It’s because their models burn tokens like crazy. API use is way too expensive

Edit: or should I say, the subscription is artificially cheap

While the subscription is definitely subsidized (technically cross-subsidized, because the subsidy is coming from users who pay but barely use it), Claude Code also does a ton of prompt caching that reduces LLM dependency. I have done many hours-long coding sessions and built entire websites using the latest Opus and the final tally came to like $4, whereas without caching it would have been $25-30.

	▲	esafak 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Are you saying CC does caching that opencode does not? What does Anthropic care? They limit you based on tokens, so if other agents burn more then users will simply get less work done, not use more tokens, which they can't. I don't think Anthropic's objection is technical.

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zmmmmm 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> API use is way too expensive

Cry me a river - I never stop hearing how developers think their time is so valuable that no amount of AI use could possibly not be worth it. Yet suddenly, paying for what you use is "too expensive".

I'm getting sick of costs being distorted. It's resulting in dysfunctional methodologies where people are spinning up ridiculous number agents in the background, burning tokens to grind out solutions where a modicum of oversight or direction from a human would result in 10x less compute. At very least the costs should be realised by the people doing this.

	▲	johnisgood 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> a modicum of oversight or direction from a human would result in 10x less compute. Yeah, I noticed it. I use Claude, but I use it responsibly. I wonder how many "green" people run these instances in parallel. :D