Budget-friendly model access with BYOK flexibility.
| Provider | Best For | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|
| Synthetic.new | Primary daily driver, 20+ models | $10/mo first month |
| MiniMax | Dedicated MiniMax access | Check pricing page |
| GLM | Cost-effective backup | $3/mo Lite |
I use multiple providers for redundancy:
- Synthetic.new — Primary (MiniMax + 20 other models in one sub)
- MiniMax Direct — Backup for focused MiniMax usage
- GLM — Secondary backup with different model characteristics
| Monthly Budget | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| $0-10 | Free tools (Qwen CLI) or GLM Lite ($3/mo) |
| $10-20 | Synthetic Standard ($20/mo) - RECOMMENDED |
| $20-40 | Synthetic Pro or MiniMax Plus |
| $40-60 | Synthetic Pro + MiniMax backup |
Key insight: $0-20/month is the optimal ROI range. Premium tiers ($40+) are for experimentation only.
See detailed comparison for:
- Feature comparison
- Use case scenarios
- When to use which provider
All tools in this guide support Bring Your Own Key:
- Connect your provider API keys
- Switch between providers as needed
- Control costs directly
- No vendor lock-in