API Cost Estimate Calculator

Multiply monthly requests by the input-token, output-token, and fixed per-request cost, add monthly fixed costs, then apply the safety buffer. A compact formula is: buffered monthly cost = (variable monthly cost + monthly fixed cost) x (1 + safety buffer rate). For example, if variable cost is $400, monthly fixed cost is $120, and the buffer is 15%, estimated monthly cost is $598.

Enter request volume, average input and output tokens, current token rates, any fixed cost per request, monthly infrastructure or support cost, and a safety buffer. Keep optional provider charges such as tools, media, storage, cache writes, and regional processing as explicit assumptions rather than hiding them inside one rate.

Start with realistic activity rather than registered-account counts. Multiply requests per day by billing days, calculate the input-token, output-token, and fixed per-request cost for that volume, add monthly fixed costs, and apply the safety buffer. The calculator then reports total monthly cost, cost per request, and cost per 1,000 requests. Model low, expected, and high scenarios because usage rarely grows in a perfectly smooth line.

Cost per 1,000 API requests normalizes workloads with different volumes. The formula is: total buffered monthly cost / total monthly requests x 1,000. It therefore includes token costs, fixed per-request costs, allocated monthly fixed cost, and the safety buffer. If buffered monthly cost is $598 for 500,000 requests, cost per 1,000 requests is about $1.20.

Monthly fixed costs are added before the safety buffer. Cost per request divides that buffered monthly total by monthly request volume, and cost per 1,000 requests multiplies the result by 1,000. At zero request volume, monthly fixed cost still exists but per-request outputs are not applicable. Use the API pricing calculator separately when you are ready to set a customer price.