Simplicio BLOGCASE · 2026-09-17 · OPENROUTER
Pasblinn: measured OpenCode cost with Qwen
On real OpenRouter billing for a 3-regime OpenCode round, Simplicio cut mean cost 91.6% in the medium regime and 80.2% in the large regime. The small regime was 13.2% more expensive, without significance.
| Regime | Without Simplicio | With Simplicio | Change | t | Cheaper in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | $0.11890 | $0.00999 | −91.6% | −6.52 | 3/3 |
| Large | $0.20947 | $0.04147 | −80.2% | −4.67 | 3/3 |
| Small | $0.00462 | $0.00522 | +13.2% | +0.77 | 1/3 |
455 requests
| Regime | 15 Sep 2026 DeepSeek v4 Flash · Runtime 3.8.46 | 17 Sep 2026 qwen/qwen3.7-flash · Runtime 3.8.53 |
|---|---|---|
| Medium | −72.2% | −91.6% |
| Large | −62.5% | −80.2% |
The model and the runtime version changed together. The difference is not attributed to 3.8.53 alone.
How we measured
Client: Pablo Tadini Soto (Pasblinn). Design: 3 regimes × 2 arms × 3 replicas. Stack: Simplicio Runtime 3.8.53, OpenCode 1.18.30 or later, main-round model qwen/qwen3.7-flash on Alibaba. Costs are US dollars from real OpenRouter charges, not estimates.
What the numbers show
Medium: $0.11890 without Simplicio → $0.00999 with the wrapper, −91.6% (t=−6.52, cheaper in 3 of 3). Large: $0.20947 → $0.04147, −80.2% (t=−4.67, 3 of 3). Small: $0.00462 → $0.00522, +13.2%, not significant (t=+0.77, 1 of 3). Peak context fell from 89 thousand tokens to 22 thousand in medium, and from 155 thousand to 32 thousand in large. The whole round cost $1.17 across 455 requests. A 15 Sep 2026 measurement with DeepSeek v4 Flash and Runtime 3.8.46 showed −72.2% medium and −62.5% large; this round is −91.6% and −80.2%. The model and the runtime version changed together — the gap is not attributed to 3.8.53 alone.
Limits of the result
This is one client round, not a guarantee. Do not read the medium-regime −91.6% as a typical or minimum saving. The strong drop appeared only in the medium and large regimes. In the small regime the wrapper cost more, and the difference was not significant. Savings depend on task size, model, and workflow.
qwen/qwen3.7-flash · Alibaba · OpenRouter · Simplicio Runtime 3.8.53 · OpenCode 1.18.30+
3 regimes × 2 arms × 3 replicas · USD, billed