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I did some token tests and both pi and my own 3code used 4x fewer tokens than Claude Code, while opencode used 2x fewer tokens than Claude Code. You can tell Anthropic just doesn't care about using tokens and the tradeoff is maximal performance. That's understandable, but it might not be the tradeoff you need, hence, alternative clients.

I'd say it's the other way around: I like Pi because it's minimal. Not like claude code spinning up superpower:* skills, 10 background agents, etc. Also, it's a useful building block for so-called "agentic workflows" precisely because it's minimal.

EDIT: forgot to mention local models

The minimal setup is nice to customize per project or set of projects. Tailor made specific for the use case. Only grab extensions where necessary, I've made a few for myself and work to help me.