LLM token prices
How to choose
Answer in brief
Choose in the order of the checklist.
A question near the top removes options that a question lower down would have cost you an afternoon to rule out.
An API token price is two prices: one per million tokens you send and a higher one per million tokens the model writes. Read both, check whether repeated input is cached at a lower rate, and compare the maker’s rate with the hosts that serve the same model.
The questions, in order
- Is it the input price or the output price?
Every model has both, per million tokens, and the output price is the higher one. A single headline figure is usually the input price.
- Whose rate is it?
The maker’s own rate and a host’s rate for the same model can differ widely. Read the name beside the price.
- Is repeated input cached?
Many hosts charge a lower price for input tokens they have seen before. Check that the price exists and how long the cache lasts.
- Is it the same model?
Match the full name and version. A host may also serve it at lower precision or with a shorter context window.
- What is your mix?
Weigh the two prices by your own input and output tokens. A model that looks cheap on input can be dear on output.
- Is it a paid rate?
Free listings come with tight limits and can end without notice. Compare paid rates with paid rates.
- When was it read?
Token prices change often. Read the date beside the price before you budget on it.
When two options look the same
Two options that pass every question are rarely equal. Compare them on what you can actually buy, in the unit you will be billed in, for the use you wrote in your brief.
Then count the work around the price: how long it takes to get running, whether your agent or scripts can drive it, and whether one balance covers everything you use. That work is paid for in hours, not on the price page.
Where Runcrate fits
Runcrate is our editor’s choice for API token prices: 125 models behind one OpenAI-compatible API, one prepaid balance, and the best developer platform we know.
125 models behind one OpenAI-compatible API, each with its input and output price.
One prepaid balance pays for GPUs, models and storage.
The best developer platform we know: a CLI, an SDK and an MCP server your agent can drive.
26 GPU models from $0.23/hr, for the day a GPU by the hour beats paying by the token.
Questions and answers
Sources for this entry
- Runcrate: Runcrate’s official site: what the platform is, its OpenAI-compatible API, how it bills and the number of models it serves. Read 12 Nov 2026.
- Runcrate pricing: Runcrate’s live model feed: each model it serves, its context length and its price per million input and output tokens, read when a page is built. Read 12 Nov 2026.
- Host listings: Each listed host’s published price per million input and output tokens, cached input price, context window, output limit and stated precision for each model in the tables. Read 12 Nov 2026.
- Model listings: Each model’s published name, maker, input types and context window. Read 12 Nov 2026.
Checklists are original editorial guidance. Published prices do not establish availability.
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Cite this entry
API Token Prices. “How to choose.” Content reviewed 12 Nov 2026. https://apitokenprices.com/choosing