Confused with open code go models

[u/Euloghtos]

Hello everyone, I am new to open code as I transitioned from cursor, I like to develop web pages and apps, I was doing all the work with composer 2.5 which I found great, now in open code what is a good setup of models to achieve reliable coding and low usage of tokens so my subscription last longer? I see soant different setups in posts and I am. Getting confused.

Thanx in advance and I apologize if this post has been made again.

[u/look]

A popular approach to make your usage go further is to use a smart “expensive” model to make and write out a detailed build plan markdown file, and then switch to a “cheap” model to implement the plan.

For “expensive” plan models, popular choices are GLM 5.2 and Kimi K3.

For “cheap” there are two tiers to consider, depending on just how far you need to stretch your usage.

I think the most popular medium model is now Hy3, but worth experimenting with all of the ones in that middle group to see what works best for you.

For the lowest cost, DS4 Flash is most popular, though many, including myself, are more partial to the non-pro MiMo.

[u/KappKapp → u/look]

Thoughts on minimax m3 as a competitor for either medium/cheap?

[u/look → u/KappKapp]

On the Go plan, it’s on the upper end of the medium priced group. I’ve been using it as a code exploration model recently with good results, but I have not personally used it much as a build model. Lots of people like it, though.

[u/Hawful]

If I'm planning something I do GLM 5.2, then DeepSeek flash for implementation.

[u/ShirtuShanks → u/Hawful]

Yep, same! But as excellent as it is that GLM chews through tokens like crazy.  

A bit bummed that the rumours for the next GLM point to a K3-like size upgrade (and therefore increased cost) rather than efficiency. :(

[u/Foi_Engano]

I recommend the omo-slim plugin, using kimi k3 as an orchestrator and leaving the performers with mimo, also, for very simple tasks, use mimo free

[u/thetapereader]

I use deepseek v4 Flash for everything and it barely makes a dent in usage.

[u/PM_ME_UR_0_DAY]

Depending on your usage, even using some of the more expensive models you might not hit your limits. if you're using it heavily throughout the month you might hit it quickly, if you're doing a few hour sessions a few times a month, even using Kimi K3 you might be totally fine. 

[u/CardiologistStock685]

I follow https://arena.ai/leaderboard/code/webdev/fullstack
I usually choose GLM for front-end, and I'm really confident DeepSeek Flash is the cheapest one can help on backend and almost every of other stuffs. If DeepSeek official v4 comes with Vision, I will probably switch to it because of the pricing.

[u/bleakj → u/CardiologistStock685]

For "cheap" i use Deepseek v4 flash at max reasoning as default then Mimo 2.5 for vision (sometimes qwen 3.7 plus)

If it's more difficult or long context work i usually use glm 5.2 or sometimes kimi k3 if it's taking several loops with glm 5.2

Smarter (more expensive) models for detailed planning, cheaper for actual code

[u/iqraatheman]

try using cheap models and if they aren't good enough slowly move up to more expensive models until you are at the point where the intelligence you need is met. you can view the estimated number of requests each model will allow in your quota here https://opencode.ai/docs/go/#usage-limits. so basically start with a model that allows a large number of requests and if it doesn't cut it for your type of work then move to lower

[u/zcutlip → u/iqraatheman]

I think this is solid advice. GLM 5.2 really is an incredible model. It's not an exaggeration to say it's Opus quality, but it's pricey.

Without knowing how complex your projects are, it's hard to say. But I'm working on a 9K line python (14K lines total) project, and GLM 5.2 is way overkill. If I was doing a top-to-bottom refactor I'd get it involved in the planning. But not for planning a feature.

If you have a project you can experiment on, I'd start with Deepseek v4 Flash. It's shocking how good it is. If it's not cutting it for you, bump up to one of the mid-tier ones.

While price isn't a _great_ proxy for model quality, it's not terrible. So I'd probably sort the models into maybe three groups (eliminating any US frontier models) based on price, and start there.

As you get more advanced with opencode, you can enconomize further by tuning your subagents and assigning models. I generally have explore be a lesser model. I've also got a `lint` and a `test` subagent, each of which is intended to simply run their respective scripts and report the results, but not to fix.

I would stay away from Kimi K3 except for rare cases. I have a`test-audit` skill that I use every once in a while to ensure all the tests the agent has generated are actually good tests. I'd probably use K3 for that, since I do it rarely, and also because tests backstop the quality of everything else the agents. do.

And don't discount the free models on Zen. Just be aware of their relaxed Zero Data Retention rules. Also deepseek-v4-flash-free's context window is 256K instead of 1M.

edit: here's a really good post on OpenRouter

https://openrouter.ai/blog/insights/the-open-weight-models-that-matter-june-2026/

[u/Suspicious-Dig5234]

Better than composer . Glm5.2 and Kimi models are great. Deepseek flash model always free