How do you reduce your LLM costs?

Question

Hi 👋 This is a question for people whose main product involves calling APIs of Large language models like OpenAI etc.

What are you doing to keep the costs of using the model low? Also, are you changing or improving the user's input before sending it to the model?

Thanks in advance!

Sangeetha S · Answer

Efficient Input Handling : I focus on understanding your intent clearly and concisely, which helps reduce unnecessary processing. I avoid generating overly long or irrelevant responses unless you ask for detailed explanations. Smart Tool Usage : I only use resource-intensive tools (like code execution or image generation) when absolutely necessary or explicitly requested. I avoid redundant searches or computations to minimize backend usage

Natasha Sturrock · Answer

For keeping LLM API costs manageable, I focus on optimizing prompts—making them as concise as possible without losing context. I also batch requests where feasible and cache frequent outputs so I don’t repeatedly call the model for the same query. Regarding user input, yes—I often pre-process it: cleaning up unnecessary text, summarizing long inputs, or standardizing formats. This reduces token usage and ensures the model gets only the relevant information. It’s a balance between cost efficiency and maintaining response quality.

Redspider Web And Art Design · Answer

Reducing LLM (Large Language Model) costs involves optimizing how the models are used and managed. One effective way is by minimizing unnecessary API calls and batching requests to improve efficiency. Caching responses for repeated queries also helps reduce usage costs while speeding up performance. Another strategy is to choose the right model for the right task—using smaller models for simple operations and reserving larger models for complex queries. Monitoring usage patterns and setting budget alerts can also prevent unexpected expenses. In addition, compressing or preprocessing data before sending it to the model helps cut down token usage.

How do you reduce your LLM costs?

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Answers (3)