STOP BURNING TOKENS ON THE WRONG MODEL TIER
The AI Model Token Budget Cheat Sheet by Trust Insights
Every major AI tool ships three model tiers: a heavy planning model, a daily execution model, and a fast reading model. Most people default to one tier for everything – and vendors tend to push you towards the most expensive models. That habit burns through usage limits fast — and it skips the planning work that makes execution effective.
The AI Model Token Budget Cheat Sheet maps the right model for each tier across six major AI tools. Plan first. Then do. Then read. Match your task to the right tier and your token budget will go further — with better results.
WHICH TIER TO USE INSIDE EACH AI TOOL
Last updated June 2026
Plan first, then do. Find your AI tool in the left column. Pick the tier that matches your task — Plan for documents that guide weeks of work (~10% of use), Do for daily execution (~80%), Read for ingesting large volumes of text (~10%).
| AI Tool |
PLAN Most tokens · ~10% of use |
DO Balanced · ~80% of use |
READ Fewest tokens · ~10% of use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude | Fable 5 / Opus 4.8 | Sonnet 4.6 | Haiku 4.5 |
| Gemini | 3.1 Pro | 3.5 Flash | 3.1 Flash Lite |
| ChatGPT | 5.5 Pro | 5.5 Thinking | 5.5 Instant |
| Copilot | 5.5 Think Deeper | 5.5 Quick Response | Auto |
| Qwen | 3.7 Max | 3.7 Plus | 3.6 35B-3AB |
| Minimax | M3 | M2.7 | M2.7 |
HOW TO USE THESE TIERS
PLAN — Target ~10% of your token use
The Plan tier uses each tool’s most capable model. It consumes the most tokens per query and takes the longest to respond. Reserve it for documents that guide weeks of work: business requirements documents, technical specifications, software design documents, architecture decision records, and strategic plans. Most professionals use this tier far too often. Target roughly 10% of your total AI use here. Invest that 10% in documents your Do-tier work can execute against — not in routine drafts or quick questions.
DO — Target ~80% of your token use
The Do tier is your production workhorse. It takes structured inputs — your Plan-tier documents, briefs, and outlines — and turns them into finished work. It runs faster than the Plan tier and costs significantly fewer tokens per task. Draft, revise, format, iterate: the Do tier handles all of it. This is where 80% of your token budget belongs. When you have a strong plan driving the work, the Do tier performs at its best. Skip the plan and your output quality will show it.
READ — Target ~10% of your token use
The Read tier prioritizes speed over depth. It processes large volumes of text quickly and delivers reliable summaries. It makes more errors on complex reasoning tasks, so reserve it for exactly what it does well: reading and summarizing. Feed it a lengthy report, a set of meeting notes, or a batch of research articles and ask for the key points. Target roughly 10% of your token budget here. Resist the temptation to ask it to reason, plan, or create — that work belongs in the Do or Plan tiers.
STAY SHARP AND KEEP LEARNING
AI model lineups change fast. We update this leaderboard as vendors release new tiers. Subscribe to our newsletter so you know immediately when the recommendations shift: trustinsights.ai/newsletter
Want to build deeper AI skills? Trust Insights Academy offers practical courses on AI literacy, analytics, and marketing strategy: trustinsights.ai/academy
Have questions about which AI tools or tiers fit your team? Get in touch — we’re glad to help.
Also see our AI Model Cheat Sheet for model recommendations by media type — text, code, video, images, audio, and agentic operations.
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