Guides

Choosing a Model

How to select the best AI model for your Chipp app

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Hunter HodnettCPTO at Chipp
|3 min read

Chipp supports multiple AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Each has different strengths, speeds, and costs. This guide helps you choose the right one.

Quick Recommendations

Use CaseRecommended Model
General purposeGPT-5 or Claude Sonnet 4
Image analysisGemini 2.5 Pro, GPT-5, or Claude Sonnet 4
Complex reasoningo3, Claude Opus 4, or Claude Sonnet 4.5
Fast responsesGemini 2.5 Flash, GPT-5 Mini, or Claude 3.5 Haiku
Long documentsGemini 2.5 Pro or GPT-4.1 (1M token context)
Cost-sensitiveGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite, Gemini 2.5 Flash, or GPT-5 Nano

Estimate Your Costs

Use our calculator to estimate monthly AI costs based on your expected usage:

Pricing Calculator

Estimate your monthly AI costs

GPT-5 Monthly Cost$110.50
Input (10,000 × 500 tokens):$32.50
Output (10,000 × 300 tokens):$78.00
With Chipp Pro Plan ($29/mo)
Included usage:$10.00
Overage:$100.50
Your total:$129.50/mo

Best for General Purpose

These models excel at a wide range of tasks including writing, coding, analysis, and conversation.

GPT-5

$16.25/M

OpenAI's most advanced model with major improvements in reasoning, code quality, and accuracy.

General PurposeReasoning400k

Claude Sonnet 4

$11.70/M

Balanced Claude model offering strong performance at lower cost than Opus.

General Purpose200k

Gemini 2.5 Pro

$4.06/M

Google's flagship model with massive 1M+ context window and multimodal capabilities.

General PurposeLong Context1M

Best for Speed

When response time matters most, these models deliver near-instant results without sacrificing quality.

Gemini 2.5 Flash

$0.24/M

Fast and efficient Gemini model with 1M+ context, optimized for speed.

SpeedyLong Context1M

GPT-5 Mini

$3.25/M

Compact version of GPT-5 for lighter reasoning tasks with reduced latency and cost.

Speedy400k

Claude 3.5 Haiku

$3.12/M

Known for its speed and affordability, designed for near-instant responsiveness.

Speedy200k

Best for Reasoning

For complex problem-solving, multi-step analysis, and tasks requiring deep thinking.

OpenAI o3

$32.50/M

Next-generation reasoning model with enhanced capabilities for complex problem-solving.

Reasoning200k

Claude Opus 4

$58.50/M

Anthropic's flagship model with top-tier performance across all tasks.

General PurposeReasoning200k

OpenAI o3 Pro

$65.00/M

Premium reasoning model with maximum performance on advanced tasks.

ReasoningSlow200k

Best Value for Long Documents

Process entire codebases, legal contracts, or book-length content with massive context windows.

Gemini 2.5 Pro

$4.06/M

Google's flagship model with massive 1M+ context window and multimodal capabilities.

General PurposeLong Context1M

GPT-4.1

$8.13/M

Enhanced performance with a massive 1M token context window for processing entire codebases or long documents.

General PurposeLong Context1M

Model Deep Dives

OpenAI GPT-5

GPT-5

openai

$16.25/M
avg per 1M tokens

OpenAI's most advanced model with major improvements in reasoning, code quality, and accuracy.

General PurposeReasoning400k context
Input: $6.50/M
Output: $26.00/M

Ideal Use Cases

Long-Form Content Writing

Create detailed blog posts, articles, and guides (2000+ words)

Example: Technical blog posts, comprehensive guides, white papers

Technical Tutorials

Write detailed tutorials with code examples and explanations

Example: Step-by-step coding tutorials, framework documentation

Creative Storytelling

Develop narratives with character arcs and plot development

Example: Short stories, creative fiction, narrative content

Claude Sonnet 4

Claude Sonnet 4

anthropic

$11.70/M
avg per 1M tokens

Balanced Claude model offering strong performance at lower cost than Opus.

General Purpose200k context
Input: $3.90/M
Output: $19.50/M

Ideal Use Cases

Code Reviews

Review code with actionable, detailed suggestions

Example: Pull request reviews, code quality analysis

Educational Content

Create courses, guides, and learning materials

Example: Online courses, tutorials, training content

Data Analysis Reports

Analyze data and create insightful reports

Example: Analytics reports, trend analysis, insights generation

Gemini 2.5 Pro

Gemini 2.5 Pro

google

$4.06/M
avg per 1M tokens

Google's flagship model with massive 1M+ context window and multimodal capabilities.

