I find that with a lot of the cheaper models, I end up spending a lot more time correcting the easy stuff.

If I am 100% spot on on the architectural stuff, I have anecdata that some of the frontier models might actually be cheaper than "cheaper" alternatives once you look at what it takes to get to good output, since they require less correction.

But that is on pure token costs. When you value the human overseer's time, there is just no competition. A model that is 10x more expensive that requires 10% less oversight is just a plain win.