Gradually LLM Price Index
What do LLM tokens really cost?
The Gradually LLM Price Index (GLLMPI) makes API prices comparable. You get a transparent market median from a curated selection of publicly priced text and code models with dynamic price bands based on the currently displayed prices.
Current market median
Methodology v2.8
per 1M tokens
- Up to $1 · 132
- $0.263
- Over $1 to $5 · 59
- $1.57
- Over $5 · 23
- $8.00
Source pages checked on September 19, 2026. Prices checked on September 19, 2026. 75% input, 25% output.
Historical index
LLM token price history
The series combines verified historical price checkpoints since September 2022 with daily market observations since August 2026. The first historical checkpoint equals 100 index points.
Input and output prices are weighted by your token mix.
Share of input tokens
75%Open models includes open-source and open-weights models.
Current level
52.60
| Date | LLM Price Index | Market price per 1M tokens | Data basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 1, 2022 | 100.00 | $1.25 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 1, 2023 | 160.00 | $2.00 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 14, 2023 | 160.00 | $2.00 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 10, 2023 | 460.70 | $5.76 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 13, 2023 | 510.70 | $6.38 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 11, 2023 | 787.40 | $9.84 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 11, 2023 | 146.00 | $1.83 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 28, 2023 | 144.00 | $1.80 | Historically reconstructed |
| November 6, 2023 | 144.00 | $1.80 | Historically reconstructed |
| November 13, 2023 | 144.00 | $1.80 | Historically reconstructed |
| November 21, 2023 | 144.00 | $1.80 | Historically reconstructed |
| November 28, 2023 | 144.00 | $1.80 | Historically reconstructed |
| November 29, 2023 | 112.00 | $1.40 | Historically reconstructed |
| November 30, 2023 | 112.00 | $1.40 | Historically reconstructed |
| December 1, 2023 | 112.00 | $1.40 | Historically reconstructed |
| January 4, 2024 | 112.00 | $1.40 | Historically reconstructed |
| January 25, 2024 | 112.00 | $1.40 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 15, 2024 | 144.00 | $1.80 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 21, 2024 | 80.00 | $1.00 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 26, 2024 | 80.00 | $1.00 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 4, 2024 | 80.00 | $1.00 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 5, 2024 | 80.00 | $1.00 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 11, 2024 | 60.00 | $0.75 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 13, 2024 | 60.00 | $0.75 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 4, 2024 | 84.00 | $1.05 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 11, 2024 | 84.00 | $1.05 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 6, 2024 | 68.50 | $0.856 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 7, 2024 | 72.00 | $0.90 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 13, 2024 | 72.00 | $0.90 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 29, 2024 | 77.50 | $0.969 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 30, 2024 | 95.00 | $1.19 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 1, 2024 | 77.50 | $0.969 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 21, 2024 | 77.50 | $0.969 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 18, 2024 | 72.00 | $0.90 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 24, 2024 | 77.50 | $0.969 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 6, 2024 | 77.50 | $0.969 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 12, 2024 | 77.50 | $0.969 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 22, 2024 | 95.00 | $1.19 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 30, 2024 | 80.00 | $1.00 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 5, 2024 | 80.00 | $1.00 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 12, 2024 | 80.00 | $1.00 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 13, 2024 | 80.00 | $1.00 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 17, 2024 | 60.00 | $0.75 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 27, 2024 | 60.00 | $0.75 | Historically reconstructed |
| October 1, 2024 | 60.00 | $0.75 | Historically reconstructed |
| October 14, 2024 | 48.00 | $0.60 | Historically reconstructed |
| October 16, 2024 | 48.00 | $0.60 | Historically reconstructed |
| October 22, 2024 | 48.00 | $0.60 | Historically reconstructed |
| November 6, 2024 | 48.00 | $0.60 | Historically reconstructed |
| December 3, 2024 | 48.00 | $0.60 | Historically reconstructed |
| December 10, 2024 | 48.00 | $0.60 | Historically reconstructed |
| December 12, 2024 | 54.00 | $0.675 | Historically reconstructed |
| December 13, 2024 | 39.00 | $0.488 | Historically reconstructed |
| December 17, 2024 | 39.00 | $0.488 | Historically reconstructed |
| December 26, 2024 | 39.00 | $0.488 | Historically reconstructed |
| January 15, 2025 | 34.00 | $0.425 | Historically reconstructed |
