What changed
OpenRouter, a service that gives developers access to models from several companies, announced Auto Code on November 6. Its model page lists November 5 as the release date. Auto Code can pick the model and how much reasoning it does for each request from a coding assistant. That is a separate choice from deciding which hosting company serves a model you have already picked. [1] [2] [3]
What to look for in the reply
The selector adds no fee. OpenRouter charges the usual rate for the model that answers each request, and Auto Code starts in a higher cost tier than OpenRouter's general-purpose Auto option. If you can see the raw reply from OpenRouter, the field named model tells you which model answered, and the cost entry in the usage details shows the charge for that request. A coding assistant may make several requests for one edit, so add those charges to see what the whole task cost. [1] [3] [4]
Our take
Start with one small fix in a copy of your project. Ask Auto Code and your usual fixed model to change the same validation message. Check that each edit touches only the intended lines and passes the same test. Then compare the total cost for each finished fix. We would keep the fixed model for work that needs a repeatable setup and try Auto Code first where choosing a model by hand takes more time than the edit.