Last updated: April 5, 2026 · Pricing & Deployment · by Daniel Ashford

What is LLM API Pricing?

QUICK ANSWER

The cost of using language models, typically measured in dollars per million tokens.

Definition

LLM API pricing is the cost structure for using language models via their APIs. Most providers charge per token, with separate rates for input tokens and output tokens. Prices are quoted per million tokens.

How It Works

Pricing ranges from $0.15 per million tokens (Gemini Flash, GPT-4o Mini) to $75 per million output tokens (Claude Opus 4). Input tokens are 3-5x cheaper than output tokens. Cost optimization strategies include prompt caching, model routing, and batch processing.

Example

Processing 1 million tokens with Claude Opus 4 costs $15 for input and $75 for output. The same with DeepSeek V3 costs $0.55 and $2.19 — a 30x difference.

Related Terms

Tokens
The basic units of text that LLMs process — roughly 3/4 of a word.
Input Tokens
The tokens in your prompt that the model reads — cheaper than output tokens.
Output Tokens
The tokens the model generates in its response — the most expensive part of API usage.
API (Application Programming Interface)
The technical interface that lets your software send prompts to an LLM and receive responses.

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Daniel Ashford
Founder & Lead Evaluator · 200+ models evaluated