Question 1

What is a token in AI language models?

Accepted Answer

A token is the unit of text an AI model processes rather than a fixed number of characters or words. In ordinary English, a practical rough estimate is about four characters per token, but punctuation, code, non-English text and each provider's tokenizer can materially change that result. Use the provider tokenizer when a deployment decision needs an exact count.

Question 2

Why do models charge differently for input and output tokens?

Accepted Answer

Input tokens are the prompt, instructions and retrieved context sent to a model. Output tokens are the response the model generates, and are often priced higher because generation is an incremental process. The exact gap varies by model, so this calculator keeps the two rates separate.

Question 3

What is a context window and why does it matter for cost?

Accepted Answer

A context window is the amount of information a model can consider in a request, including the prompt and generated response. Large windows can be useful for documents, conversations and retrieval workflows, but some providers publish a different price once an input crosses a threshold. The calculator automatically applies a documented long-context tier only where a first-party source states its trigger.

Question 4

How does this AI token calculator estimate cost?

Accepted Answer

The calculator estimates input tokens from text using a four-characters-per-token heuristic, then applies the selected model's published text input and output price per million tokens. The calculation is input tokens divided by one million times the input rate, plus output tokens divided by one million times the output rate. Optional cache, batch, fast-mode and US-residency choices are applied only for models with a published rule.

Question 5

How accurate is this calculator?

Accepted Answer

The price arithmetic is exact for the entered token quantities and the displayed source-date price schedule. The text estimate is only a planning approximation, not a provider tokenizer. Treat the result as a budget estimate and verify both tokenisation and the current provider page before committing production spend.

Question 6

What is prompt caching and how much can it save?

Accepted Answer

Prompt caching allows a provider to reuse an eligible prefix such as a stable system instruction, long document or tool definition. When a provider reports a cache hit, its published cached-input rate can be much lower than the regular input rate. Savings depend on eligibility, prefix reuse, TTL and actual cache hits, so the slider is an estimate rather than a guarantee.

Question 7

What is batch API pricing?

Accepted Answer

Batch APIs process work asynchronously and may have a lower published rate than interactive API calls. This tool applies batch pricing only for models whose first-party documentation publishes a batch rate, and leaves other rows on their standard rate. Batch is not appropriate for every time-sensitive workflow and can be incompatible with provider-specific fast modes.

Question 8

What is long-context pricing, for example over 200K tokens?

Accepted Answer

Long-context pricing is a published higher tier that some providers apply when a request's prompt exceeds a stated token threshold. For example, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview and several Grok models publish a 200K input-token threshold, and xAI states that the higher rate then applies to all tokens in that request. This tool applies those rules automatically only where the threshold is explicitly documented.

Question 9

Which model is cheapest for high-volume content generation?

Accepted Answer

The lowest standard text price in a particular selection is not automatically the best operational choice, because quality, retries, context requirements and safety controls also affect total cost. Current budget rows in this catalogue include GPT-6 Luna, Gemini Flash-Lite, Claude Haiku 4.5, Kimi K2.6 and Muse Spark Contributor, each with different terms. Compare the output quality and provider conditions before routing high-volume work.

Question 10

Which model is best value for complex reasoning or agentic work?

Accepted Answer

There is no universal best-value model for complex work. A sensible evaluation compares task quality, tool support, context needs, latency, reliability and the cost of retries rather than using a price row alone. Use the calculator to build a short list, then test a representative workflow under the provider terms that apply to your account.

Question 11

Why does the comparison table sometimes show $0 of input cost?

Accepted Answer

The selected-model table prices whatever text is in the calculator. An empty prompt has no input tokens, so the input side is $0 and the row is only the output charge for the default 500 tokens. That is not the list price. Use the standard-rate table, dated 28 September 2026, for dollars per million tokens, and verify the provider page before you commit spend.

Question 12

How much does GPT-6 and GPT-5.6 cost compared with GPT-4o?

Accepted Answer

At the 28 September 2026 source check, GPT-6 Astra is listed at $10 input and $50 output per million text tokens, GPT-6 Sol at $2/$10, and GPT-6 Luna at $0.10/$0.50. GPT-5.6 Sol is listed at $4/$20 under documented promotional pricing, while GPT-5.6 Cyber is $12.50/$75. GPT-4o remains in the catalogue as a legacy comparison at $2.50/$10.

Question 13

How much do Claude Fable, Opus, Sonnet and Haiku cost?

