$47 of opus on 14 routine next.js files finally taught me to use the model selector
A user discovered they spent $47 in a single month on Anthropic's Opus model within the Cursor IDE, primarily for routine code migration tasks. They realized that cheaper models like DeepSeek V4 and Tencent Hunyuan Hy3 could have handled the majority of these predictable edits more cost-effectively. While Opus remains valuable for complex reasoning tasks such as authentication and hydration mismatches, the user advocates for a real-time cost estimator within the IDE to prevent overspending on simpler operations. AI
IMPACT Highlights the potential for significant cost savings by matching AI model capabilities to task complexity, encouraging more judicious use of premium models.