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One issue I keep seeing with cost comparisons is that they compare API rates while a substantial fraction of users are on subscription plans.

It's more expensive to use GLM 5.2 paying z.ai or Opencode Zen API rates than it is to use Opus on a subscription plan. Both of those providers offer subscriptions priced favorably relative to their API rates, but only in what are effectively trial sizes.

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Enterprise plans don't have the equivalent of the subsidized-usage-included Claude Max/ChatGPT Pro plans anymore. The revenue generated and total amount of tokens used by individuals is probably a tiny fraction of tokens billed at API pricing.

And that means either:

1. They overprice their APIs to make their subscriptions look reasonable

2. They burn money with their subscriptions

Could be a little of each, plus a third option: subscription users don't always consume their entire quota.

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