LLM Cost Calculator
Enter your token usage or budget to calculate API costs. See how much content you can generate and discover cheaper alternatives.
π Cost Calculation
π° Budget β Output Calculator
Enter your budget to see how much content you can generate
Based on selected model's output price. Actual results vary by content type.
π What Can 1M Tokens Produce?
Visualize token output in real-world terms
π― Cost Per Task
Real-world cost estimates for common AI tasks
| Task | Est. Tokens | GPT-4o-mini | GPT-4o | Claude 3.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Write a blog post (1500 words) | ~2k tokens | $0.0006 | $0.015 | $0.018 |
| Translate a page | ~1k tokens | $0.0003 | $0.0075 | $0.009 |
| Summarize a document | ~3k tokens | $0.0009 | $0.0225 | $0.027 |
| Review a PR (~500 lines) | ~5k tokens | $0.0015 | $0.0375 | $0.045 |
| Draft an email | ~500 tokens | $0.00015 | $0.00375 | $0.0045 |
| AI Agent task (10 steps) | ~20k tokens | $0.006 | $0.15 | $0.18 |
Estimates based on typical input/output ratios. Actual costs depend on prompt length and response detail.
π¨ Image Generation Costs
Cost per image for popular AI image generators
DALL-E 3 (OpenAI)
| HD 1024Γ1792 | $0.120 |
| HD 1024Γ1024 | $0.080 |
| Standard 1024Γ1024 | $0.040 |
Other Providers
| Stable Diffusion 3 | $0.035 |
| FLUX.1 Pro | $0.055 |
| Ideogram V2 | $0.080 |
π‘ Cheaper Alternatives
Based on similar capabilities and context length
Select a model to see alternatives
π‘ Cost Optimization Strategies
Reduce your API costs by 30-70% with these proven techniques
Prompt Caching
Reuse system prompts and repeated content. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google offer 50-90% discounts on cached tokens.
Batch API
For non-real-time tasks, use batch endpoints. Most providers offer 50% discount with 24h turnaround.
Optimize Input/Output Ratio
Code tasks have high output ratio - prioritize low output price. Chat tasks are balanced - look at total price.
Model Tiering Strategy
Use cheaper models (GPT-4o-mini, Gemini Flash) for simple tasks. Reserve premium models for complex reasoning.
π Real-World Cost Examples
Estimated monthly costs based on typical usage patterns. Budget models include DeepSeek, Gemini Flash; Premium includes GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
| Scenario | Usage Pattern | Est. Tokens | Budget Model | Premium Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS AI Feature | 10k MAU, 5 msg/user/day | ~75M/month | $20-50 | $150-400 |
| Internal Tool | 50 users, 20 queries/day | ~30M/month | $8-20 | $60-150 |
| AI Agent System | 1000 tasks/day, 10 steps each | ~300M/month | $80-200 | $600-1500 |
| Code Review Bot | 200 PRs/day, 2k lines avg | ~120M/month | $30-80 | $240-600 |
Estimates assume 1:1 input/output ratio. Actual costs vary by model and usage pattern.
π Token Estimation Deep Dive
Understanding token consumption helps you estimate costs accurately and optimize prompts
Tokens by Language
| Language | Chars/Token | Example |
|---|---|---|
| English | ~4 chars | "Hello world" = 2 tokens |
| δΈζ | ~1.5 chars | "δ½ ε₯½δΈη" = 3 tokens |
| ζ₯ζ¬θͺ | ~1.5 chars | "γγγ«γ‘γ―" = 3 tokens |
| Code | ~3 chars | More symbols = more tokens |
Typical Token Ranges by Task
| Task Type | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Chat | 100-500 | 200-800 |
| Summarization | 2k-10k | 200-500 |
| Code Generation | 500-2k | 1k-5k |
| Document Analysis | 5k-50k | 500-2k |
Precise Token Counting with tiktoken
For accurate estimates, use OpenAI's tiktoken library (works for most models):
pip install tiktoken
import tiktoken
enc = tiktoken.encoding_for_model("gpt-4o")
len(enc.encode("Your text here"))Hidden Costs to Watch Out For
Your actual bill may be higher than calculated. Factor in these often-overlooked costs:
Failed Retries
Rate limits, timeouts, and errors still consume tokens. Budget 10-20% extra for retries.
Development & Testing
Debugging, prompt iteration, and testing can consume 2-5x your production usage initially.
Context Window Bloat
Long conversations accumulate context. A 10-turn chat may use 10x the tokens of turn 1.