Free tool / Updated 2026-07-06
Claude API Cost vs OpenAI Cost Comparator
Estimate monthly API spend for Claude and OpenAI models from input tokens, output tokens, request volume, cache reuse, and long-context assumptions.
Citable baseline
Cost facts
Dated facts with primary-source links where the underlying source is available.
Interactive calculator
Estimate monthly text-token spend
The calculator models input, cached input, output, and request volume. It does not include tool-call fees, enterprise discounts, priority processing, or data-residency uplifts unless noted.
| Model | Cost / request | Monthly estimate | Rates used | Notes | Sources |
|---|
What the estimate means
The cheapest token rate is not always the cheapest workflow. Coding agents often retry, call tools, read large files, and produce long patches. Use this calculator as a rate-card model, then compare cost per accepted result in your own task suite.
The cache slider is intentionally explicit. If a workload repeatedly sends stable repository summaries, policy text, or document packets, cache hits can dominate input cost. If each request is unique, set cache reuse to zero.
FAQ
Does this calculator include every possible fee?
No. It estimates text-token API spend. Tool calls, priority processing, data-residency uplifts, batch discounts, and provider-specific enterprise terms can change the bill.
Why include cache reuse?
Agent and document workloads often resend stable context. Cache hits can materially change input cost, so the calculator lets you model a reusable-context share.
Keep reading
Related cost and model context
Internal links are selected to keep benchmark, tool, and methodology context together.
Report
Cost and Context
Compare total task cost: input, cache writes, cache reads, output, effort, retries, and whether the model finishes without human intervention.
Tool
Model comparison
Filter Claude, GPT, and benchmark-reference models by provider, access, price, context window, and published coding benchmark evidence.
Report
Claude vs GPT Coding
Use SWE-Bench Pro for contamination-aware software repair, Terminal-Bench for command-line agent behavior, and provider launch tables only when you preserve the harness and effort settings.
Source
Primary-source index
Inspect the Anthropic, OpenAI, benchmark-owner, and research sources behind the baseline.