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Agent skill

Model Cost Compare

by nyldn in nyldn/claude-octopus

Starter: compare model costs for a described task — maps task shape to the cheapest adequate seat and shows the price spread

MITAuto-check passed

Install Model Cost Compare

skills CLI
$ npx skills add nyldn/claude-octopus --skill model-cost-compare -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install nyldn/claude-octopus model-cost-compare --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/nyldn/claude-octopus.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/octopus-starter-pack/model-cost-compare .claude/skills/model-cost-compare && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
model-cost-compare
GitHub stars
4.2k
Used in
1 other repo
Token cost
~718 tokens
SKILL.md length
386 words
Files
2
Skills in repo
62
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Starter: compare model costs for a described task — maps task shape to the cheapest adequate seat and shows the price spread

  • Works in 6 steps: Classify the task. Bucket it: mechanical… → Estimate volume. Rough input/output… → Price the roster. Using the cost table… → …
  • SKILL.md covers When to use, Steps and Guardrails
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Model Cost Compare is an agent skill from nyldn/claude-octopus. Starter: compare model costs for a described task — maps task shape to the cheapest adequate seat and shows the price spread

Its SKILL.md is about 720 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files (for example `agents/openai.yaml`).

The repository describes itself as: Run multiple AI models against the same research, design, or coding task. Surface disagreements before you ship. The licence is MIT.

Example prompts

  • “/model-cost-compare”

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Classify the task. Bucket it: mechanical (rename, format), standard coding, hard reasoning (architecture, security review), long-context…
  2. Estimate volume. Rough input/output token estimate from the described scope (files touched × average size; state the assumption).
  3. Price the roster. Using the cost table in CLAUDE.md ($/MTok input/output), compute the estimated cost for each plausible seat: Claude Opus…
  4. Recommend one seat. Pick the cheapest adequate option and defend it in two sentences. Mechanical work goes to included or budget seats…
  5. Check risk surfaces. Regardless of the classification, escalate specifically to the current Opus default—Opus 5.5 on Claude Code…
  6. Show the spread. A three-row table: recommended seat, one cheaper-but-riskier option, one premium option, each with estimated dollars for…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit e14b84f. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Model Cost Compare loads about 718 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 36 tokens; SKILL.md has 386 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~36
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~718

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from nyldn/claude-octopus at commit e14b84f, republished under its MIT licence (© nyldn). 386 words, ~718 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/model-cost-compare/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
model-cost-compare
description
Starter: compare model costs for a described task — maps task shape to the cheapest adequate seat and shows the price spread
disable-model-invocation
true

Model Cost Comparison (Starter Pack)

Answer "which model should I use for this, and what will it cost?" with numbers instead of vibes.

When to use

The user describes a task (bulk refactor, deep review, quick lookup, long-context analysis) and wants the cheapest seat that is still adequate.

Steps

  1. Classify the task. Bucket it: mechanical (rename, format), standard coding, hard reasoning (architecture, security review), long-context (>200K tokens input), or web research.
  2. Estimate volume. Rough input/output token estimate from the described scope (files touched × average size; state the assumption).
  3. Price the roster. Using the cost table in CLAUDE.md ($/MTok input/output), compute the estimated cost for each plausible seat: Claude Opus 5.5 (4/20 USD), Claude Opus 5 (5/25 USD), Claude Sonnet 5 (2/10 USD), Fable 5.1 (10/50 USD, 1M context, explicit-only), Codex GPT-5.6 Sol (4/20 USD), Terra (2/12 USD), Luna (0.20/1.20 USD), GPT-6 Astra (10/50 USD, explicit-only), Perplexity Sonar Pro (3/15 USD), and the included-cost seats (agy, copilot, ollama, cursor-agent) at 0 USD. For Astra requests above 272K input tokens, apply 2x input and 1.5x output pricing to the full request.
  4. Recommend one seat. Pick the cheapest adequate option and defend it in two sentences. Mechanical work goes to included or budget seats; hard reasoning justifies the current Opus default at high effort; only a bounded judgment-class call (ambiguous architecture, API design, product tradeoffs) justifies Fable 5.1 at 10/50 USD per MTok.
  5. Check risk surfaces. Regardless of the classification, escalate specifically to the current Opus default—Opus 5.5 on Claude Code v2.1.280+, otherwise Opus 5—when the task touches API or schema contracts, security-sensitive code or CI configuration, release artifacts, user-facing UI, a new module, or a breaking change. Fable 5.1 remains limited to bounded judgment-class calls and is never the security-audit seat. Astra is also explicit-only and does not provide independence from GPT-5.6. Cheap-seat agreement never settles a judgment-class decision.
  6. Show the spread. A three-row table: recommended seat, one cheaper-but-riskier option, one premium option, each with estimated dollars for this task.
Show full SKILL.md (52 more words)Show less

