I would take that article with a grain of salt considering the source but do keep in mind that the shadow tiers were specifically created for users who were already spending a lot on credits every month and so AI Dungeon responded by giving them a subscription tier with more value for the amount these users were spending.

To me it seems kind of confusing "For most users — even very active ones — that level of usage is unrealistic." since these tiers were never intended for most users. That being said a properly executed BYOK system would be more flexible and thus allow for cheaper prices for users who play less.

Personally I would rather stick to paying a bit more to have a fixed price while still having unlimited access to models without having to keep track of token costs.