Model shortlist

Cheapest LLM APIs in 2026 for Singapore teams

Compare the cheapest LLM APIs for Singapore and Southeast Asia teams by token price, context window, and production fit before you route traffic.

What is this shortlist for?: Cheap LLM API

The lowest sticker price is a weak starting point. Cheap models work well for classification, short summaries, routing, and bulk drafts. They break down when the task needs careful reasoning or long agent runs. Match the model to the job first, then look at input and output rates. The table below carries price, context, capability, and provider source for every candidate — run your numbers through /tools/llm-cost-calculator and /pricing before production.

Source basis: NextModel curated catalog, provider public pricing, and OpenRouter metadata when available. · Updated 2026-08-05

How to use this shortlist

How to use this shortlist (Cheap LLM API)

  1. Match the shortlist to the job. Check whether the Cheap LLM API candidates fit your real workload, not only the posted rate.
  2. Run the same prompts. Test two or three candidates on production-like prompts and note quality and output length.
  3. Estimate monthly cost. Use the pricing page or cost calculator with expected token volume.
  4. Set fallback and budget. Pick a primary model, a fallback, and a project budget before production traffic.

Blended price

Recommended candidates cheap llm api

Start with the shortlist, then test real prompts and compare monthly cost before production routing in Singapore.

Black Forest LabsCatalog

FLUX.2 Flex via NextModel: context unpublished; $0.2 / image in / — out per 1M tokens. Capabilities: streaming, vision.

$0.2 / imagePer image—Context
Best forimage understanding, multimodal chat
StreamingVision
Platform curatedCurated and maintained in the NextModel catalog
View details
Black Forest LabsCatalog

FLUX.2 PRO via NextModel: context unpublished; $0.075 / image in / — out per 1M tokens. Capabilities: streaming, vision.

$0.075 / imagePer image—Context
Best forimage understanding, multimodal chat
StreamingVision
Platform curatedCurated and maintained in the NextModel catalog
View details
DoubaoCatalog

Doubao Seedance 2.0 via NextModel: context unpublished; $0.148 / s in / — out per 1M tokens. Capabilities: streaming, vision.

$0.148 / sPer second—Context
Best forimage understanding, multimodal chat
StreamingVision
Platform curatedCurated and maintained in the NextModel catalog
View details
DoubaoCatalog

Doubao Seedance 2.0 Fast via NextModel: context unpublished; $0.119 / s in / — out per 1M tokens. Capabilities: streaming, vision.

$0.119 / sPer second—Context
Best forimage understanding, multimodal chat
StreamingVision
Platform curatedCurated and maintained in the NextModel catalog
View details

Comparison table

Compare the shortlist by price, provider, context, capability, and source.

Use this view when narrowing a production shortlist, building a fallback policy, or comparing model economics for Singapore-based teams.

ModelProviderInputOutputContextCapabilitiesBest forLatencyStatusSource
FLUX.2 Flexblack-forest-labs/FLUX.2-flexBlack Forest Labs$0.2 / image——
StreamingVision
image understanding, multimodal chat0-0msCatalogPlatform curated
FLUX.2 PROblack-forest-labs/FLUX.2-proBlack Forest Labs$0.075 / image——
StreamingVision
image understanding, multimodal chat0-0msCatalogPlatform curated
Doubao Seedance 2.0doubao/doubao-seedance-2-0-260128Doubao$0.148 / s——
StreamingVision
image understanding, multimodal chat0-0msCatalogPlatform curated
Doubao Seedance 2.0 Fastdoubao/doubao-seedance-2-0-fast-260128Doubao$0.119 / s——
StreamingVision
image understanding, multimodal chat0-0msCatalogPlatform curated
Doubao Seedance 2.0 minidoubao/doubao-seedance-2-0-mini-260615Doubao$0.0738 / s——
StreamingVision
image understanding, multimodal chat0-0msCatalogPlatform curated
Doubao Seedance 2.5doubao/doubao-seedance-2-5-260628Doubao$0.225 / s——
StreamingVision
image understanding, multimodal chat0-0msCatalogPlatform curated
Dreamina-Seedance 2.0dreamina/dreamina-seedance-2-0-260128Dreamina$0.153 / s——
StreamingVision
image understanding, multimodal chat0-0msCatalogPlatform curated
Dreamina-Seedance 2.0 Fastdreamina/dreamina-seedance-2-0-fast-260128Dreamina$0.122 / s——
StreamingVision
image understanding, multimodal chat0-0msCatalogPlatform curated

FAQ

Cheap LLM API FAQ

What is the cheapest model in this catalog?

It depends on FX and how long answers are. In CNY production entries, Doubao Seed 2.0 Mini is usually the lowest here.

Should teams always pick the cheapest LLM API?

No. Use cheap models for repeatable, low-risk work. Keep a stronger model for hard answers, coding agents, and anything you would be embarrassed to ship wrong.

How do caching and routing lower the effective cost of a cheap LLM API?

Route easy requests to the cheap model, cache repeated prefixes when it is safe, and keep one OpenAI-compatible base URL. The calculator at /tools/llm-cost-calculator is a quick way to sanity-check the savings.