# How Smart Model Routing Can Cut LLM Costs by 10X

DevFeed: [How Smart Model Routing Can Cut LLM Costs by 10X](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/how-smart-model-routing-can-cut-llm-costs-by-10x-17990.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.bytebytego.com/p/how-smart-model-routing-can-cut-llm>)

Author: ByteByteGo

Published: 2026-09-09T15:30:26Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [ByteByteGo](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/bytebytego.md>)

Topics: [Model Routing](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/model-routing.md>), [Large Language Model](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/llm.md>), [API](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/api.md>)

Tags: [cost](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cost.md>), [llm](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/llm.md>), [model-routing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/model-routing.md>), [models](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/models.md>), [routing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/routing.md>), [routing-system](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/routing-system.md>), [tokens](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/tokens.md>)

## AI overview

This article explains how smart model routing can reduce LLM application costs by sending simple requests to less expensive models and difficult requests to more capable models. It notes that savings and response quality depend on request types, model price differences, and routing performance, and discusses router, cascading, semantic, and learned routing approaches.

## Source excerpt

Cost reduction isn't a given. It also depends on the types of requests the application receives, the price difference between models, and how well the routing system performs. In this article, we are going to look at various aspects