| January 20, 2025 | 45.40 | $0.568 | Historically reconstructed |
| January 31, 2025 | 45.40 | $0.568 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 3, 2025 | 45.40 | $0.568 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 5, 2025 | 45.40 | $0.568 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 8, 2025 | 48.00 | $0.60 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 24, 2025 | 48.00 | $0.60 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 28, 2025 | 48.00 | $0.60 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 13, 2025 | 57.50 | $0.719 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 16, 2025 | 58.75 | $0.734 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 19, 2025 | 58.75 | $0.734 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 4, 2025 | 58.75 | $0.734 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 14, 2025 | 58.75 | $0.734 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 16, 2025 | 58.75 | $0.734 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 17, 2025 | 58.75 | $0.734 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 24, 2025 | 60.00 | $0.75 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 28, 2025 | 68.50 | $0.856 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 7, 2025 | 68.50 | $0.856 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 21, 2025 | 67.25 | $0.841 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 22, 2025 | 67.25 | $0.841 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 6, 2025 | 67.25 | $0.841 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 10, 2025 | 67.25 | $0.841 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 15, 2025 | 57.50 | $0.719 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 16, 2025 | 57.50 | $0.719 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 17, 2025 | 57.50 | $0.719 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 10, 2025 | 57.50 | $0.719 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 14, 2025 | 57.50 | $0.719 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 15, 2025 | 57.50 | $0.719 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 18, 2025 | 54.25 | $0.678 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 21, 2025 | 54.25 | $0.678 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 22, 2025 | 54.25 | $0.678 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 28, 2025 | 54.25 | $0.678 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 30, 2025 | 54.25 | $0.678 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 1, 2025 | 57.50 | $0.719 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 5, 2025 | 57.50 | $0.719 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 7, 2025 | 57.50 | $0.719 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 11, 2025 | 54.25 | $0.678 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 12, 2025 | 54.25 | $0.678 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 28, 2025 | 54.25 | $0.678 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 1, 2025 | 54.25 | $0.678 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 15, 2025 | 54.25 | $0.678 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 19, 2025 | 49.50 | $0.619 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 29, 2025 | 49.50 | $0.619 | Historically reconstructed |
| October 6, 2025 | 49.50 | $0.619 | Historically reconstructed |
| October 15, 2025 | 51.00 | $0.638 | Historically reconstructed |
| October 27, 2025 | 45.70 | $0.571 | Historically reconstructed |
| October 28, 2025 | 45.70 | $0.571 | Historically reconstructed |
| November 6, 2025 | 45.70 | $0.571 | Historically reconstructed |
| November 13, 2025 | 45.70 | $0.571 | Historically reconstructed |
| November 19, 2025 | 45.70 | $0.571 | Historically reconstructed |
| November 24, 2025 | 45.70 | $0.571 | Historically reconstructed |
| December 2, 2025 | 45.70 | $0.571 | Historically reconstructed |
| December 11, 2025 | 45.70 | $0.571 | Historically reconstructed |
| January 5, 2026 | 45.70 | $0.571 | Historically reconstructed |
| January 26, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 5, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 12, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 17, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| February 19, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 5, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 16, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 17, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| March 26, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 16, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 20, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 24, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| April 28, 2026 | 44.35 | $0.554 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 15, 2026 | 51.60 | $0.645 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 28, 2026 | 51.60 | $0.645 | Historically reconstructed |
