$13,259 projected operating premium minus $40,000 upfront implementation. Modeled value-margin effect: -0.7 points.
Free production AI calculator
Calculate AI cost per successful outcome.
Compare a current production workload with an alternative after retries, failed outcomes, human review, operating labor, fixed commitments, quality, and growth are included.
01 / Model the decision
Compare current and alternative production scenarios.
Replace the illustrative defaults with measured workload data. The calculator keeps model usage, review cost, operations, implementation, and successful-outcome rate in the same comparison.
- Two editable scenarios
- Quality-adjusted break-even
- No data leaves this device
Scenario assumptions
Illustrative defaults. Replace them with measured workload data.
Shared inputs
Workload + business value
Scenario A / Current
Workflow
Token, pricing, and operating assumptions
Average tokens / call
Price / 1M tokens
Review + operations
Scenario B / Alternative
Workflow
Token, pricing, and operating assumptions
Average tokens / call
Price / 1M tokens
Review + operations
Retry and value assumptions
Extra retry attempts show the average added calls per planned call: 25% means 1.25 total attempts; 150% means 2.5. Include intentional fan-out in calls per workflow. Value per outcome may represent revenue, avoided cost, or productivity value. Entered value does not represent verified revenue or gross margin. The 12-month projection starts at the entered volume, applies the monthly growth rate, charges implementation upfront, and starts operating savings in the first month.
Calculated comparison
Current frontier API is lower-cost at the modeled volume.
$1,301 modeled monthly operating premium
| Metric | Current frontier API | Routed alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $13,610 | $14,912 |
| Projected 12-month cost | $181,417 | $194,676 |
| Cost / request | $0.4201 | $0.4481 |
| Cost / workflow | $1.361 | $1.4912 |
| Cost / successful outcome | $1.5466 | $1.7339 |
| Modeled value margin | 93.8% | 93.1% |
Requires positive monthly operating savings.
Unavailable without positive volume, savings, and a defined current cost per successful outcome.
Routed alternative is more economic above this volume.
Volume sensitivity
Monthly cost at 80%, 100%, and 120% of the modeled workload.
VolumeCurrent frontier APIRouted alternative
8,000 workflows$11,308$12,909
10,000 workflows$13,610$14,912
12,000 workflows$15,912$16,914
Production data must confirm the modeled savings.
Validate prices, traffic mix, quality, escalation behavior, and operating load against production data before approving a change.
Method version: 2026-09-05.
Included costs
Account for the full cost of each outcome.
A lower token price can be erased by more calls, more retries, lower completion quality, additional human review, or new operating overhead. The calculator shows how each assumption affects the result.
Usage economics
Calls per workflow, token mix, retries, provider prices, fixed platform cost, and expected workload growth.
Human + operating cost
Review frequency, minutes per review, engineering or operator labor, and alternative implementation cost.
Outcome quality
Successful-outcome rate, cost per successful outcome, gross-margin effect, payback, and tolerable quality loss.
Use the result to plan a production test
You still need a benchmark, current provider prices, and production traces. Use those inputs to verify quality and operating safety. The result depends on the assumptions you enter, so use it to define the experiment and its acceptance criteria.
Read the cost-per-outcome guide