🦞 40-Day Field Report
I Ran 8 AI Models on OpenClaw for 40 Days.
Here's What They Actually Cost.
Heavy daily usage on OpenClaw — coding, trading bots, architecture, research. Real numbers, no benchmarks.
💸 Daily Cost (Heavy Usage, ~500 calls/day)
📊 Per-Call Cost Breakdown
| Model | Per Call | Daily (~500) | Monthly | Quality |
|---|
| Claude Opus 4.6 | $0.40 | $200 | $6,000 | ★★★★★ |
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | $0.24 | $120 | $3,600 | ★★★★☆ |
| GPT-5.4 | $0.16 | $80 | $2,400 | ★★★★★ |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro | $0.12 | $60 | $1,800 | ★★★★☆ |
| GPT-5 Mini | $0.02 | $10 | $300 | ★★★☆☆ |
| Gemini Flash-Lite | $0.016 | $8 | $240 | ★★★☆☆ |
| GPT-OSS-120B | $0.005 | $2.50 | $75 | ★★☆☆☆ |
| GPT-OSS-20B | $0.002 | $1 | $30 | ★☆☆☆☆ |
20×
GPT-5 Mini costs 20× less than Opus per call — and handles 80% of daily tasks just fine.
Smart model switching saves $5,000+/month.
🧪 The Verdict After 40 Days
Don't use one model for everything. Build a team of models like you'd build a company.
Daily driver (80% of work)
GPT-5 Mini + Flash-Lite
~$10–18/day · Coding, chat, summaries, everyday tasks
Heavy lifting (20% of work)
GPT-5.4 + Claude Opus
~$80–200/day · Architecture, trading logic, complex reasoning
Best bang for buck
GPT-5.4
$0.16/call · 90% of Opus quality at 40% of the cost
Survival mode
OSS-120B / OSS-20B
$1–2.50/day · Keeps you running when budget is tight
40 days · ~20,000 API calls · 8 models · Real production usage
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