Low-Cost vs Premium Models: What’s the Real-World Gap?

I’d like to discuss two practical questions with fellow developers:

1. In daily development, do you rely more on low-cost models (including cheap lightweight APIs and low-cost open-source models deployable locally) or premium high-end models? What scenarios do you use them for?

2. Ignoring benchmark test results, from your real deployment experience, how large is the gap in intelligence and overall capability between low-cost and premium models? Feel free to share your thoughts on each.

Every time a new low-cost model launches, countless comparison tests pop up online, with many claims that these budget models outperform various high-end alternatives. After seeing so much of this hype, I’m curious about the genuine hands-on experience of developers working on real projects, so I’m posting this thread to gather your feedback.

When leaving comments, please include the specific business scenarios you’ve applied these models to for better reference. Thanks everyone for sharing!