Since xAI’s Grok Code launched on August 26th, we've seen something remarkable: our users pushed through 1T tokens for Grok Code Fast alone. That's more than double the usage any other AI coding tool had for this model.
Why? One user put it perfectly: "Grok Code Fast accounted for 72% of my requests over the last week. I still use Claude occasionally—and over that same week, Claude accounted for 90% of my cost. Grok is 25x cheaper per request and 17x cheaper per token than Sonnet 4. Need I say more?"
Using Kilo Code’s internal data and simulated costs of tokens for Grok Code Fast, we can see that even as the usage dwarfed all other models, the simulated cost was still significantly less than the cost of Claude Sonnet 4 over the same period.
And developers are using it for real life projects. One user told us about their usage in Kilo Code: "I've used it to create two fully-fledged backend apps from the ground up—from brainstorming, to architecting, developing, debugging, and deployment. I've used it to analyze and reverse-engineer one app in a language I don't code in. I've used it to translate an entire Go app to Python. It needs supervision, but it doesn't cease to amaze me."
This combination of being fast, cheap, and "good enough" hits a sweet spot.
A Paradigm Shift
What we're seeing might be the beginning of something bigger. xAI's Grok Code Fast could crack open the OpenAI-Anthropic duopoly by bringing AI-assisted coding to developers who've been sitting on the sidelines. These price-conscious developers were waiting, watching, wondering if AI coding was worth the investment. Now they're jumping in and building those projects they've been putting off.
But also let’s be real. When we surveyed our users, 31% said they don't plan to use Grok Code beyond the promotional period (which ends in a week, so there’s still time to expense it). When we asked what they'd use instead, 32% mentioned open-source models like Qwen and Kimi, while 60% said they'd go back to premium models like Claude and GPT.
This tells us something important: there's no one-size-fits-all model for every coding job.
It’s Not Just The Model
Here's what many developers might miss: the model is just one part of the equation. The way you work with it is equally important. In Kilo Code, the agentic layer handles the back-and-forth, the context management, and the iteration cycles. This means even a "good enough" model can produce good results when properly orchestrated.
The Practical Test
So when our community kept asking "which model for what task?", we decided to show, not tell.
Chris, one of our engineers, ran an experiment. And by "experiment," we mean a totally unscientific one where he was just kinda making up the scores as he went—but hey, sometimes that's the best way to go about it! Same project (a to-do list app), 6 different models. He set up separate profiles in Kilo Code for each model—Sonnet 4, Grok Code Fast, Qwen 3 Coder, Nemotron, GLM, and Sonoma Dusk Alpha—and documented his experience: the speed, the quality, the surprises, and yes, some frustrations.
Check out Chris's video walkthrough at the top of this page to see the detailed comparison and his response while he tests each model.
The Bottom Line
Chris's results tell a clear story: Yes, Sonnet 4 delivered the best quality (9/10), but it also costs the most. Here's the thing though—models like Grok Code Fast and Qwen 3 Coder produced genuinely solid results (8/10 and 8.5/10) at a fraction of the cost. There are legitimate options at every price point, and even "good enough" models can produce impressive results when used correctly.
You can even use different models for different parts of your project. In Kilo Code, you can switch between models on the fly. Let Sonnet 4 design your architecture where quality matters most, then switch to Grok Code Fast or Qwen for rapid iteration and implementation.
Grok Code Fast is still free, but if you top up for the first time right now, you'll get a $20 bonus, enough to build with Grok Code Fast for a month (based on avg usage) or use 400+ other models.
Your Next Move
1. Try Grok Code Fast free this week (final days!)
2. Use Claude for architecture, Grok for implementation
3. Top up now = $20 bonus (~1 month of Grok usage, offer only applies to first time top ups)
4. Already a paying user? Get your whole team shipping faster with Kilo for Teams
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