| May 29, 2026 | 51.60 | $0.645 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 1, 2026 | 62.75 | $0.784 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 2, 2026 | 64.00 | $0.80 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 15, 2026 | 64.00 | $0.80 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 18, 2026 | 68.00 | $0.85 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 25, 2026 | 68.00 | $0.85 | Historically reconstructed |
| June 30, 2026 | 68.00 | $0.85 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 9, 2026 | 68.00 | $0.85 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 15, 2026 | 68.00 | $0.85 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 16, 2026 | 68.00 | $0.85 | Historically reconstructed |
| July 30, 2026 | 68.00 | $0.85 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 1, 2026 | 68.00 | $0.85 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 3, 2026 | 68.00 | $0.85 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 5, 2026 | 68.00 | $0.85 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 11, 2026 | 64.00 | $0.80 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 12, 2026 | 64.00 | $0.80 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 13, 2026 | 77.00 | $0.963 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 14, 2026 | 105.25 | $1.32 | Daily observation |
| August 15, 2026 | 105.25 | $1.32 | Daily observation |
| August 16, 2026 | 110.75 | $1.38 | Daily observation |
| August 17, 2026 | 110.75 | $1.38 | Daily observation |
| August 18, 2026 | 110.75 | $1.38 | Daily observation |
| August 19, 2026 | 110.75 | $1.38 | Daily observation |
| August 20, 2026 | 110.75 | $1.38 | Daily observation |
| August 21, 2026 | 77.00 | $0.963 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 22, 2026 | 42.00 | $0.525 | Daily observation |
| August 23, 2026 | 42.00 | $0.525 | Daily observation |
| August 24, 2026 | 50.20 | $0.628 | Daily observation |
| August 25, 2026 | 50.20 | $0.628 | Daily observation |
| August 26, 2026 | 50.20 | $0.628 | Daily observation |
| August 27, 2026 | 48.02 | $0.60 | Daily observation |
| August 28, 2026 | 50.20 | $0.628 | Daily observation |
| August 29, 2026 | 48.02 | $0.60 | Daily observation |
| August 30, 2026 | 77.00 | $0.963 | Historically reconstructed |
| August 31, 2026 | 77.00 | $0.963 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 1, 2026 | 77.00 | $0.963 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 2, 2026 | 48.02 | $0.60 | Daily observation |
| September 3, 2026 | 48.02 | $0.60 | Daily observation |
| September 4, 2026 | 48.02 | $0.60 | Daily observation |
| September 5, 2026 | 48.02 | $0.60 | Daily observation |
| September 6, 2026 | 48.02 | $0.60 | Daily observation |
| September 7, 2026 | 48.02 | $0.60 | Daily observation |
| September 8, 2026 | 48.02 | $0.60 | Daily observation |
| September 9, 2026 | 90.00 | $1.13 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 10, 2026 | 90.00 | $1.13 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 11, 2026 | 90.00 | $1.13 | Historically reconstructed |
| September 12, 2026 | 49.01 | $0.613 | Daily observation |
| September 13, 2026 | 49.01 | $0.613 | Daily observation |
| September 14, 2026 | 49.01 | $0.613 | Daily observation |
| September 15, 2026 | 49.01 | $0.613 | Daily observation |
| September 16, 2026 | 49.01 | $0.613 | Daily observation |
| September 17, 2026 | 49.01 | $0.613 | Daily observation |
| September 18, 2026 | 52.60 | $0.658 | Daily observation |
| September 19, 2026 | 52.60 | $0.658 | Daily observation |
The historical index begins on September 1, 2022. Each checkpoint uses the model generation available at that time. Values since August 14, 2026 come from the automated daily refresh.
Task costs
What does one coding benchmark task cost?
These published coding measurements spread each configuration’s total API cost estimate across all 89 tasks in the benchmark.
Page-wide filters select current model families. Input, output, and token mix still determine current token prices and price bands, but do not reprice these published test costs.
9 model families with 12 published configurations in your selection. Comparable measurements are not available here for the other selected models.
Grok 4.5
Cursor CLI · high
$1.51
Per benchmark task
Gemini 3.1 Pro
Terminus 2 · high
$2.58
Per benchmark task
Gemini 3.1 Pro
Gemini CLI · high
$2.66
Per benchmark task
GPT-5.6 Luna
Codex · max
$2.71
Per benchmark task
GLM-5.1
Claude Code · max
$3.11
Per benchmark task
Claude Sonnet 5
Claude Code · high
$3.24
Per benchmark task
GPT-5.6 Terra
Codex · max
$4.73
Per benchmark task
Claude Fable 5
Terminus 2 · high
$4.93
Per benchmark task
GPT-5.5
Terminus 2 · xhigh
$5.55
Per benchmark task
Claude Fable 5
Claude Code · xhigh
$6.21
Per benchmark task
Claude Opus 4.7
Terminus 2 · max
$6.54
Per benchmark task
GPT-5.5
Codex · xhigh
$23.14
Per benchmark task
Inspect the test protocol and calculation
We divide the total published API cost estimate for a configuration by the benchmark’s 89 tasks. The dataset reports 445 trials in total, but does not disclose their task-level distribution or cost telemetry. When cost telemetry is missing for a trial, the published total may count it as $0. We therefore do not present a supposedly exact cost per successfully solved task.