Guardrails

  • Never recommend Fable 5.1, Astra, or fast-mode Opus by default; these premium seats are opt-in only.
  • Never recommend Fable 5.1 for security audits; its safety classifiers can refuse offensive-security phrasing. Security review goes to Opus 5 (see skills/blocks/fable5-prompting.md).
  • If the estimate exceeds 1 USD, say so explicitly before any dispatch happens.

© nyldn, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file in skills/octopus-starter-pack/model-cost-compare of nyldn/claude-octopus.

  • SKILL.md
  • agents/openai.yaml

Open the folder on GitHubat commit e14b84f

Used in 1 other repository

We found 1 copy of this SKILL.md (exact, near-identical or edited) in other folders, from 1 other GitHub owner. This page covers the copy in nyldn/claude-octopus, which our catalogue first saw on October 7, 2026.

Compare with similar skills

Model Cost Compare next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Model Cost Compare compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Model Cost Compare this skillnyldn/claude-octopus4.2k1 repos~718Automated safety check: PassMIT
Model Cost Comparemergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents4k—~1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Cost Trackingaffaan-m/ECC276k1 repos~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Cost Conversationruvnet/ruflo74k—~407Automated safety check: NotesMIT
Cost Reportruvnet/ruflo74k—~830Automated safety check: NotesMIT
Cost Optimizeruvnet/ruflo74k—~997Automated safety check: NotesMIT

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  • Model Cost Compare

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  • Cost Track

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Questions about Model Cost Compare

What does Model Cost Compare do?

Starter: compare model costs for a described task — maps task shape to the cheapest adequate seat and shows the price spread. Model Cost Compare is an agent skill from nyldn/claude-octopus.

How do I install Model Cost Compare in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add nyldn/claude-octopus --skill model-cost-compare -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/octopus-starter-pack/model-cost-compare in nyldn/claude-octopus) into .claude/skills/model-cost-compare in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Model Cost Compare in Codex?

Run `npx skills add nyldn/claude-octopus --skill model-cost-compare -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/octopus-starter-pack/model-cost-compare in nyldn/claude-octopus) into .agents/skills/model-cost-compare in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Model Cost Compare in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add nyldn/claude-octopus --skill model-cost-compare -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/model-cost-compare, .gemini/skills/model-cost-compare, .github/skills/model-cost-compare and .opencode/skills/model-cost-compare in your project.

What does Model Cost Compare need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Model Cost Compare is instructions for the agent only.

Does Model Cost Compare access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Model Cost Compare safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Model Cost Compare use?

Model Cost Compare is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Model Cost Compare use?

About 718 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Model Cost Compare?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Model Cost Compare: Model Cost Compare (mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents, 4k stars), Cost Tracking (affaan-m/ECC, 276k stars), Cost Conversation (ruvnet/ruflo, 74k stars) and Cost Report (ruvnet/ruflo, 74k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Model Cost Compare?

nyldn (a GitHub user) maintains it in nyldn/claude-octopus, which has 4,192 GitHub stars. The repository holds 62 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 9, 2026.

Source: nyldn/claude-octopus on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.