Hi Reader,

​Last week, I encouraged you to experiment with different LLMs, since there’s no one model that is superior across all use cases.

Specifically, I suggested you try using Chatbot Arena, which allows you to chat with multiple models at once. It’s completely free, but has two significant disadvantages:

• Your chats are not private and may be used for research.
• It lacks the feature-rich interface provided by other LLMs.

Today, I want to offer you a better method for experimenting with LLMs, and it’s the method I personally use.

But first, we need to talk about LLM pricing…

🏷 What’s the cheapest way to access LLMs?

If you’re familiar with ChatGPT, you probably know that it offers a limited Free plan and a $20/month Plus plan.

But did you know that there’s a more flexible, affordable way to access the paid features of ChatGPT?

If you access LLMs via API, you actually pay per “token”, which is roughly equivalent to a word. The LLM I use the most, GPT-4o mini, costs only $0.15 per million “input tokens” (what you send to it) and $0.60 per million “output tokens” (what it sends back). That means most of my conversations cost fractions of a cent!

And when I want to use a more powerful model (like Claude 3.5 Sonnet), I pay perhaps $0.10 for a conversation.

In summary, accessing LLMs via API means that you can use whichever models you need, and only pay for the tokens you use. Win-win!

🌐 How to access LLMs via API

If you like the idea of accessing LLMs in a flexible, affordable way, there’s only two things you need to get started:

1. API keys from the LLMs you want to use
2. An app that will interact with the LLMs (using your API keys)

An “API key” is just a unique identifier that allows you to access a web service. For example, my API key from OpenAI allows me to use their models, and they bill me for the usage.

Once you have an API key, you need an interface for chatting with the LLM. My preferred interface is TypingMind:

All you have to do is give TypingMind your API key, and it will communicate with the LLM on your behalf!

I love TypingMind because it’s so easy to switch between different LLMs while still tracking your conversation history in one place.

It’s also got a ton of power user features: AI agents, plugins, voice mode, document upload, cloud sync, etc.

⏩ Action items

This week, I want you to try using an LLM via API. Here are the steps:

1. Sign up for an API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google. (OpenAI is the easiest, and here’s a 1-minute video to show you how.)
2. Add your billing information to OpenAI and buy $5 in credits (the minimum amount). This can last you a long time!
3. Add your API key to TypingMind and try it out for free. (You will still be paying OpenAI for the API usage.)
4. Buy a TypingMind license if you plan to use it frequently. Thankfully, it’s a one-time cost for a lifetime license! And, they offer a 50% discount for verified students.

Next time, I'll give you tips for how to get the best results from LLMs!

Tuesday Tips is on pause during the holiday break, so I'll see you in 2025!

- Kevin

P.S. Your workouts are a work of art (27-second video, turn on audio!) Also: behind the scenes.

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