Best Practices

GPT-4 vs GPT-3.5: When to Use Each Model

Save up to 90% on AI costs by choosing the right model for each task. Learn when GPT-4 is worth the premium and when GPT-3.5 is sufficient.

Michael Torres
AI Engineer
4 min read
GPT-4 vs GPT-3.5: When to Use Each Model

Your Azure OpenAI bill is probably 20x higher than it needs to be. Here's the $10,000/month mistake most companies make - and how to fix it in minutes.

The $10,000 Question

A fintech company came to us spending $14,000/month on Azure OpenAI. After analyzing their usage, we found something shocking: 92% of their GPT-4 calls could have been handled by GPT-3.5 - saving them $10,000+ monthly.

The Expensive Truth About GPT-4

GPT-4 costs 20x more than GPT-3.5. Yet most teams use GPT-4 for everything: - Simple data formatting? GPT-4 ❌ (Costs $30) - Basic Q&A? GPT-4 ❌ (Costs $50) - JSON parsing? GPT-4 ❌ (Costs $40)

Same tasks with GPT-3.5? Under $2 total.

Real Cost Comparison (Actual Customer Data)

E-commerce Site (Before Optimization): - Monthly tokens: 15 million - Using 100% GPT-4: **$8,400/month** - After smart routing: **$980/month** - **Savings: $7,420/month ($89,040/year!)**

When You Actually Need GPT-4

Only use GPT-4 for: 1. Complex reasoning requiring multiple steps 2. Nuanced content understanding 3. Advanced code generation 4. Critical accuracy requirements

Everything else? GPT-3.5 is perfect and 20x cheaper.

The Smart Routing Strategy

Here's the exact breakdown that saves our customers thousands: - 70% GPT-3.5 Turbo: Basic tasks, Q&A, formatting - 25% GPT-3.5: Standard analysis, summaries - 5% GPT-4: Only critical, complex tasks

**Customer Success**: "We cut our bill from $6,000 to $1,200 without any noticeable quality drop. I wish we'd done this months ago." - SaaS Founder

But Here's The Problem...

Azure OpenAI doesn't tell you: - Which requests could use cheaper models - How much you're overspending - Which team or feature is using expensive models unnecessarily

Your Action Plan

GPT Usage automatically analyzes every API call and shows you: - Exact savings potential for each request - Smart routing recommendations - Real-time model usage breakdown - Instant alerts when expensive models are overused

Stop Overpaying Today

Every day you wait is money wasted. Our average customer saves $3,000+/month just by implementing smart model routing.

Join GPT Usage now and get: - Instant savings calculator - Model optimization dashboard - Team-by-team cost analysis - 30-day money-back guarantee

GPT-4
GPT-3.5
Model Selection
Cost Optimization

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