Major Chinese vendors cut model API prices repeatedly within half a year, some models by over ninety percent cumulatively, with limited-time free tiers appearing. Price war became the norm, pushing application-layer experimentation costs down.
Key facts
- Cumulative cuts over ninety percent for flagship models
- Several vendors added limited free windows
- Application-layer call costs dropped sharply
- Price war shifted from promotion to norm
Big Share take
The price war looks like good news, but it relocated the problem: models stopped being the cost bottleneck, distribution and retention became it. Cheap APIs cannot save a product with no scenario, as was proved repeatedly.
Compiled from public reports; opinions are for reference only.