AI Plan & API Cost Calculator
September 2026 — compare subscriptions, API pricing and hybrid setups based on how you actually use AI.
Pricing changes quickly. Last verified September 2026.
Configurator
Tell us how you actually use AI
Pick a preset to start fast, then adjust anything. Recommendations update instantly. Your setup is saved in the URL so you can share it.
Recommendation
What should you actually use?
Deterministic rules applied to your inputs above, not a ranked affiliate list. See assumptions on each card.
Compare against your current setup (optional)
Provider comparison
Consumer subscriptions vs API pricing
A subscription is a usage allowance, not a token budget — providers don't publish a direct token equivalent for Pro/Plus/Ultra plans. Use the subscription for sustained interactive use, and the API table below for anything you're metering, automating or running in parallel.
Consumer subscriptions
Subscription quotas (messages/usage caps) are set by each provider and are not published as a fixed token allowance. Treat the API table as the only ground truth for cost-per-token; treat the subscription table as an interactive-use budget cap.
API pricing
API cost calculator
Raw API cost calculator
monthly cost = (input tokens / 1,000,000 × input price) + (output tokens / 1,000,000 × output price)
Editorial
Subscription vs PAYG: the rule of thumb
- Subscriptions are attractive for sustained, interactive, single-user work — a coding assistant you talk to all day benefits from a flat fee.
- API/PAYG pricing is excellent for bounded, parallel or automated work — background jobs, batch extraction, multiple concurrent agents — where cost tracks exactly with tokens used.
- Hybrid setups — one subscription for the primary interactive assistant, API for everything else — often produce the best cost/capability balance.
- Paying for multiple premium subscriptions (e.g. Claude Max and ChatGPT Pro at once) usually buys duplicated capacity rather than duplicated capability.
- Model routing — sending simple/background work to a small model and reserving frontier models for high-stakes tasks — can materially lower total AI spend.
We don't quote a universal break-even point: it depends on your token volume and concurrency, which is exactly what the calculator above derives from your own inputs.
Want this configured for your business?
nCrypt designs AI workflows, model routing and automation for small teams — and trims subscription/API spend that isn't earning its keep.
Methodology
Pricing sources — last checked September 2026
Prices shown in USD and exclude taxes. Providers can change pricing, quotas and model availability without notice.