Zukko Blog
Guides to Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and the Claude and GPT APIs: setup, token savings and troubleshooting.
Cursor AI pricing: the subscription vs paying per token on your own key
6 min · · экономия
A Cursor subscription and per-token billing on your own key are calculated differently. Here is the formula and a worked week of agent work across several models.
Is Qwen Code free: what changed and how to keep working
5 min · · payments
Qwen Code itself costs nothing, but model access is now paid. We cover what ended, which options remain and what working on your own key costs.
Free Qwen API: Alibaba Cloud quotas and the price after them
6 min · · экономия
A free Qwen quota exists, but it has an expiry date and is tied to a region and a model. We go through the terms and count what comes after.
Vibe coding for free: what you can do without money and what comes next
6 min · · экономия
An honest look at free options for vibe coding, their limits, and the arithmetic of what an hour on cheap models via API costs.
ChatGPT API price: what GPT models cost and how to price a request
6 min · · экономия
We price requests to GPT models at October 18, 2026 rates: the formula, the role of cache, three scenarios and a comparison with official tariffs.
GLM API price: what GLM 5.3 and 5.3 Flash cost on real tasks
6 min · · экономия
We price GLM 5.3 and GLM 5.3 Flash on three scenarios and explain why a single input and output price helps with long answers.
Prompt engineering for LLMs: the basics that work with any model
5 min · · development
A good prompt is not a spell but six concrete parts. We show them on one example where both the answer and the request price change.
OpenAI API key for free: what is true and what is a trap
5 min · · API keys
A permanently free key does not exist: the API is paid per token. Why keys found online are dangerous, and how many requests a one-dollar balance buys.
Anthropic API key for free: what really exists and what it costs
5 min · · API keys
There is no permanent free Anthropic key, and trial terms change. How a key is created, where the catch is, and what a Claude test costs.
The context window in neural networks: what it is and why size is not everything
5 min · · models
The context window is a model's entire working memory for one request: prompt, history, files and the answer. How to count it and what a long context costs.
Building a website with AI: what it really costs and how to do it
5 min · · development
A step-by-step business-card site built with the Claude Code agent, with a cost estimate, and an honest note on where "free" ends.
GLM API free: what is really free and what GLM 5.3 Flash costs
6 min · · models
Free offers around GLM exist, but with caveats. We look at what usually hides behind the word free and calculate how many requests one dollar buys on GLM 5.3 Flash.
Gemini API for free: what the free tier gives and its limits
6 min · · API keys
The Gemini API free tier explained from Google's documentation: limits, regions, data terms and the point where paying per token is simpler.
OpenAI Batch API: what it is, when it pays off and what to use via a gateway
5 min · · экономия
A batch API trades instant answers for a discount. We explain how it works at OpenAI and Anthropic, which tasks it suits, and what to use instead when you work through a gateway.
Free AI for programming: what is actually available
5 min · · development
Free AI coding tools exist, but each one has a price in limits, hardware or time. We go through the options and calculate what a paid minimum costs.
DeepSeek context window: its size and how to use it without overpaying
5 min · · models
The window size of current DeepSeek models in Zukko, how it differs from the answer length, and how to measure a request in advance and price it without surprises.
Paying for AI models in Russia: which methods work and how they differ
5 min · · payments
A subscription, per-token payment through a gateway, SBP, crypto or MasterCard: what exactly you buy with each method, the fees and the minimum amounts.
Caching LLM responses in Redis: stop paying for repeated requests
6 min · · development
Zukko already serves an identical repeated request from cache for free. Here is when that is not enough and you need your own Redis: input normalization, long TTL, prompt versions, redis-py code.
GLM-5.3-Flash vs GPT-5.6-Luna: the Cheapest Models in the API
5 min · · сравнение
The two cheapest models on Zukko differ in price, context window, and /v1/responses support. We do the cost math and show how to compare them on your data.
Calculating an AI Budget for a Developer Team
6 min · · payments
Pay-per-token is not always cheaper: volume decides. Here is how to measure usage in a pilot, calculate a month for the team, and find the line versus a subscription.
GPT-5.6 Luna: when a low-cost model is enough for bulk tasks
5 min · · models
For bulk classification and extraction, cost per request matters. We calculate what Luna costs at real volumes and show how to test it on your own data.
Which AI model to choose for a chatbot: dialog cost, cache, testing
8 min · · models
A chatbot pays not per question but for the whole dialog with its history. We go through the model selection criteria, price 1,000 dialogs on three models with and without caching, and show how to measure latency yourself.
AI for writing texts: choosing a model, writing the prompt, pricing it
6 min · · models
How to write with AI models via chat and API: choosing a model, the brief, the draft, editing, fact-checking and the cost of one article.
How much Claude Code costs per month via API: three usage profiles
7 min · · экономия
We price a month of Claude Code by tokens: three load profiles, a formula with caching, a comparison with subscriptions, and ways to stay on budget.