Accepted Answer

The verified standard API schedule lists Claude Fable 5.1 at $10 input and $50 output per million tokens, Opus 5.5 at $4/$20, Opus 5 at $5/$25, Sonnet 5 at $2/$10 and Haiku 4.5 at $1/$5. Anthropic separately publishes cache reads and writes, batch prices and selected fast-mode prices. The calculator uses a cache-hit estimate where the documentation provides one.

Question 14

How much do Gemini 3.x Flash and Pro cost?

Accepted Answer

Gemini 3.8, 3.7 and 3.6 Flash are listed at $0.75 input and $3.75 output per million text tokens through 31 December 2026, followed by a published higher 2027 schedule. Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is $2/$12 at or below 200K prompt tokens and $4/$18 above that threshold. Google also lists separate batch, flex, priority, caching, storage and modality prices.

Question 15

How much does Grok 4.7 cost?

Accepted Answer

xAI lists Grok 4.7 at $2 input, $0.50 cached input and $6 output per million tokens for prompts below 200K tokens. At the published long-context tier of 200K tokens or more, the rates are $4 input, $1 cached input and $12 output, and xAI states the higher rate applies to all tokens in that request. A US endpoint has a separate published uplift and is not selected by this global-default estimate.

Question 16

How much does Kimi K3 cost?

Accepted Answer

Moonshot lists Kimi K3 at $3 input, $0.30 cached input and $15 output per million tokens, with a 1,048,576-token context window. The same source lists separate cache-write charges for selected TTLs. This calculator uses the standard input and cache-hit rates rather than guessing TTL behaviour.

Question 17

What is Meta Muse Spark and how is it priced?

Accepted Answer

Muse Spark is available through the Meta Model API with Standard and Contributor tiers. The verified Standard rows are $1.25 input, $0.15 cached input and $4.25 output per million tokens. Meta publishes separate non-text product prices, but those are not mixed into this text-token calculator.

Question 18

What is the difference between Muse Spark Standard and Contributor?

Accepted Answer

Muse Spark Contributor has a lower listed token price than Standard, including $0.10 input, $0.002 cached input and $0.20 output per million tokens for the documented Contributor rows. In exchange, Meta says it may use Contributor prompts and completions to train future Meta models. Standard prompts and completions are not used for that purpose according to the cited Meta documentation.

Question 19

Is Manus priced per token?

Accepted Answer

No stable public Manus price per million API tokens is used in this calculator. Manus is presented here as a credit-based agent product, where task complexity and workflow behaviour matter more than a direct token-price conversion. The calculator therefore keeps the Manus invitation and credit explanation separate from the token-price comparison.

Question 20

How do I get free Manus credits or free Manus AI tokens?

Accepted Answer

Use the official Manus invitation at https://manus.im/invitation/QPAHJBYCPQ3IK?utm_source=invitation&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=system_share to try Manus with bonus credits. The offer is for credit-based Manus agent tasks, not a published per-token API rate, and programme terms can change. No credit card is required to start under the current invitation flow.

Question 21

How do Manus credits differ from API tokens?

Accepted Answer

API tokens are units a model provider uses to meter prompt and response processing. Manus credits relate to agent tasks, which can combine research, browser work, code execution, files and model usage. A direct dollars-per-million-token comparison would misrepresent the different billing models, so this page does not invent one.

Question 22

How do I estimate monthly cost for an AI-powered app?

Accepted Answer

Start with representative input and output tokens per request, multiply by expected calls per day and then by roughly 30 days. Test both a normal request and a large-context or cached request if those are part of the design. The bulk tab makes this comparison transparent but does not include unrelated provider charges such as storage, web search, images, audio, taxes or minimum commitments.

Question 23

Do thinking or reasoning tokens cost extra?

Accepted Answer

Provider documentation can treat thinking or reasoning tokens as output tokens, include them in another usage category, or set model-specific rules. This calculator is a text input/output planning tool and follows the provider's published text schedule shown for each model. Confirm the relevant model's current documentation before budgeting an application that exposes reasoning usage.

Question 24

Are image, audio and video tokens priced the same as text?

Accepted Answer

Not necessarily. Several providers publish separate modality prices, grounding charges, image charges, audio charges or storage fees. The main grid is deliberately limited to the verified text-token rates so that it does not imply a text estimate covers multimodal usage. Check the provider source links for the applicable modality schedule.

