Cheapest API for Coding Agents in 2026

Source: https://aiapi-pro.com/blog/cheapest-api-for-coding-agents-2026

Agents make many calls per task. Compare cost per successful task, not price per token.
Prices below are provider list prices passed through at 1.0x with no platform fee (snapshot 2026-10-26; unit as published in the feed):

• GLM-5.3-Flash $0.08 flat - cheap bulk edits
• Qwen3 Coder Flash $0.15 flat - coding-tuned, low price
• DeepSeek-V4-Flash $0.21 flat - balanced agent-loop default
• DeepSeek V4.1 Flash $0.308 flat
• Doubao-Seed-2.0-Code $0.45 per generation
• DeepSeek-V4-Pro $0.63 flat - harder planning/debugging
• Kimi-K2.5 $0.64 flat - long-context repo reading
• Kimi-K2.7-Code $1.04 flat - coding-tuned
• Kimi-K2.7-Code HighSpeed $2.07 flat - latency sensitive

Free: GLM-4.7-Flash ($0). Policy: /transparency.json (0% fee, 1.0x, refunds, pre-top-up rate limit).
Feed: /china-ai-leaderboard.json (daily).

Setup: OpenAI-compatible endpoint https://aiapi-pro.com/v1, model id per step.
MCP: claude mcp add --transport http novai-prices https://aiapi-pro.com/api/mcp
Measure: 30-100 real tasks, tokens per task, retries, cost per successful task.