Back to Blog
2026-04-25
LegoStack Team
5 min read

3 Practical Strategies to Save 70% on AI API Costs

Worried about spiraling GPT-4 costs? Learn how to optimize with caching, model routing, and DeepSeek.


1. Leverage Prompt Caching

Modern AI models like DeepSeek, Gemini, and Anthropic support prompt caching. By caching large contexts (docs, system instructions), you can reduce input costs by up to 90% for subsequent calls.


2. Implement Smart Model Routing

Not every task requires GPT-4o. Route simpler tasks like summarization or basic extraction to lower-cost models like DeepSeek-V3 or Gemini 1.5 Flash. According to LegoStack simulations, this can save 40-60% of infrastructure costs.


3. Token-Efficient Architecture

Enforcing strict JSON output and trimming system prompts can reduce token usage by over 20%. Regular monitoring of token consumption is key to sustainable AI scaling.