Question 25

Should I use USD list prices for UK budgeting?

Accepted Answer

USD list prices are useful for a common provider comparison, but a UK budget should also account for exchange-rate exposure, VAT or other taxes where applicable, cloud or platform charges, volume discounts and contractual commitments. This page does not present a live GBP conversion. Convert and validate with finance and procurement before approval.

Question 26

How often are these prices updated?

Accepted Answer

This verified catalogue is marked 28 September 2026 and should be checked again whenever a provider changes a schedule, preview model, promotion or region rule. The page deliberately shows the source date on cards and comparison tables. Price changes, availability and product terms can occur without notice.

Question 27

Where can I verify official pricing?

Accepted Answer

Verify the primary source before committing spend: OpenAI https://platform.openai.com/docs/pricing, Anthropic https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/pricing, Google https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing, xAI https://docs.x.ai/developers/pricing, Moonshot https://platform.moonshot.ai/docs/pricing/chat, Meta https://ai.developer.meta.com/docs/pricing-rate-limits and Manus https://manus.im/invitation/QPAHJBYCPQ3IK?utm_source=invitation&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=system_share.

Provider	Model	Input /M	Cached input /M	Output /M	Condition already on this page
Meta Muse	Muse Spark 1.3 Contributor	$0.10	$0.002	$0.20	Contributor terms allow Meta to use prompts and completions to train future Meta models.
Meta Muse	Muse Spark 1.2 Contributor	$0.10	$0.002	$0.20	Same Contributor data-use warning.
Google	Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite	$0.10	$0.01	$0.40	Text, image and video input rate. Audio input is a separate published rate, not in this grid.
OpenAI	GPT-6 Luna	$0.10	$0.01	$0.50	A long-context rate is published, but the cited docs do not state a safe automatic threshold.
OpenAI	GPT-4o mini	$0.15	$0.07	$0.60	Legacy. Context on the card: 128.0K.
Google	Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite	$0.25	$0.03	$1.50	Text, image and video input rate. Audio is separate.
Google	Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite	$0.30	$0.03	$2.50	Budget row. No extra condition on the card.
xAI	Grok 4.3	$1.25	$0.20	$2.50	Context on the card: 1.00M. Documented batch discount is 20% for this model, not 50%.
Google	Gemini 3.8 Flash	$0.75	$0.07	$3.75	Promo through 2026. Published standard price becomes $1.50 input and $7.50 output from 1 January 2027.
Google	Gemini 3.7 Flash	$0.75	$0.07	$3.75	Same 1 January 2027 change.
Google	Gemini 3.6 Flash	$0.75	$0.07	$3.75	Same 1 January 2027 change.
Kimi	Kimi K2.6	$0.95	$0.16	$4.00	Context on the card: 262.1K.
Kimi	Kimi K2.7 Code	$0.95	$0.19	$4.00	Context on the card: 262.1K.
Meta Muse	Muse Spark 1.3 Standard	$1.25	$0.15	$4.25	Standard prompts and completions are not used to train Meta models.
Meta Muse	Muse Spark 1.2 Standard	$1.25	$0.15	$4.25	Same Standard data-use line.
Meta Muse	Muse Spark 1.1 Standard	$1.25	$0.15	$4.25	Same Standard data-use line.
Anthropic	Claude Haiku 4.5	$1.00	$0.10	$5.00	Context on the card: 1.00M.
xAI	Grok 4.7	$2.00	$0.50	$6.00	Below 200K tokens. At 200K input tokens or more the page's FAQ states $4 input, $1 cached input and $12 output, applied to all tokens in that request. Separate 1.1× US endpoint rate is not the global default. Context on the card: 500.0K.
xAI	Grok 4.6	$2.00	$0.50	$6.00	Context on the card: 500.0K.
Kimi	Kimi K2.7 Code HighSpeed	$1.90	$0.38	$8.00	Context on the card: 262.1K.
OpenAI	GPT-6 Sol	$2.00	$0.20	$10.00	Long-context tier applies above 272K input tokens.
OpenAI	GPT-4o	$2.50	$1.25	$10.00	Legacy. Context on the card: 128.0K.
Anthropic	Claude Sonnet 5	$2.00	$0.20	$10.00	Context on the card: 1.00M.
Google	Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview	$2.00	$0.20	$12.00	At or below 200K prompt tokens. The FAQ states $4 input and $18 output above that threshold.
Kimi	Kimi K3	$3.00	$0.30	$15.00	Context on the card: 1.05M. Cache writes have separate TTL charges. This row is standard input and cache hits only.
OpenAI	GPT-5.6 Sol	$4.00	$0.40	$20.00	Promotional pricing documented through at least 21 November 2026.
Anthropic	Claude Opus 5.5	$4.00	$0.20	$20.00	Fast mode is a research preview and cannot be combined with the Batch API. Context on the card: 1.00M.
Anthropic	Claude Opus 5	$5.00	$0.50	$25.00	Same fast-mode limit. Context on the card: 1.00M.
OpenAI	GPT-6 Astra	$10.00	$1.00	$50.00	Long-context tier above 272K input tokens. Batch and Flex are documented at 50% of Standard for this model.
Anthropic	Claude Fable 5.1	$10.00	$0.25	$50.00	Cached figure is the hit/refresh rate. Cache writes have separate 5-minute and 1-hour charges. Context on the card: 1.00M.
OpenAI	GPT-5.6 Cyber	$12.50	$1.25	$75.00	Specialist row. No further condition on the card.

