Every coding assistant on the market claims to be the smart choice for your budget, but the marketing rarely matches the actual per-token numbers. Below is a practical breakdown of what things really cost in 2026 — from the cheapest options that still hold up on real benchmarks, to the frontier models worth paying a premium for when the task demands it. The Value Leaders If you're paying per token for AI coding help, the difference between models isn't just quality — it's often a 10x swing in cost for comparable results. Best raw value: Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite currently dominates …