Batch Inference Cost Calculator
Cost a batch job over a known number of items at the batch prices you were quoted.
In short
Formula: C = (N x tin / 1,000,000) x Rin + (N x tout / 1,000,000) x Rout + Other
What this calculator does
The same metered-quantity-times-rate arithmetic as live inference, with the batch rate the user entered. No batch discount is assumed or applied: if a batch rate is lower, it is lower because the user typed it that way.
Use it to turn Currency, Items in the batch, Input tokens per item, Output tokens per item (optional), and the other shown inputs into a checked result you can compare, copy, or rerun with different assumptions.
The page shows the formula, a numeric worked example, and the assumptions that affect this professional & industry calculation.
Inputs and what they mean
- Currency
- — Amounts are shown in the currency you pick. No exchange rate is applied..
- Items in the batch
- — How many records the batch processes..
- Input tokens per item
- — Average input tokens for one item..
- Output tokens per item (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result. Average output tokens for one item..
- Batch price per million input tokens
- — Take this from your own bill or the provider's price page. No provider price is built in..
- Batch price per million output tokens (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result. Take the rate from your own bill or the provider's price page; no provider price is built in..
- Other charges (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result..
- Price as of (optional)
- — The date you took these prices. It is shown with the result so the figure is never read as a current vendor price..
- Price source (optional)
- — Where the prices came from. Shown with the result..
How to use it
- Enter your own figures — the calculator never fills in a rate, price or benchmark for you.
- Press Calculate to see the result.
- Read the formula, variables, assumptions and source below the result before you rely on it.
Formula
C = (N x tin / 1,000,000) x Rin + (N x tout / 1,000,000) x Rout + Other.
Inputs used: Currency, Items in the batch, Input tokens per item, Output tokens per item (optional), Batch price per million input tokens, Batch price per million output tokens (optional), Other charges (optional), Price as of (optional), and other shown inputs.
Edge handling: Items in the batch is required.; Items in the batch cannot be negative.; Items in the batch must be no more than 1000000000000.; Input tokens per item is required.; Input tokens per item cannot be negative..
Worked example
1.2 million items at 800 tokens each, at the batch price you were quoted
- Start with Currency: USD, Items in the batch: 1200000, Input tokens per item: 800, Output tokens per item (optional): 120, Batch price per million input tokens: 1.25, Batch price per million output tokens (optional): 5.
- Apply the method: C = (N x tin / 1,000,000) x Rin + (N x tout / 1,000,000) x Rout + Other.
- The batch price is the one on your own bill; no discount is assumed.
Reading the result
The headline figure is the main answer. Any breakdown underneath shows the parts that make it up, so you can check the working and see what changes when you adjust an input.
Limitations and assumptions
- Inputs outside the supported range are rejected rather than forced into a result.
- The result depends on the values you enter for this batch inference cost calculator; it does not supply missing rates, rules, prices, dates, or assumptions for you.
Reference: The Linux Foundation — Unit economics — FinOps Framework
Last reviewed:
Common questions
Where does this formula come from?
FinOps Framework capability: unit economics — cost per business unit is total cost for a period divided by the units delivered in the same period; a workload's cost is the sum of its metered components charged at the rates the organisation actually pays. See the source link on this page.
What kind of calculation is this?
Item count multiplied by the tokens each item uses and the batch prices the user entered. Check the formula, example, and limitations on this page before using the result for a real professional & industry decision.
What are its limits?
Arithmetic over the figures entered — it cannot tell whether the metering, logs or invoices behind them are complete. The result is only as current as the rates entered; a rate taken months ago is not a current price. Tiered, committed-use, cached-input and minimum-spend pricing are not modelled unless the user has already reduced them to the rates entered. Items that fail and are resubmitted are only counted if the user counted them. Queue time and completion deadlines are not modelled.
How do I use the Batch Inference Cost Calculator?
Enter the required values for Currency, Items in the batch, Input tokens per item, Output tokens per item (optional), Batch price per million input tokens, and the other fields shown. The calculator applies the formula on this page and shows the main result with any supporting breakdown so you can check the arithmetic.
What formula does the Batch Inference Cost Calculator use?
C = (N x tin / 1,000,000) x Rin + (N x tout / 1,000,000) x Rout + Other The visible formula section above lists the calculation path and the edge cases the page handles, so the result can be checked without relying on the form alone. Check the formula, example, and limitations on this page before using the result for a real professional & industry decision.
Can the Batch Inference Cost Calculator be used for exact decisions?
Use it as a calculation aid, not as a substitute for checking the underlying rule, contract, policy, or professional advice that applies to your situation. When a result depends on local rules, personal details, prices, or dates, enter those values yourself and confirm them before acting.
Formula, source and verification
Item count multiplied by the tokens each item uses and the batch prices the user entered.
The question it answers: What are we paying for the tokens our application sends and receives?
The formula
C = (N x tin / 1,000,000) x Rin + (N x tout / 1,000,000) x Rout + Other
- N — Items in the batch
- (items). Records the batch processes.
- tin — Input tokens per item
- (tokens). Average input tokens for one item.
- tout — Output tokens per item
- (tokens). Optional; excluded at zero.
- Rin — Batch price per million input tokens
- (currency). The batch price on the user's own bill.
- Rout — Batch price per million output tokens
- (currency). Optional; excluded at zero.
- O — Other charges
- (currency). Optional; excluded at zero.
Units: Items and tokens in, currency out, with a currency-per-thousand-items figure.
What kind of calculation this is
Business input model. The answer depends on business figures only you can supply, such as your own costs, rates or volumes. No market or benchmark values are assumed for you.
Method
The same metered-quantity-times-rate arithmetic as live inference, with the batch rate the user entered. No batch discount is assumed or applied: if a batch rate is lower, it is lower because the user typed it that way.
Assumptions built into the result
- Mathematical: All the figures entered cover the same measurement period.
- Mathematical: Token counts, requests and hours are taken from the user's own logs or bill.
- Mathematical: Every item in the batch uses about the same number of tokens.
Figures this calculator will never guess for you
- No target, benchmark, industry average or typical figure is supplied for any value.
- A definition is never presented as a goal: a cost per request is not a target cost per request, and a contribution margin is not a target margin.
- No model price, GPU price, rate card or list price is built in; every amount is entered by the user.
- No token count, context length or output length is assumed on the user's behalf.
- No currency conversion is applied; amounts stay in the currency selected.
- No batch discount, spot discount or committed-use discount is assumed.
Limitations
- Arithmetic over the figures entered — it cannot tell whether the metering, logs or invoices behind them are complete.
- The result is only as current as the rates entered; a rate taken months ago is not a current price.
- Tiered, committed-use, cached-input and minimum-spend pricing are not modelled unless the user has already reduced them to the rates entered.
- Items that fail and are resubmitted are only counted if the user counted them.
- Queue time and completion deadlines are not modelled.
Source and version
- Standard or reference
- FinOps Framework — unit economics and workload cost — FinOps Foundation (FinOps Framework capability: unit economics — cost per business unit is total cost for a period divided by the units delivered in the same period; a workload's cost is the sum of its metered components charged at the rates the organisation actually pays.)
- Published source
- The Linux Foundation — FinOps Framework
- Formula version
- Version 1
- Verification
- Reviewed against the cited source on
- How much weight the source carries
- Standards or government
- Applies to
- Currency
- Amounts stay in the currency you choose; no exchange rate is applied.
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