If both DS4.1 and Opus can complete the tasks you throw at it at good enough quality the differences are negligible.
Who cares if your car can go 200mph if all you need is 60. If my requirement is 60mph, I want a faster 0-60, not a higher top speed.
Who cares if your car can go 200mph if all you need is 60. If my requirement is 60mph, I want a faster 0-60, not a higher top speed.
Deepseek 4.1: $0.02/$0.60
Just to illustrate how cheap the Corolla is in your analogy. Also Opus output would be $50 without competition.
A $20 Anthropic subscription is $500+ equivalent of API credit. You can build quite a lot on the $20 plan and get to use the best model.
Their API pricing has healthy margins built in.