OpenClaw Tip #6: Save Money with Smart Model Routing

Running OpenClaw 24/7 with a frontier model for every task gets expensive. OpenClaw supports multi-model routing — assign different models to different tasks based on complexity.

The Strategy

Task	Model	Why
Cron jobs	Haiku	Simple, repetitive
Conversations	Sonnet 4.6	Best balance
Complex reasoning	Opus / GPT-5	When truly needed
Local tasks	Ollama (Qwen)	Free

Configuration

agents:
  default:
    primaryModel: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6
  cron:
    primaryModel: anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5

More Cost-Saving Tips

• Enable prompt caching for repeated system prompts.
• Reduce maxTokens (8192 instead of 16384).
• Use event-driven triggers over fixed polling.
• Batch notifications into summaries.
• Run Ollama locally for simple queries at zero cost.

Smart routing can cut costs 50-70% without sacrificing quality. Start by moving cron jobs to Haiku.

More at AiX Society.