In a discussion titled What’s the cheapest/best AI to use for AI Spam?, users seek affordable yet effective LLMs for spam detection in Discourse. trusktr initiates the thread, noting they’ve installed the AI plugin but want cost-effective LLM options. ondrej links to the official AI spam detection plugin, while trusktr clarifies they’re focused on LLMs and finds the plugin mentions low-cost options: GPT-4o-mini, Claude 3.5 Haiku, and Gemini 2.0 Flash. NateDhaliwal recommends OpenRouter’s free Gemini model, though notes it doesn’t work for AI chats. sam agrees OpenRouter is a good deal source and highlights Gemini 2.0 Flash as especially cost-effective (free tier + 10¢/M input tokens), while noting GPT-4o-mini is pricier. thoka extends the query to include European data residency, noting OpenRouter lacks regional provider selection, and suggests #community-wiki as a better category for such evolving info. Falco recommends Mistral Small 3.1 via official API for EU data, costing under €1/month. Overall, Gemini 2.0 Flash and Mistral Small 3.1 emerge as top budget picks, with OpenRouter as a flexible platform—though EU data concerns may steer users toward Mistral.
I’m trying to save some money. 
Any recommendation on which AI will be cheapest, yet do a good enough job with Spam handling?
I have little experience comparing AIs, and this will be my first time using them for Discourse; hoping someone may have more experience to chime in with.
Also is “Support” the best category for a question like this?
Discourse already has an AI plugin and you can set up to detect spam.
@ondrej Oh yeah I know, I’m wondering about the LLMs. I’ve installed the plugin already.
I’m wondering which one to pick to save money but so that Spam handling will work well enough. Maybe the absolute cheapest one may not work well enough for example? I’m just getting started.
EDIT: Ah, it mentioned there:
Most low-cost LLMs work effectively, such as:
- GPT-4o-mini
- Claude 3.5 Haiku
- Gemini 2.0 Flash
Ok then, I’ll try one of those!
I use OpenRouter’s Gemini for my spam detector, but it doesn’t seem to work for AI chats. It’s free.
When it comes to great bang for buck Gemini 2.0 flash is right up there. It both has a free tier, and for pay tier which comes in (today) at 10 cents for 1 million input tokens. 4o-mini can do the job but is a bit more expensive.
Agree here with @NateDhaliwal that openrouter is a good place to hunt for great deals.
I would like to extend this question with “… where all data remains in Europe.”
As far as I understand, OpenRouter does not support the regional selection of providers.
Is anyone aware of a similar European service?
I would consider Wiki a good place to keep this updated.
However, I cannot gauge whether an initial question will receive sufficient attention there…
Try Mistral Small 3.1 via their official API?
Should cost you less than an euro per month.