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What does the Claude or OpenAI API actually cost you?

Per-token prices for every major Claude, GPT and Gemini model, refreshed daily, turned into the only number that matters: what one user costs you a month, and whether your price covers it.

Prices checked 2026-09-20. Checked daily against two independent sources. Model prices still change without notice: confirm on your provider's pricing page before you make a decision that matters.

ModelIntroductory rate. Rises to $3 / $15 after 2026-08-31Input tokens per messageYour system prompt plus the conversation you send back each turn. 1,200 is typical for a small chatbot.Output tokens per messageWhat the model writes back. 400 is a few short paragraphs.Messages per user per dayActive usersWhat you charge per user per month$Share of input reused every message%The unchanging part of your prompt. Prompt caching bills reused input at about a tenth of the normal rate. Leave at 0 if you have not set caching up.Fixed costs per month$Domain, hosting, email, monitoring: anything you pay whether or not anyone signs up.Payment processor fee%Stripe's standard US card rate is 2.9% plus 30 cents. Change it for Paddle, Lemon Squeezy or a rate you negotiated.Plus, per charge$

Your numbers

Cost per user per month$1.56

Your monthly bill$778

Cost per message$0.0064

Left over per user$18.44

Messages before a paying user costs you more than they pay3,125

To break even

Processor takes, per user$0.88

You keep, per user$17.56

Paying customers to cover fixed costs2

At $20.00 a month, cap this plan around 937 messages per user. That holds the model to 30% of what they pay and leaves room for fees, hosting and everything else.

This holds up. Your AI bill is 8% of what each user pays.

What this assumes

30.4 days a month. Every active user sends the number of messages you entered, every day. Cached input bills at 10% of the normal input rate, which we verified against the providers' own published cache-read rates. Prices are what you pay going direct today, including any introductory rate, and exclude image input, tools, batch discounts and negotiated pricing. Break-even assumes every active user is a paying user charged once a month, and that your fixed costs do not grow with signups.

One thing this number quietly assumes

It assumes the only people calling your AI endpoint are the users you counted. If that endpoint is reachable without a login, anyone can run this bill up for you. Our free scan checks that in seconds.

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