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Estimate and compare API costs across AI models. Enter your expected usage and see what each provider will cost per request and per month.
| Model | Per Request | Daily | Monthly |
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AI API pricing is confusing — different providers charge different rates for input vs output tokens, with varying pricing tiers and caching discounts. This calculator lets you plug in your actual usage pattern and instantly see what it would cost across every major model, sorted from cheapest to most expensive.
AI APIs charge per token, where a token is roughly 0.75 words (or about 4 characters). You pay separately for input tokens (the prompt you send) and output tokens (the response generated). Most providers quote prices per million tokens. Some offer caching discounts, batch pricing, or free tiers — this calculator uses standard on-demand pricing for fair comparison.
The most expensive model isn't always the best choice. For simple tasks like classification or extraction, cheaper models like GPT-4o-mini or Gemini Flash perform nearly as well at a fraction of the cost. Reserve premium models like Claude Opus or GPT-4.1 for complex reasoning, creative writing, or tasks where quality directly impacts results. Run a quick A/B test with your actual data before committing.
Prompt caching (reusing the same system prompt prefix) can cut input costs by 50-90%. Shorter prompts mean fewer input tokens. Requesting structured output (JSON) often uses fewer output tokens than prose. Batch APIs from OpenAI and Anthropic offer 50% discounts for non-real-time workloads. And many providers offer free tiers for low-volume testing.