AI API Monthly Spend Projector
Forecast your AI API costs over time. Select models, set growth assumptions, and explore “what if” scenarios to plan your budget.
Select up to 3 models to see cost projections
Understanding AI API Cost Growth
AI API costs rarely stay flat. As your product gains users, your token consumption grows — often faster than you expect. A chatbot handling 100 conversations per day at launch might serve 1,000 daily conversations within a few months. Without a clear cost forecast, teams are caught off guard by bills that double or triple in a single quarter.
This projector helps you model that growth explicitly. Set your current monthly token volume, pick the models you're considering, and apply a realistic growth rate. The tool compounds that rate month over month so you can see exactly when costs reach uncomfortable thresholds — and plan accordingly.
The scenario toggles let you stress-test your budget. “Usage doubles overnight” simulates a viral moment or product launch. “Route 80% to cheapest” models the savings from an intelligent routing strategy — sending simple requests to a budget model while reserving expensive flagship models for complex tasks. Batch pricing shows how much you'd save by processing non-urgent work asynchronously at a 50% discount.
Combine this projector with the cost comparison calculator to find the best model for your use case, then return here to see how that choice plays out over 6, 12, or 24 months. Use the token usage estimator to determine your baseline token volume, and check the price vs quality chart to ensure you're picking models that balance cost and performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the cost projection calculated?
The projector takes your base monthly token volume and applies compound growth each month. For example, with 10M tokens/month and 10% growth, month 1 is 11M tokens, month 2 is 12.1M, and so on. Each month's token volume is multiplied by the model's per-token pricing to produce the monthly cost.
What does the growth rate slider represent?
The growth rate is the expected month-over-month increase in your token usage. A 10% rate means your usage grows by 10% each month (compounding). For early-stage products, 15–30% monthly growth is common. For mature products, 0–5% is more realistic.
How does the routing scenario work?
When “Route 80% to cheapest” is enabled and you have multiple models selected, the tool assumes 80% of your traffic goes to the cheapest selected model and the remaining 20% is split among the others. This simulates a common production pattern where simple queries are handled by a budget model while complex ones go to a flagship.
Should I use batch pricing in my projection?
If a significant portion of your workload doesn't need real-time responses — for example, nightly data processing, bulk classification, or content pre-generation — batch pricing can cut those costs by roughly 50%. Toggle it on to see the impact. Not all providers offer batch pricing for all models.
How accurate is this forecast?
This tool provides estimates based on current published pricing and your assumed growth rate. Actual costs may vary due to pricing changes, usage spikes, prompt caching savings, or changes in average request length. Use it as a planning baseline and revisit your assumptions regularly.