How do I plan an AI API budget?

Divide your monthly budget by the cost per call (input tokens × input price + output tokens × output price). That gives the number of calls the budget covers, which you can turn into a per-day rate limit.

How can I stretch a fixed budget?

Use a smaller model for routine calls, cap output length, cache repeated context, and batch non-urgent jobs. Each can multiply how far the same dollars go.

API Budget Planner

✓ Last verified: 2026-07-15· Source: official provider pricing page· Auto-monitored — report change →

Set a monthly budget — see how many calls and tokens it buys.

Monthly budget ($)

Input tokens / call

Output tokens / call

Input $/1M

Output $/1M

—

calls / month

—calls / day

—cost / call

—tokens / month

Budget backwards from dollars, not tokens

Most teams guess token usage and get surprised by the bill. Start from the budget you can afford and work back to a call limit. Compare models on the AI cost calculator.

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