General PurposeLong Context1M context
Input: $1.63/M
Output: $6.50/M

Ideal Use Cases

Complete Codebase Analysis

Analyze entire repositories for security issues and patterns

Example: Security audits, architecture review, dependency analysis

Multi-Document Review

Process 10+ contracts or documents together

Example: Legal discovery, contract comparison, due diligence

Video Content Analysis

Transcribe and analyze hours of video content

Example: Video summaries, content extraction, transcript analysis

OpenAI o3

OpenAI o3

openai

$32.50/M
avg per 1M tokens

Next-generation reasoning model with enhanced capabilities for complex problem-solving.

Reasoning200k context
Input: $13.00/M
Output: $52.00/M

Ideal Use Cases

Bug Root Cause Analysis

Debug complex codebases by tracing issues through multiple layers

Example: Production bug investigation, system failure analysis

API Architecture Design

Design APIs with multiple service integrations and edge cases

Example: Microservices architecture, API contract design

Business Process Optimization

Analyze and improve multi-department workflows

Example: Process automation, workflow optimization, efficiency analysis

Claude 3.5 Haiku

Claude 3.5 Haiku

anthropic

$3.12/M
avg per 1M tokens

Known for its speed and affordability, designed for near-instant responsiveness.

Speedy200k context
Input: $1.04/M
Output: $5.20/M

Ideal Use Cases

Live Chat Support

Instant responses for real-time customer conversations

Example: Live support chat, instant help, real-time Q&A

Quick Translation

Fast translation services with good quality

Example: Real-time translation, multilingual chat, localization

Content Moderation

Real-time moderation of user content

Example: Comment filtering, safety checks, spam detection

Gemini 2.5 Flash

Gemini 2.5 Flash

google

$0.24/M
avg per 1M tokens

Fast and efficient Gemini model with 1M+ context, optimized for speed.

SpeedyLong Context1M context
Input: $0.10/M
Output: $0.39/M

Ideal Use Cases

Meeting Analysis

Quickly analyze 2-hour meeting transcripts

Example: Meeting summaries, action items, key decisions

Batch Feedback Processing

Process hundreds of customer responses together

Example: Survey analysis, feedback synthesis, sentiment trends

Real-Time Video Q&A

Answer questions about videos during playback

Example: Video chatbots, educational videos, content interaction

Cost-Effective Options

If you're optimizing for cost, these models offer excellent value:

ModelProviderContextAvg PriceBest For
Gemini 2.5 Flash Litegoogle1M$0.13/MImage Classification
Gemini 2.5 Flashgoogle1M$0.24/MMeeting Analysis
GPT-5 Nanoopenai400k$1.63/MSentiment Analysis
Claude 3.5 Haikuanthropic200k$3.12/MLive Chat Support
GPT-5 Miniopenai400k$3.25/MEmail Automation

Key Considerations

Vision Support

If your app analyzes images, choose a model with native vision support. Models without vision use a fallback that may be less accurate.

Vision-capable models:

  • All GPT-4.1 and GPT-5 variants (not o-series reasoning models)
  • All Claude models
  • All Gemini models

No vision support:

  • OpenAI o-series (o1, o3, o4-mini, etc.)

Response Speed

Speed matters for user experience. Faster models keep conversations flowing naturally.

Fastest: GPT-5 Nano, Claude 3.5 Haiku, Gemini Flash Lite Medium: GPT-5, Claude Sonnet 4, Gemini 2.5 Flash Slower: Claude Opus 4, o1, o3 (reasoning takes time)

Context Window

For processing long documents, choose models with large context windows:

1M tokens: GPT-4.1 variants, all Gemini models 400k tokens: GPT-5 variants 200k tokens: All Claude models, OpenAI o-series

Reasoning Quality

For complex tasks requiring multi-step reasoning:

Best reasoning: o3 Pro, o1 Pro, Claude Opus 4 Very good: GPT-5, Claude Sonnet 4.5, o3, o1 Good: GPT-5 Mini, Claude Sonnet 4, Gemini 2.5 Pro

Changing Your Model

  1. Go to your app in the Chipp dashboard
  2. Navigate to Build > Configure
  3. Under Model, select your preferred model
  4. Click Save

Changes take effect immediately for new conversations.

Testing Different Models

Not sure which model works best? Try these approaches:

  1. A/B testing: Create two versions of your app with different models and compare user feedback

  2. Specific prompts: Test your most common use cases with different models to see quality differences

  3. Speed vs. quality: Start with a fast model, then upgrade if users need better responses