| Model and configuration | Tasks | Runs | Total API cost | Per benchmark task |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grok 4.5Cursor CLI · high | 89 | 445 | $134.09 | $1.51 |
| Gemini 3.1 ProTerminus 2 · high | 89 | 445 | $229.99 | $2.58 |
| Gemini 3.1 ProGemini CLI · high | 89 | 445 | $236.49 | $2.66 |
| GPT-5.6 LunaCodex · max | 89 | 445 | $241.45 | $2.71 |
| GLM-5.1Claude Code · max | 89 | 445 | $277.14 | $3.11 |
| Claude Sonnet 5Claude Code · high | 89 | 445 | $288.18 | $3.24 |
| GPT-5.6 TerraCodex · max | 89 | 445 | $421.15 | $4.73 |
| Claude Fable 5Terminus 2 · high | 89 | 445 | $438.64 | $4.93 |
| GPT-5.5Terminus 2 · xhigh | 89 | 445 | $493.85 | $5.55 |
| Claude Fable 5Claude Code · xhigh | 89 | 445 | $552.67 | $6.21 |
| Claude Opus 4.7Terminus 2 · max | 89 | 445 | $582.26 | $6.54 |
| GPT-5.5Codex · xhigh | 89 | 445 | $2,059.19 | $23.14 |
Published costs are estimates for the respective configuration, not audited invoices. The model, agent, reasoning budget, and environment differ. Results apply to these coding tasks, not arbitrary workflows. Human review and additional operating costs are not included.
Benchmark data as of September 3, 2026.
Data retrieved September 19, 2026.
Forecast
How LLM API prices could evolve
Three paths with declining prices and a separate cost stress case begin with the latest verified median of your selection and extend through September 19, 2029. They show possible market paths, not a pricing commitment.
Latest verified median of your selection
$0.658
per 1M tokens
- Horizon
- 36 months
- Price index, base value = 100
- 100
- Anchor date
- September 19, 2026
Scenario range
Slower price decline
20% per year
$0.34
September 19, 2029
Base scenario
40% per year
$0.14
September 19, 2029
Faster price decline
60% per year
$0.04
September 19, 2029
A forecast is not a price commitment. New model generations, hardware costs, competition, demand, and pricing policy can materially change the outcome.
Stress scenario
Cost and capacity stress
This stress case is not a prediction. It assumes persistently high demand for advanced compute, constrained power and accelerator capacity, and greater pass-through of infrastructure and financing costs.
- Assumption
- API prices rising by 35% per year
- Price after 36 months
- 2.46× · $1.62
A correction in AI capital markets would not automatically raise prices. Weaker demand and excess capacity could push them lower. The upward path requires demand to remain high while capital becomes more expensive and capacity stays constrained.
Why this range?
API prices for a fixed capability level have sometimes fallen by orders of magnitude. The GLLMPI, however, covers the entire market, including new premium models. The forecast therefore uses much more cautious annual declines of 20%, 40%, and 60%.
- What pushes prices down
- More compute per watt, smaller models with comparable quality, sparse architectures, quantization, better utilization, and faster decoding reduce cost per token. Competition increases the pressure to pass those gains on.
- What can slow the decline
- Longer contexts, reasoning, and agent runs consume more input and output tokens. Scarce data center capacity, rising electricity demand, high demand, and premium pricing can delay price reductions.
- What the chart forecasts
- The base API price per 1M tokens for the current selection. It does not forecast total cost per task, cache, batch, volume, or contract pricing, and it is not a guarantee for individual models.
