nCrypt/AI Cost Calculator

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.

Configure my usage View raw pricing →

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.

Primary workload
Heavy coding agents running concurrently
Other concurrent AI workers
Usage pattern
Estimated monthly API usage
Preference
Maximum monthly budget

Recommendation

What should you actually use?

Deterministic rules applied to your inputs above, not a ranked affiliate list. See assumptions on each card. Recommendations are drawn from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google — the three platforms with directly comparable coding-capable subscriptions. xAI, DeepSeek and OpenRouter are shown below for cost and API comparison.

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.

Major AI platforms: OpenAI · Anthropic · Google · xAI. Alternative / multi-model options: DeepSeek · OpenRouter (a multi-model router, not a model vendor — it doesn't build the models it serves).

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.

// Free AI Stack Review

Want help choosing the right AI setup?

nCrypt offers a free 20-minute review of your AI subscriptions, API usage, workflows and automation opportunities — pick a time that works.

Methodology

Pricing sources — last checked September 2026

    Prices shown in USD and exclude taxes. Providers can change pricing, quotas and model availability without notice.