diff --git a/src/providers/reliable.rs b/src/providers/reliable.rs
index 5c20c52..791f13d 100644
--- a/src/providers/reliable.rs
+++ b/src/providers/reliable.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,30 @@ use super::Provider;
 use async_trait::async_trait;
 use std::time::Duration;
 
+/// Check if an error is non-retryable (client errors that won't resolve with retries).
+fn is_non_retryable(err: &anyhow::Error) -> bool {
+    // Check for reqwest status errors (returned by .error_for_status())
+    if let Some(reqwest_err) = err.downcast_ref::<reqwest::Error>() {
+        if let Some(status) = reqwest_err.status() {
+            let code = status.as_u16();
+            // 4xx client errors are non-retryable, except:
+            // - 429 Too Many Requests (rate limiting, transient)
+            // - 408 Request Timeout (transient)
+            return status.is_client_error() && code != 429 && code != 408;
+        }
+    }
+    // String fallback: scan for any 4xx status code in error message
+    let msg = err.to_string();
+    for word in msg.split(|c: char| !c.is_ascii_digit()) {
+        if let Ok(code) = word.parse::<u16>() {
+            if (400..500).contains(&code) {
+                return code != 429 && code != 408;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    false
+}
+
 /// Provider wrapper with retry + fallback behavior.
 pub struct ReliableProvider {
     providers: Vec<(String, Box<dyn Provider>)>,
@@ -63,12 +87,21 @@ impl Provider for ReliableProvider {
                         return Ok(resp);
                     }
                     Err(e) => {
+                        let non_retryable = is_non_retryable(&e);
                         failures.push(format!(
                             "{provider_name} attempt {}/{}: {e}",
                             attempt + 1,
                             self.max_retries + 1
                         ));
 
+                        if non_retryable {
+                            tracing::warn!(
+                                provider = provider_name,
+                                "Non-retryable error, switching provider"
+                            );
+                            break;
+                        }
+
                         if attempt < self.max_retries {
                             tracing::warn!(
                                 provider = provider_name,
@@ -236,4 +269,67 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(msg.contains("p1 attempt 1/1"));
         assert!(msg.contains("p2 attempt 1/1"));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn non_retryable_detects_common_patterns() {
+        // Non-retryable 4xx errors
+        assert!(is_non_retryable(&anyhow::anyhow!("400 Bad Request")));
+        assert!(is_non_retryable(&anyhow::anyhow!("401 Unauthorized")));
+        assert!(is_non_retryable(&anyhow::anyhow!("403 Forbidden")));
+        assert!(is_non_retryable(&anyhow::anyhow!("404 Not Found")));
+        assert!(is_non_retryable(&anyhow::anyhow!(
+            "API error with 400 Bad Request"
+        )));
+        // Retryable: 429 Too Many Requests
+        assert!(!is_non_retryable(&anyhow::anyhow!(
+            "429 Too Many Requests"
+        )));
+        // Retryable: 408 Request Timeout
+        assert!(!is_non_retryable(&anyhow::anyhow!("408 Request Timeout")));
+        // Retryable: 5xx server errors
+        assert!(!is_non_retryable(&anyhow::anyhow!(
+            "500 Internal Server Error"
+        )));
+        assert!(!is_non_retryable(&anyhow::anyhow!("502 Bad Gateway")));
+        // Retryable: transient errors
+        assert!(!is_non_retryable(&anyhow::anyhow!("timeout")));
+        assert!(!is_non_retryable(&anyhow::anyhow!("connection reset")));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn skips_retries_on_non_retryable_error() {
+        let primary_calls = Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(0));
+        let fallback_calls = Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(0));
+
+        let provider = ReliableProvider::new(
+            vec![
+                (
+                    "primary".into(),
+                    Box::new(MockProvider {
+                        calls: Arc::clone(&primary_calls),
+                        fail_until_attempt: usize::MAX,
+                        response: "never",
+                        error: "401 Unauthorized",
+                    }),
+                ),
+                (
+                    "fallback".into(),
+                    Box::new(MockProvider {
+                        calls: Arc::clone(&fallback_calls),
+                        fail_until_attempt: 0,
+                        response: "from fallback",
+                        error: "fallback err",
+                    }),
+                ),
+            ],
+            3, // 3 retries allowed, but should skip them
+            1,
+        );
+
+        let result = provider.chat("hello", "test", 0.0).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(result, "from fallback");
+        // Primary should have been called only once (no retries)
+        assert_eq!(primary_calls.load(Ordering::SeqCst), 1);
+        assert_eq!(fallback_calls.load(Ordering::SeqCst), 1);
+    }
 }