Model	Input	Output	Total / call	vs lowest
Google Gemini 3.8 Flash	$0.00	$0.001875	$0.001875	Lowest
Meta Muse Muse Spark 1.3 Standard	$0.00	$0.002125	$0.002125	1.1×
xAI Grok 4.7	$0.00	$0.003000	$0.003000	1.6×
Kimi Kimi K3	$0.00	$0.007500	$0.007500	4.0×
OpenAI GPT-6 Astra	$0.00	$0.0250	$0.0250	13.3×
Anthropic Claude Fable 5.1	$0.00	$0.0250	$0.0250	13.3×

	API text tokens	Manus credits
What the page says it meters	Prompt and response text, priced per million tokens	Agent tasks, which can combine research, browser work, code, files and model use
Dollar rate on this page	The table above, dated 28 September 2026	None. Do not invent one.
How to try it	Provider pricing pages linked in the existing FAQ	The Manus invitation already on this page. No credit card under the current invitation flow, as the FAQ states.

AI Token & Cost Calculator: verified API price estimates

Standard text rates as of 28 September 2026

Calculator settings

Your prompt or input text

Verified model estimates

Muse Spark 1.3 Contributor

Muse Spark 1.2 Contributor

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

GPT-6 Luna

GPT-4o mini

Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Grok 4.3

Gemini 3.8 Flash

Gemini 3.7 Flash

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Kimi K2.6

Kimi K2.7 Code

Muse Spark 1.3 Standard

Muse Spark 1.2 Standard

Muse Spark 1.1 Standard

Claude Haiku 4.5

Grok 4.7

Grok 4.6

Kimi K2.7 Code HighSpeed

GPT-6 Sol

GPT-4o

Claude Sonnet 5

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview

Kimi K3

GPT-5.6 Sol

Claude Opus 5.5

Claude Opus 5

GPT-6 Astra

Claude Fable 5.1

GPT-5.6 Cyber

Selected model comparison

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How to use this estimate responsibly

Manus agent credits

Frequently asked questions about AI token costs

What is a token in AI language models?+

Why do models charge differently for input and output tokens?+

What is a context window and why does it matter for cost?+

How does this AI token calculator estimate cost?+

How accurate is this calculator?+

What is prompt caching and how much can it save?+

What is batch API pricing?+

What is long-context pricing, for example over 200K tokens?+

Which model is cheapest for high-volume content generation?+

Which model is best value for complex reasoning or agentic work?+

Why does the comparison table sometimes show $0 of input cost?+

How much does GPT-6 and GPT-5.6 cost compared with GPT-4o?+

How much do Claude Fable, Opus, Sonnet and Haiku cost?+

How much do Gemini 3.x Flash and Pro cost?+

How much does Grok 4.7 cost?+

How much does Kimi K3 cost?+

What is Meta Muse Spark and how is it priced?+

What is the difference between Muse Spark Standard and Contributor?+

Is Manus priced per token?+

How do I get free Manus credits or free Manus AI tokens?+

How do Manus credits differ from API tokens?+

How do I estimate monthly cost for an AI-powered app?+

Do thinking or reasoning tokens cost extra?+

Are image, audio and video tokens priced the same as text?+

Should I use USD list prices for UK budgeting?+

How often are these prices updated?+

Where can I verify official pricing?+

First-party pricing sources

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