APICalculators
Show HN: I built a free API cost calculator after a $340 surprise invoice
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What is APICalculators?
APICalculators is a free, privacy-first hub of 16 interactive cost calculators for modern developer infrastructure. The tool helps developers and product teams estimate monthly API spend before it hits their credit card, covering LLM token costs, vector database pricing, AI image generation, payment processor fees, cloud VPS, serverless computing, auth providers, AI coding tools, and embedding APIs.
The main LLM Token & API Cost Calculator lets users enter three variables—input tokens per request, output tokens per request, and monthly request volume—to compute total cost using current June 2026 USD pricing. It supports GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4 nano, Claude Sonnet 4.6, and Gemini 3.5 Flash. GPT-5.5 costs $5.00 per million input tokens and $30 per million output tokens, while GPT-5.4 nano at $0.20/$1.25 per 1M is the most affordable OpenAI option in 2026.
Key features include real-time cost estimation for 11+ API categories (Vector Database, Image Generation, Payment Processor, Cloud VPS, STT/TTS, Serverless, API Gateway, Embedding, AI Agent, AI Coding Tool, Auth Provider), side-by-side provider comparisons (Pinecone vs Supabase vs Qdrant, Stripe vs Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy, Hetzner vs DigitalOcean vs Vultr), and browser-only execution with zero data sent to third parties.
The tool is designed for engineers who hate surprise invoices—developers building production AI applications, product teams budgeting infrastructure costs, indie SaaS builders comparing payment processors, and technical decision-makers evaluating cloud providers before shipping to production. Every calculator uses published, public pay-as-you-go pricing sourced directly from each provider's official pricing page, updated monthly.
APICalculators pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
APICalculators is and always will be free to use. All 16 calculators are completely free with zero signup required. The site is supported by display advertising and affiliate partnerships with infrastructure providers. No paywalls, no email requirements, no paid tiers—everything is a public resource.
APICalculators pros
- 16 free calculators covering all major AI infrastructure categories
- Zero signup required—no email or account needed
- Privacy-first: all calculators run entirely in your browser
- Current June 2026 USD pricing updated monthly
- Sources pricing directly from official provider pages
- Real-time cost estimation with three simple input variables
- Supports GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4 nano, Claude Sonnet 4.6, Gemini 3.5 Flash
- Side-by-side provider comparisons (Pinecone vs Supabase, Stripe vs Paddle)
- GPT-5.4 nano identified as 97% cheaper than GPT-5.5 for high-volume
- Covers vector databases, image generation, payment processors, VPS, serverless
- No tracking of user inputs beyond basic analytics
- No cookies beyond basic analytics
- Transparent simplified pricing models for complex multi-dimensional pricing
- Affiliate links never influence calculator math or comparisons
- Available in 4 languages (English, German, French, and more)
- Fast one-page sanity-check before shipping to production
- No spreadsheets required for infrastructure cost estimation
APICalculators cons
- Does not include fine-tuning costs in LLM calculations
- No batch discount pricing included in calculations
- Enterprise contract pricing not supported (varies by customer)
- Outputs labeled as estimates, not falsely precise figures
- Supported by display advertising (may show ads on site)
- Some affiliate partnerships exist (though disclosed)
- No mobile app—browser-only web interface
- Limited to pay-as-you-go pricing models only
- No custom pricing input for negotiated enterprise rates
Frequently asked questions about APICalculators
Is APICalculators free to use?
Yes, all calculators are entirely free and require no registration. APICalculators is and always will be free to use. There are no paywalls, no email requirements, and no paid tiers.
Do I need to sign up or create an account?
No signup is required. Zero signups are needed for any of the 16 calculators. You can use all tools immediately without creating an account or providing an email address.
What data do you collect when I use the calculators?
APICalculators is built privacy-first. The site never sees the numbers you enter. All calculators run entirely in your browser. No accounts, no tracking of inputs, and no cookies beyond basic analytics. They do not sell user data.
How often do you update the pricing data?
Prices are reviewed and updated monthly. When a provider changes pricing mid-cycle, APICalculators updates within days. Every calculator uses published, public pay-as-you-go pricing sourced directly from each provider's official pricing page.
What LLM models are covered in the main calculator?
The main LLM calculator supports GPT-5.5 ($5.00/$30 per 1M input/output tokens), GPT-5.4 nano ($0.20/$1.25 per 1M), Claude Sonnet 4.6, and Gemini 3.5 Flash. Pricing is current June 2026 USD.
What is the cheapest LLM API for high-volume applications?
For high-volume workloads in 2026, GPT-5.4 nano ($0.20/1M input) and Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite ($0.25/1M input) are the most cost-effective capable options. Claude Haiku 4.5 ($1.00/$5.00) is competitive when output quality matters more.
How much does GPT-5.5 API cost per 1,000 requests?
At June 2026 pay-as-you-go pricing, GPT-5.5 costs $5.00/1M input tokens and $30/1M output tokens. A typical request with 1,500 input + 500 output tokens costs about $0.0225. For 1,000 such requests, you'd pay approximately $22.50 USD. Using GPT-5.4 nano reduces that cost by ~97%.
Do you include fine-tuning or enterprise pricing in calculations?
No. LLM calculators use the providers' published input/output token prices only. Fine-tuning, batch discounts, and enterprise contract pricing are not included unless explicitly noted, as those vary too much by customer to be useful as defaults.
What infrastructure categories do you cover?
APICalculators covers LLM APIs (GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet, Gemini Flash, Llama), Vector Databases (Pinecone, Supabase, Qdrant, Weaviate, Chroma), AI Image Generation (DALL·E 3, Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, Flux), Payment Processors (Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, PayPal), Cloud VPS & Serverless (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, AWS Lambda, Cloudflare Workers), and Auth Providers (Clerk, Auth0, Supabase Auth, Cognito).
How can I report a bug or request a new calculator?
Email [email protected] or use the contact form. They typically respond within 1–2 business days. For bug reports and feature requests, you can also open an issue on GitHub. They welcome feedback on pricing errors, bugs, or requests for calculators they don't have yet.