Tech & API Cost Estimator

Compare provider costs instantly based on your estimated traffic, revenue, and infrastructure.

AI API Cost Simulation

Select LLM Provider (click to select)

Monthly Input Tokens (slide or use arrow keys)0

Monthly Output Tokens (slide or use arrow keys)0

Input Cost

$0.00

Output Cost

$0.00

Total AI Bill

$0.00

💡 What is a Token?

Tokens are chunks of words. As a rule of thumb, 100 tokens ≈ 75 English words. A standard paragraph is roughly 100 tokens.

📥 Input Tokens

The text, prompt, or system instructions you send to the AI model.

📤 Output Tokens

The length of the response text generated by the AI model.

Ultimate Guide to AI API & Payment Gateway Costs

Building a modern SaaS application requires a deep understanding of infrastructure expenses. Integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) like OpenAI's GPT-4o, Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet, or Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro can scale your product's capabilities, but unmonitored API usage can quickly drain your budget. Our API Cost Estimator helps developers project exact costs based on token count, prompt length, and user volume.

Beyond AI intelligence, monetizing your platform introduces transaction fees. Choosing between payment processors like Stripe, PayPal, and merchant-of-record solutions like Lemon Squeezy significantly affects your net profit. By calculating both AI generation costs and payment gateway deductions simultaneously, you can accurately define your pricing tiers and protect your profit margins.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How are AI API expenses calculated?Click to read ↗

AI companies charge based on "Tokens", which are essentially pieces of words. 1,000 tokens equal roughly 750 words. Prices vary heavily between input tokens (the prompt you send) and output tokens (the response the AI generates), with output tokens usually being significantly more expensive.

What is the difference between Stripe and PayPal fees for SaaS?Click to read ↗

Standard merchant tools like Stripe charge a baseline fee (typically 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge). PayPal has similar baseline structures but adds different percentage rates depending on cross-border transactions and currency conversion metrics.

Why should I use a dedicated API budget tool?Click to read ↗

Manually scanning complex documentation and pricing grids across multiple provider sites leads to planning errors. Our cost interface concentrates hidden processing parameters into a uniform view, letting you simulate user scaling seamlessly.

How frequently are the integrated model rates updated?Click to read ↗

We systematically monitor updates from LLM networks and gateway companies. This gives founders reliable estimations aligned with current infrastructure frameworks.