AI Cost per User Calculator
Know whether an AI feature costs cents per user—or quietly breaks your pricing.
Estimate your workload
Change the assumptions on the left; read the modeled result on the right.
How to read this estimate
What this calculator is for
For SaaS and consumer AI products, total API spend is less useful than cost per active user. This view helps founders decide whether a feature belongs in a free tier, a usage cap, or a paid plan.
How to read the result
AI cost per active user is the modeled API spend per user. Total API cost multiplies it by active users. AI cost as % of price compares it with the subscription price; the gross margin figure excludes all costs other than model API charges.
The math
Cost per active user = estimated monthly API spend ÷ monthly active users; usage is estimated as messages per user per day × 30 days.
Pricing sources
Rates use the published TokenCOGS pricing registry and its September 16, 2026 fallback snapshot. Live values may differ; see methodology and source limitations before procurement.
Planning limitations
Actual invoices can differ because providers may apply long-context pricing, caching rules, batch rates, tool-call fees, regional processing, negotiated contracts, taxes, or future pricing changes. Treat the output as a planning estimate.
Use it to create scenarios and catch order-of-magnitude mistakes. Before committing spend, verify the selected model's live provider pricing and compare the estimate with actual usage telemetry.
Is this the same as my product’s gross margin?
No. Hosting, payment fees, support, storage, taxes and other COGS are not included.
What should I include in cost per user?
Start with model API usage, then separately account for hosting, retrieval, storage, observability, support and payment processing.