
Get the guides →Building AI agents, watching costs
Use the free cost calculator and model comparison matrix.
Open the tools →New to self-hosted AI
Start here — what OpenClaw is, why routing matters, and what to do first.
Start here →Sound familiar?
Paying frontier prices for routine tasks
Most queries don't need an expensive model. Sending everything to Sonnet or GPT-4o costs 50× more than necessary for classification, summaries, and drafts.
No routing = no cost control
Without routing rules, costs scale linearly with usage. With a 3-tier routing setup, 70% of requests drop to a fraction of the price.
Tight API budgets, no clear path down
Budget pressure is real in 2026. Hybrid routing is the fastest lever — same output quality, 70% lower spend.
70%
avg. API cost reduction with hybrid routing
4
free guides, no paywalls, PDFs via Google sign-in
268×
cost gap between DeepSeek and Claude Opus
$0.002
monthly cost to run a daily WhatsApp AI briefing
Free Resources
Real configs, real numbers. No paywalls.
Hybrid Model Routing — The 3-Tier Playbook
When to use DeepSeek, Sonnet, and Opus. Decision tree, real cost numbers, fallback chains.
Cost ControlDeepSeek vs Claude — Routing Decision Tree
Task classification by complexity and cost sensitivity. Drop-in OpenClaw config snippets.
DownloadsOpenClaw Utility Kit — Templates, Scripts & Configs
8 ready-to-use packs: identity templates, routing config, morning briefing, Matya starter, cron automation, Pi monitor, QR code skill, and cost monitoring. Download as one zip.
FAQ
What is OpenClaw?
OpenClaw is a self-hosted AI agent gateway — you define agents, skills, and how they interact, and OpenClaw handles execution. It's open-source and runs on any hardware including a Raspberry Pi. These guides are for OpenClaw users routing tasks to Claude and DeepSeek models via API. New to it? Start with the intro guide.
New to OpenClaw? Start here →Do I need to be technical?
Basic familiarity with config files is enough. All routing rules come as drop-in snippets with comments explaining each line.
What format are the guides?
Web articles with embedded config snippets you can copy directly, plus downloadable PDF packs. Guide 1 (Hybrid Model Routing) is free to read online. PDF guides 2–4 are free with a Google sign-in.
Will this work with my setup?
If you're using OpenClaw with OpenRouter, yes. If you're routing LLMs directly via API without OpenClaw, the principles still apply — the config syntax will differ.