Token Cost Calculator
Cost the tokens a model used, pricing input and output separately at your own rates.
In short
Formula: C = (Tin / 1,000,000) x Rin + (Tout / 1,000,000) x Rout + Other
What this calculator does
Metered quantity times rate, applied separately to input and output because providers meter and price them separately. Nothing is added that the user did not enter, and the output share is shown so the split is visible.
Use it to turn Currency, Price per million input tokens, Input tokens used, Price per million output tokens (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..
- Price per million input tokens
- — Take this from your own bill or the provider's price page. No provider price is built in..
- Input tokens used
- — Total input tokens for the period, in millions..
- 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..
- Output tokens used (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result. Total output tokens for the period, in millions..
- 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 = (Tin / 1,000,000) x Rin + (Tout / 1,000,000) x Rout + Other.
Inputs used: Currency, Price per million input tokens, Input tokens used, Price per million output tokens (optional), Output tokens used (optional), Other charges (optional), Price as of (optional), Price source (optional).
Edge handling: Price per million input tokens is required.; Price per million input tokens cannot be negative.; Price per million input tokens must be no more than 1000000000.; Input tokens used is required.; Input tokens used cannot be negative..
Worked example
18M input and 4M output tokens at your own per-million prices
- Start with Currency: USD, Price per million input tokens: 2.50, Input tokens used: 18, Price per million output tokens (optional): 10, Output tokens used (optional): 4, Other charges (optional): 0.
- Apply the method: C = (Tin / 1,000,000) x Rin + (Tout / 1,000,000) x Rout + Other.
- Input and output are priced separately, as they are billed separately.
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 token 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?
Metered token volume multiplied by the per-million-token prices the user is charged, input and output kept apart. 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. Cached-input, reasoning and tool-call tokens are only included to the extent the user's token counts already include them.
How do I use the Token Cost Calculator?
Enter the required values for Currency, Price per million input tokens, Input tokens used, Price per million output tokens (optional), Output tokens used (optional), 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 Token Cost Calculator use?
C = (Tin / 1,000,000) x Rin + (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 Token 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
Metered token volume multiplied by the per-million-token prices the user is charged, input and output kept apart.
The question it answers: What are we paying for the tokens our application sends and receives?
The formula
C = (Tin / 1,000,000) x Rin + (Tout / 1,000,000) x Rout + Other
- Tin — Input tokens
- (million tokens). Input tokens metered in the period.
- Rin — Price per million input tokens
- (currency). From the user's own bill or price page.
- Tout — Output tokens
- (million tokens). Optional; excluded at zero.
- Rout — Price per million output tokens
- (currency). Optional; excluded at zero.
- O — Other charges
- (currency). Optional; excluded at zero.
Units: Millions of tokens and currency per million tokens in, currency out.
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
Metered quantity times rate, applied separately to input and output because providers meter and price them separately. Nothing is added that the user did not enter, and the output share is shown so the split is visible.
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: Token counts are the provider's own metered counts, not an estimate from characters or words.
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.
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.
- Cached-input, reasoning and tool-call tokens are only included to the extent the user's token counts already include them.
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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