AI Explained · Tool

LLM Cost Calculator

Estimate what an API call costs from input and output tokens and the per-million price. Set your own prices or start from a tier, then project it to a month. Runs in your browser.

Per request

Price USD per 1M tokens

Start from a tier:
Per request$0
Per 1,000 requests$0
Per month$0

How API pricing works

Almost every LLM API bills per token, with input (your prompt, history, and retrieved docs) and output (the reply) priced separately, output is usually several times more expensive. Cost is simply (input ÷ 1,000,000 × input price) + (output ÷ 1,000,000 × output price). The surprise on most bills is volume: a fraction of a cent per call becomes real money across thousands of requests a day, which is what the monthly projection here is for.

Using it honestly

The tier presets are round-number bands reflecting common pricing as of June 2026, not a live price sheet for any specific model. The price fields are editable, always confirm the real number with your provider. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

FAQ

Why is output more expensive than input?

Generating tokens is more compute-intensive than reading them, so providers price output higher, often 3–5×. That’s why trimming verbose responses saves more than trimming the prompt.

Are the tier prices real model prices?

No. They’re illustrative bands to start from, dated and rounded. Specific model prices change often, so the fields are editable and you should verify against your provider.

Is anything uploaded?

No. It’s pure arithmetic in your browser, nothing is sent anywhere and it works offline.

Related

Count tokens with the Token Counter, plan the prompt with the Context Window Visualizer, or browse AI Explained.