| Date | Slower price decline | Base scenario | Faster price decline | Cost and capacity stress |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 19, 2026 | $0.66 | $0.66 | $0.66 | $0.66 |
| October 19, 2026 | $0.65 | $0.63 | $0.61 | $0.67 |
| November 19, 2026 | $0.63 | $0.60 | $0.56 | $0.69 |
| December 19, 2026 | $0.62 | $0.58 | $0.52 | $0.71 |
| January 19, 2027 | $0.61 | $0.55 | $0.48 | $0.73 |
| February 19, 2027 | $0.60 | $0.53 | $0.45 | $0.75 |
| March 19, 2027 | $0.59 | $0.51 | $0.42 | $0.76 |
| April 19, 2027 | $0.58 | $0.49 | $0.39 | $0.78 |
| May 19, 2027 | $0.57 | $0.47 | $0.36 | $0.80 |
| June 19, 2027 | $0.56 | $0.45 | $0.33 | $0.82 |
| July 19, 2027 | $0.55 | $0.43 | $0.31 | $0.84 |
| August 19, 2027 | $0.54 | $0.41 | $0.28 | $0.87 |
| September 19, 2027 | $0.53 | $0.39 | $0.26 | $0.89 |
| October 19, 2027 | $0.52 | $0.38 | $0.24 | $0.91 |
| November 19, 2027 | $0.51 | $0.36 | $0.23 | $0.93 |
| December 19, 2027 | $0.50 | $0.35 | $0.21 | $0.96 |
| January 19, 2028 | $0.49 | $0.33 | $0.19 | $0.98 |
| February 19, 2028 | $0.48 | $0.32 | $0.18 | $1.01 |
| March 19, 2028 | $0.47 | $0.31 | $0.17 | $1.03 |
| April 19, 2028 | $0.46 | $0.29 | $0.15 | $1.06 |
| May 19, 2028 | $0.45 | $0.28 | $0.14 | $1.08 |
| June 19, 2028 | $0.44 | $0.27 | $0.13 | $1.11 |
| July 19, 2028 | $0.44 | $0.26 | $0.12 | $1.14 |
| August 19, 2028 | $0.43 | $0.25 | $0.11 | $1.17 |
| September 19, 2028 | $0.42 | $0.24 | $0.11 | $1.20 |
| October 19, 2028 | $0.41 | $0.23 | $0.10 | $1.23 |
| November 19, 2028 | $0.41 | $0.22 | $0.09 | $1.26 |
| December 19, 2028 | $0.40 | $0.21 | $0.08 | $1.29 |
| January 19, 2029 | $0.39 | $0.20 | $0.08 | $1.32 |
| February 19, 2029 | $0.38 | $0.19 | $0.07 | $1.36 |
| March 19, 2029 | $0.38 | $0.18 | $0.07 | $1.39 |
| April 19, 2029 | $0.37 | $0.18 | $0.06 | $1.43 |
| May 19, 2029 | $0.36 | $0.17 | $0.06 | $1.46 |
| June 19, 2029 | $0.36 | $0.16 | $0.05 | $1.50 |
| July 19, 2029 | $0.35 | $0.15 | $0.05 | $1.54 |
| August 19, 2029 | $0.34 | $0.15 | $0.05 | $1.58 |
| September 19, 2029 | $0.34 | $0.14 | $0.04 | $1.62 |
Price range
How far apart the models in the index really are
Each bar shows the blended list price per 1M tokens at the selected input share.
214 models match the current filters.
GPT-5.4 Pro
OpenAIUnited StatesOver $5
$67.50
GPT-5.5 Pro
OpenAIUnited StatesOver $5
$67.50
GPT-5 pro
OpenAIUnited StatesOver $5
$41.25
o3-pro
OpenAIUnited StatesOver $5
$35.00
o1
OpenAIUnited StatesOver $5
$26.25
Claude Fable 5
AnthropicUnited StatesOver $5
$20.00
Claude Fable 5.1
AnthropicUnited StatesOver $5
$20.00
Claude Mythos 5
AnthropicUnited StatesOver $5
$20.00
Claude Mythos 5.1
AnthropicUnited StatesOver $5
$20.00
GPT-6 Astra
OpenAIUnited StatesOver $5
$20.00
ChatGPT chat-latest
OpenAIUnited StatesOver $5
$11.25
GPT-5.5
OpenAIUnited StatesOver $5
$11.25
Claude Opus 4.5
AnthropicUnited StatesOver $5
$10.00
Claude Opus 4.6
AnthropicUnited StatesOver $5
$10.00
Claude Opus 4.7
AnthropicUnited StatesOver $5
$10.00
Claude Opus 5
AnthropicUnited StatesOver $5
$10.00
GPT-5.6 Sol
OpenAIUnited StatesOver $5
$8.80
Claude Sonnet 4.5
AnthropicUnited StatesOver $5
$6.00
Country comparison
Price by country
Each country value is the median of its provider medians, so a provider with many model variants does not count more heavily.
