AI API cost calculator (₹)

AI API cost calculator — rupee-based budget planning

Building with LLMs? Predict monthly spend accurately by calculating token costs per model, then compare. unoblox's cost calculator shows real ₹ pricing across all major models — no hidden fees, transparent costs.

How token costs work

Every API call consumes two types of tokens:

• Input tokens: Your prompt (typically 200–2000 per request).
• Output tokens: The model's response (typically 100–1000 per request).

Cost = (Input tokens × input rate) + (Output tokens × output rate).

Rates vary by model. GPT-4o is ₹252/M input, ₹1008/M output. Llama Scout is ₹10.08/M input, ₹30.24/M output. Same 1M tokens, 25× price difference.

Step-by-step cost calculation

Scenario: A customer-support chatbot handling 100K daily customer questions.

1. Estimate daily tokens:

   • Input per question: 300 tokens (context + instructions + customer message).
   • Output per answer: 150 tokens (model response).
   • Daily volume: 100K questions × 300 input + 100K × 150 output = 45M daily tokens.
   • Monthly: 45M × 30 = 1.35B monthly tokens.

2. Pick a model and calculate cost** (900M input + 450M output — the 2:1 split implied by the 300:150 ratio above):

   • Qwen3 1.7B (₹0/M): ₹0 / month ✓
   • Llama Scout (₹10.08 input, ₹30.24 output): 900 × ₹10.08 + 450 × ₹30.24 = ₹9,072 + ₹13,608 = ₹22,680 / month.
   • Claude Sonnet (₹201.6 input, ₹1,008 output): 900 × ₹201.6 + 450 × ₹1,008 = ₹181,440 + ₹453,600 = ₹635,040 / month.
   • GPT-4o (₹252 input, ₹1,008 output): 900 × ₹252 + 450 × ₹1,008 = ₹226,800 + ₹453,600 = ₹680,400 / month.

Takeaway: The same workload costs ₹0 (free tier), ~₹23K (Llama Scout), or ~₹680K (GPT-4o). Model choice is often more important than optimization.

Model pricing reference (per 1M tokens)

Model	Input (₹)	Output (₹)	₹/monthly (1B input, 350M output)
Qwen3 1.7B	0	0	₹0
Qwen3 235B	9.07	55.44	₹28,474
Llama Scout	10.08	30.24	₹20,664
Llama Maverick	20.16	80.64	₹48,384
Claude Sonnet	201.6	1,008	₹554,400
Claude Opus	504	2,520	₹1,386,000
GPT-4o	252	1,008	₹604,800
GPT-4.1	201.6	806.4	₹483,840
GPT-5	126	1,008	₹478,800

Monthly budget by use case

Use case	Est. monthly tokens	Recommended model	₹/month
Chatbot (1K daily users)	50M	Llama Scout	₹840
RAG pipeline (100K docs)	2B	Qwen3 235B	₹49,053
Batch summarization	500M	Qwen3 1.7B	₹0
Production SaaS	5B	Llama Maverick	₹201,600
Enterprise reasoning	1B	Claude Sonnet	₹470,400

Assumes a 2:1 input:output token mix, the same ratio used throughout this page.

How to reduce costs

1. Optimize prompts: Shorter, clearer instructions = fewer input tokens.

   • Before: "You are a customer support bot. Please respond to the following query…" (25 tokens).
   • After: "Support bot response:" (3 tokens). 8× token savings.

2. Use cheaper models first: Start on Qwen3 1.7B or Llama Scout. Upgrade only if output quality is insufficient.

3. Batch requests: Process 1000 questions at once instead of 1000 individual API calls — same token cost, lower latency overhead.

4. Cache context: If your app repeats the same 10K-token context (e.g., a company handbook), cache it and reuse.

5. Streaming: Only pay for tokens you generate. Stop early if the output is complete.

Using the unoblox calculator

Visit https://unoblox.ai/pricing to:

• Enter your estimated monthly tokens.
• Select 2–3 models to compare.
• See total ₹/month in real-time.
• Export a CSV for your finance team.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my token estimate is accurate? Call https://api.unoblox.ai/v1/tokenize (demo) or enable usage logging in your SDK. Most apps underestimate tokens by 20–30%.

Do I get charged per API call or per token? Per token. 10 calls with 1M tokens each = same cost as 1 call with 10M tokens.

Can I set a monthly spend cap? Yes. unoblox allows max_spend_monthly: ₹5000 per API key. Requests over the limit return 429 Limit Exceeded.

What about caching or context reuse? Claude supports prompt caching (25% cheaper). GPT has similar features. Check your model's docs.

Should I optimize for input or output tokens? Input is typically 3–5× more output. Optimize input first (prompt engineering). Output optimization happens naturally (better models = shorter answers).

How often does pricing change? unoblox posts 30-day notice for price changes. Current rates valid through Q4 2026.

Get started in rupees → https://unoblox.ai/sign-in