agentsop-cost-tiered-models

Split a multi-call LM workflow by cognitive load, not by accuracy: let one strong model make the few reasoning decisions and a cheap model do the many mechanical executions (Aider architect+editor, DSPy optimizer-LM vs task-LM, vLLM speculative draft+target, LangGraph supervisor+worker are the same shape). Use when designing or cost-optimizing a pipeline that calls an LM many times, when deciding which steps need a strong reasoner vs a cheap executor, or when adding an escalation valve for when the cheap tier degrades. Search keywords: reduce LLM cost, cheaper model, lower token cost, model cascade, route to cheap model, strong model plus cheap model, LLM cost optimization.