---
title: "AI models and cost"
description: "How the automatic model is chosen, how to pick your own, and what a recipe costs."
url: https://scrumptiouswp.com/help/ai-models/
site: "ScrumptiousWP"
---

# AI models and cost

## Automatic (recommended)

Leave **Model** empty. Scrumptious reads the list of models your key can use and picks the **newest fast, low-cost model** from your provider — for example the latest *Gemini Flash-Lite*, *GPT mini* or *Claude Haiku*. The box shows which one: *Automatic: …*.

Because the choice comes from your provider’s live list (refreshed daily), it keeps up as providers release new models. Previews and experimental models are skipped.

Reading a recipe is a simple job, so small models do it well.

## Choosing your own

Click in **Model** and start typing: the list shows every model your key can use. Pick one and click **Save AI settings**. Clear the box to go back to automatic.

Switching **Use** to a different provider resets the model to automatic.

**Tip:** Bigger models (e.g. *Pro*, *Sonnet*, *GPT-5*) cost more and are slower, and rarely read recipes better. Try automatic first.

## What it costs

You pay your provider directly. A typical recipe sends a few thousand words of text and gets a short answer back. With the automatic models that’s usually **well under one US cent per recipe**, often a fraction of that. Long pages cost more than short ones.

Check prices on your provider’s pricing page; your provider’s dashboard shows exactly what you’ve used.

Gemini’s free tier and some OpenRouter free models can cost nothing, with rate limits.

## Related

- [Setting up AI](https://scrumptiouswp.com/help/ai-setup/)
- [Troubleshooting AI](https://scrumptiouswp.com/help/ai-troubleshooting/)