Country attribution follows the model developer’s headquarters, not the location of the data center.
Canada
4 models, 1 provider
Median price
$2.32
United States
97 models, 14 providers
Median price
$0.85
China
96 models, 13 providers
Median price
$0.628
South Korea
4 models, 1 provider
Median price
$0.263
France
13 models, 1 provider
Median price
$0.15
What the number means
A market benchmark you can recalculate
The index is deliberately not a mysterious financial ticker. You can inspect every model, price, and calculation rule. Change the token mix and the benchmark moves for a reason you can see.
- Lowest-cost model
- $0.025
- Highest-cost model
- $67.50
- Price multiple
- 2,700×
Mistral Nemo
GPT-5.4 Pro
between the lowest-cost and highest-cost model
View every model and price
Verification scope
Checked daily, published in aggregate
The exact source composition remains editorial know-how. Scope, freshness, methodology, and validation rules remain publicly verifiable.
- source systems
- 18
- checked price points
- 18,740
- Last checked
- on September 19, 2026
The index covers 214 selected models from 15 pricing catalogs and 30 provider groups. Only complete input and output observations count.
Methodology
How the Gradually LLM Price Index is calculated
The calculation is intentionally simple. You can verify the benchmark yourself and see immediately what it captures and what it leaves out.
- 01
Define the model selection
The current index includes publicly priced text and code models available through an active developer API or API provider and marked as current in Gradually's central pricing database. Each historical checkpoint uses a time-specific model selection available at that date. If a verified direct developer price is unavailable for a historical model, a dated public cloud or hosting tariff with a complete input and output price pair may be used as an exception. Specialized image, audio, embedding, and moderation models are excluded.
- 02
Load current token prices
The daily job collects several concrete input and output tariffs for each model. It selects one genuinely available price pair near the median of trusted primary, gateway, and independent sources. For time-based tariffs, the regular input and output prices are the off-peak baseline. The index does not switch by the current clock time, so current and historical points stay comparable. Community catalogs act as cross-checks. Nothing is published if a selected model has no price at all.
- 03
Show price bands
Price bands use the currently displayed price per 1M tokens. Up to $1 is low, over $1 to $5 is mid, and over $5 is high. Switching between input, output, and blended prices recalculates every model's band.
- 04
Balance providers fairly
A separate median is calculated for each provider first. The overall index is then calculated from those provider medians, so a provider with many variants does not carry more weight.
What the index does not capture
The index uses the public base tier of API list prices. For time-based tariffs, that base tier is the off-peak rate. The index does not switch in real time by the clock, so current and historical points remain comparable on the same basis. It excludes context-based pricing tiers, regional price differences, negotiated discounts, caching, batch processing, request fees, search queries, citation and reasoning-token surcharges, self-hosted models, taxes, and real provider usage shares. Historical provider coverage is narrower before May 2024. Changes in the available model composition can also affect the series. The curated selection covers major providers, but not every API and hosting service in the market. The observed index series is a comparison benchmark, not a financial index. The separate forecast section shows scenarios only.
Want to calculate your actual API costs?
The index shows the market. For one specific model and your exact workflow, the full API cost calculator is the better tool.
