Input vs output token spend
Output tokens usually cost several times more than input, so answer length is what really drives your bill.
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AI & LLM Cost
LLM Token Cost Calculator
Price your prompts down to the token. Enter input and output tokens, pick a model, and this LLM token cost calculator shows the per request and monthly cost with a live cheapest to priciest ranking.
Estimated monthly cost
$0
Cost per request—
Cost per 1,000 requests—
Input token cost—
Output token cost—
Tokens processed / month—
Annual estimate—
The same workload priced across AI models
Your monthly token volume run through popular 2026 models, cheapest first.
What the LLM Token Cost Calculator does
Large language models charge per token, and the token cost calculator exists so you never have to do that math by hand. Every provider quotes two numbers for a model: a price per million input tokens and a price per million output tokens. Multiply your token counts by those rates and you have the cost of a single call.
Scaling that to real traffic is where surprises hide. A fraction of a cent per request feels harmless until you multiply by millions of calls a month. This calculator does that scaling for you and compares models so the true cost of a token is never a mystery.
Heads up on pricing. The rates built into this tool are public list estimates for July 2026 and can change without notice. Providers also offer batch discounts, prompt caching and volume tiers that lower real costs, so treat the output as a planning estimate, not a quote.
The formula
per request cost = (input tokens ÷ 1M × input rate) + (output tokens ÷ 1M × output rate)
monthly cost = per request cost × monthly requests
monthly cost = per request cost × monthly requests
Worked example
GPT-5 charges $1.25 per million input and $10 per million output. A single call with 1,000 input and 500 output tokens costs 0.001 × $1.25 + 0.0005 × $10 = $0.00125 + $0.005 = $0.00625. That is tiny, but 2 million calls a month is $12,500.
AI model pricing used in this calculator (July 2026 estimates)
| Model | Provider | Input / 1M tokens | Output / 1M tokens |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-5 | OpenAI | $1.25 | $10.00 |
| GPT-5 mini | OpenAI | $0.25 | $2.00 |
| Claude Opus 4.1 | Anthropic | $15.00 | $75.00 |
| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Anthropic | $3.00 | $15.00 |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | Anthropic | $1.00 | $5.00 |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | $1.25 | $10.00 | |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | $0.30 | $2.50 | |
| DeepSeek V3 | DeepSeek | $0.27 | $1.10 |
| Grok 4 | xAI | $3.00 | $15.00 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | Meta | $0.20 | $0.60 |
Prices are public list estimates for planning as of July 2026 and change often. Providers bill per token, where roughly 1,000 tokens equals about 750 words. Always confirm live rates on the provider pricing page before you set a budget.
Ways to lower your AI costs
- Match the model to the task. Route simple requests to a small model like GPT-5 mini, Gemini Flash or DeepSeek V3, and keep premium models for complex reasoning where quality pays off.
- Cache repeated context. Prompt caching means you stop paying full price for the same system prompt or documents on every call.
- Cap output length. Output tokens cost several times more than input, so limiting response length is often the fastest saving you can make.
- Trim prompts and history. Summarize old conversation turns and drop context the model does not actually need to answer well.
- Batch non-urgent work. Many providers offer batch pricing at around half the standard rate for jobs that can wait a few hours.
Frequently asked questions
What is the price per million tokens?
It is the standard way LLMs are quoted. Divide by 1,000,000 to get the price of one token, then multiply by your token count. This tool handles that automatically.
How many tokens in 1,000 words?
About 1,300 tokens in English, since one token averages 0.75 of a word. Code and other languages can be denser.
Why compare models by token cost?
Because the same token can cost 50x more on a premium model than a budget one. Comparing lets you match the model to the value of each request.
Do system prompts count as tokens?
Yes. The system message, tool definitions and any examples all count as input tokens on every call, so keep them lean.
Are the rates up to date?
They reflect July 2026 list prices. Check the provider before committing, as rates and discounts change.