AI Cost Calculator
Formulas, examples, and a cost framework to estimate your AI usage cost before you run it in production.
Before you ship a new agent workflow, estimate the cost with inputs you already know: tokens and request volume.
The simple formula (framework)
Cost ~= (input_tokens * input_rate + output_tokens * output_rate) * requests
Example (illustrative)
Assume:
- input_tokens per request: 10,000
- output_tokens per request: 3,000
- requests per day: 2,000 Then total billed tokens scale directly with your workflow.
Example table
| Plan | Input tokens | Output tokens | Requests/day | Cost impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | 10,000 | 3,000 | 2,000 | Reference |
| Optimized | 7,000 | 2,000 | 1,700 | Lower |
Interactive pricing calculator
Use the live model pricing index to open any model page with token-rate math and monthly cost scenarios.
Related reading
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Estimate cost from token counts and model rates—great for quickly checking whether a workflow is going to be expensive.
A structured approach to reduce AI API cost across models, prompts, tools, and monitoring.