Frequently asked questions about the LLM Price Index
Short, honest answers
Changelog
Muse Spark 1.3 and Qwen models refreshed
- Added Muse Spark 1.3 to the current market selection in place of the superseded 1.2 version
- Updated Qwen 3.8 Max to the 0902 snapshot while retaining the current global Alibaba rates
- Added Qwen 3.8 Flash to the small segment with Alibaba's official tariff and separately observed market rates
- Avoided treating Qwen 3.8 Flash Next as a second API tariff because QwenCloud serves the same open weights as Qwen3.8 Flash
- Kept Gemini 3.8 Flash Cyber out of price statistics because no public API price is available
- Refreshed official, router, and market sources for 217 current models
Daily refresh safeguards strengthened
- Excluded models that disappeared from public API availability from the current market selection
- Added structured fallback tariffs for KAT Coder models and restored the complete source refresh
- Closed three missed daily snapshots with the last fully verified market state and labelled them as reconstructed
- Added task costs to the public deployment fingerprint and independent freshness check
- Disclosed the limitation of missing cost telemetry in published task-cost measurements
Current benchmark-cost coverage expanded
- Replaced the previous historical selection with 12 current agent and model configurations across 9 model families
- Distributed each published total cost transparently across the benchmark’s 89 coding tasks
- Documented the 445 published trials per configuration without claiming an unsupported task-level distribution
- Disclosed missing cost telemetry as a limitation of the published totals
- Added a daily, failure-tolerant refresh with a dedicated failure alert for the supplementary task-cost snapshot
Cost per successfully solved task
- Added historical coding runs with API cost per solved task and the corresponding success rate
- Used actual success counts rather than rounded percentages in the calculation
- Separated tested configurations, test dates, and cost estimates from current token prices
- Connected model selection to the page-wide filters and explicitly identified missing test coverage
Added a scenario forecast
- Added a new forecast section with three-year scenario charts
- Shows slower, base, and faster price declines at 20%, 40%, and 60% per year as separate scenarios
- Added cost and capacity stress at 35% annual price growth as a separate, explicitly non-consensus stress case
- Global filters now determine the latest verified anchor rate and every projected dollar amount
- Added a scenario range, a screen-reader table, and a clear uncertainty notice
- The methodology now covers historical price trends, hardware efficiency, serving methods, and countervailing cost drivers
Market and historical coverage expanded
- Added 20 current models and variants across additional families
- The current selection now covers 213 models and variants, including 131 open models across 31 provider groups
- Expanded the historical reconstruction to 142 verified price checkpoints since September 2022
- Added historical Seed, Qwen, Solar, Grok, and Gemini tariffs backed by dated primary evidence
- Separated the global Qwen 3.8 Max tariff cleanly from regional tariffs
- Corrected the direct Inkling Small tariff and the current Muse Glimmer 30B prices
- Daily validation now covers 213 models, 878 router tariffs, and more than 15,700 complete market prices
- Added local provider marks for Meituan and Thinking Machines Lab
Historical index, filters, and FAQ corrected
- The Open models selection now shows the matching historical data instead of an empty state
- The Max view reflects verified market and price movements instead of remaining at 100 index points
- Provider, country, access, and price-band filters now also affect the historical series
- Added historical model types as well as legacy providers and their country attribution
- The custom range now begins and ends at the first and last available checkpoint for the selection
- The current selection covers 193 models and variants, including 125 open models across 27 provider groups
- Added regression coverage for German, English, desktop, and mobile views
- The FAQ now uses the same accessible accordion component as the LLM comparison
- Removed the redundant formula block from the methodology section
Filters, country comparison, and open-weight coverage expanded
- Filter providers individually or in combination using provider icons
- Select open and proprietary models separately
- Filter and sort models by the country where each provider is headquartered
- Added a dedicated section with a provider-balanced median price for each country
- Country values respond to price view, price band, provider, and model access filters
- Added 106 open-weight models across major model families
- The current selection now covers 190 models and variants, including 125 open models
- Added active, older, multimodal, reasoning, and coding variants that still have available API tariffs
- Four additional structured source systems increase the number of price points checked every day
- Added Meta, Microsoft, and NVIDIA with country attribution and local provider icons
- Price bands, sorting, and the model list stay consistent for every selection
Daily source and historical coverage expanded
- 15 source systems now provide usable daily price observations
- Removed an unnecessary configuration requirement for publicly available pricing data
- Added 114 dated reconstructed index checkpoints since March 2023
- Captured 149 verified price intervals across 18 provider groups
- Refined early pricing phases and documented model retirements
Historical price series expanded and refined
- Added 97 dated reconstructed index checkpoints since March 2023
- Added more model generations and provider groups with verified USD price pairs
- Captured price starts, price changes, and model retirements as separate events
- Removed unsupported backdating and corrected event dates
- Modelled price changes as separate, non-overlapping validity intervals
- Clearly separated reconstructed values from daily observed values
- Added long-term views for the overall index and the model classes used at the time
Daily market observations introduced
- Added separate histories for input, output, and blended token prices
- Added multi-stage price verification and automated publication
Daily refresh automated
- Scheduled price verification twice per day
- Added validation and production checks after each refresh
LLM Price Index launched
- Launched the overall index and the three model classes used at the time
- Published input, output, and blended price views