How to choose a model

Three questions before choosing#

1. How hard is the task? Summarizing a note or making self-check questions — a fast model will cope. Program architecture, hard math, a long analysis — you need a strong one.
2. How much text will the model read? A big repository or a long document needs a large context window and costs more on every request.
3. How much are you willing to spend? Model prices differ by dozens of times. Start with a cheap one and move to a strong one only when the cheap one does not cope.

Classes of models#

Class	What for	Price
Fast and small	summaries, questions, simple edits, drafts	the cheapest
General-purpose	most tasks: code, explanations, agent work in a repository	medium
Flagship and «thinking»	hard code, math, long reasoning	the most expensive

Every major provider has models of all three classes — look for the names in the provider articles, and compare prices in the model catalog.

How not to overpay#

• Cheap first. A fast model is enough for most questions about your notes.
• Short rules. The AGENTS.md file goes to the model with every request — keep it short.
• A repeated beginning. Providers cache an identical beginning of a request (rules, tools) and charge many times less for it.
• A limit on the connection. The connection settings let you set a monthly limit in dollars — the model is not called beyond it.

If a model is not available from Russia#

OpenAI, Anthropic and Google do not sell access to their models in Russia directly. In SKILLOK their models work through OpenRouter — one key for models of many companies. In detail — Connecting in SKILLOK.

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