Multi-Agent (Orchestrator-Workers)
Supervisor + workers. Context duplication at every handoff.
API Calls per Conversation
Low
4
Mid
8
High
15
Best Use Cases
Complex workflow orchestrationSpecialized agent teamsManager-worker task decompositionCross-domain problem solving
Cost Drivers
- •Context duplication at every handoff (1.2x per additional agent)
- •Orchestrator overhead (routing, evaluation, synthesis)
- •Measured 4.8x total cost multiplier with 4 agents in our Day 4 experiment
- •More agents = diminishing quality returns but linear cost increase
Monthly Cost Scenarios
100/day
Sonnet orchestrator + Haiku workers
$900-2,700/mo
500/day
Sonnet orchestrator + Haiku workers
$4,500-13,500/mo
1,000/day
Sonnet + Sonnet
$13,500-40,000/mo
Optimization Tips
- →Minimize handoff context — only pass what each worker needs
- →Use cheap models (Haiku) for worker agents, Sonnet for the orchestrator
- →Limit to 2-3 agents unless you have a clear quality justification for more
- →Cache shared context with prompt caching to reduce duplication cost
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