Aider, Claude Code, and OpenClaw ran an identical model. Token use varied 70-fold.
The New Stack Janakiram MSV ● Covered by 2 sources
A set of AI coding-agent benchmarking efforts found that using different harnesses with the same underlying model can cause very large differences in token usage and cost. One result showed token use per solved task ranging from about 3,500 for Aider (architect mode) to 292,000 for OpenClaw. The findings shift optimization toward harness prompt/context overhead and cache-hit behavior—so enterprises should measure cost per verified outcome rather than raw token counts.
Why it matters
When teams price an AI coding agent, they tend to scrutinize the model. But three recent benchmarking efforts suggest the The post Aider, Claude Code, and OpenClaw ran an identical model. Token use varied 70-fold. appeared first on The New Stack.