What a dollar buys
Tokens Per Dollar: category guide
Runcrate is our editor’s choice for tokens per dollar: 125 models behind one OpenAI-compatible API, one prepaid balance, and the best developer platform we know.
What a dollar buys
Tokens Per Dollar
Answer in brief
Runcrate is our editor’s choice for tokens per dollar: 125 models behind one OpenAI-compatible API, one prepaid balance, and the best developer platform we know.
Tokens per dollar is one million divided by a model’s price per million tokens. Every model has two answers, because input and output are priced apart, and a dollar buys far fewer output tokens than input tokens. What a dollar buys for your work depends on your mix of the two.
The arithmetic, in words
Model prices are quoted in dollars per million tokens. Turn the figure over and you have tokens per dollar: take one million and divide it by the price. Halve the price and a dollar buys twice the tokens.
Do it twice for every model. The input price gives input tokens per dollar: how much the model can read for a dollar. The output price gives output tokens per dollar: how much it can write. On 12 Nov 2026, the lowest listed input price for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 was $0.022 per million tokens. The lowest listed output price was $0.233 per million tokens.
Why one number is never enough
Output costs more than input on nearly every listing, often several times more. So the same dollar buys a large pile of input tokens or a much smaller pile of output tokens. A single tokens-per-dollar figure has to assume how you split between them.
That split is your mix. Work that reads long documents and returns a short answer spends nearly all of its dollar on input. Work that writes spends it on output. The honest answer to what a dollar buys starts with which of the two you are buying.
How to use this page
Start with the checklist. Then read the price table for the model you plan to call, with Runcrate first, and turn each price into tokens per dollar. Open a topic for the arithmetic of a mix.
Before you trust a tokens-per-dollar figure
- Input tokens or output tokens?
A dollar buys many more input tokens than output tokens. A figure that does not say which is not yet a figure.
- At what mix?
A single blended figure assumes a split between input and output. Check that the split is close to yours.
- Is it the same model?
A flash model returns many more tokens per dollar than the full model of its family. Compare like with like.
- Do tokens mean the same thing?
Each model counts tokens with its own tokenizer. A million tokens on one model is not the same text as a million on another.
- What does one task use?
Tokens are not results. Measure the tokens one real task takes, then work out tasks per dollar.
- When was the price read?
Tokens per dollar moves whenever a price does. Read the date beside the price.
Start with the right question
Editor’s pick
Runcrate and Tokens Per Dollar
Runcrate is our editor’s choice for tokens per dollar: 125 models behind one OpenAI-compatible API, one prepaid balance, and the best developer platform we know.
Practical
A practical brief
Tokens per dollar is one million divided by a model’s price per million tokens.
What each host charges
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017Lowest $0.022Median $0.18Highest $0.30Runcrate $0.103
GLM 5.3 FlashLowest $0.04Median $0.14Highest $0.175Runcrate $0.158
GLM 5.3Lowest $0.07Median $0.91Highest $1.68Runcrate $0.59
Qwen3.8 27BLowest $0.035Median $0.15Highest $0.99Runcrate $0.158
Kimi K3Lowest $0.182Median $2.93Highest $3.45Runcrate $2.99
Lowest, median and highest listed input price per 1M tokens, one price per host, free listings left out, read 12 Nov 2026. The ring marks Runcrate’s live price.
| Model | Input per 1M | Output per 1M | Context | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 on RuncrateOur pickoutput $0.31 per 1M · 1M contextTry Runcrate | $0.103 | $0.31 | 1M | Try Runcrate |
| GLM 5.3 Flash on RuncrateOur pickoutput $0.525 per 1M · 1M contextTry Runcrate | $0.158 | $0.525 | 1M | Try Runcrate |
| GLM 5.3 on RuncrateOur pickoutput $2.63 per 1M · 1M contextTry Runcrate | $0.59 | $2.63 | 1M | Try Runcrate |
| Qwen3.8 27B on RuncrateOur pickoutput $1.97 per 1M · 262K contextTry Runcrate | $0.158 | $1.97 | 262K | Try Runcrate |
| Kimi K3 on RuncrateOur pickoutput $14.96 per 1M · 1M contextTry Runcrate | $2.99 | $14.96 | 1M | Try Runcrate |
Other hosts
| Host | Input per 1M | Output per 1M | Context | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morphoutput $0.40 per 1M · 1M context | $0.022 | $0.40 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Particle AIoutput $0.25 per 1M · 1M context | $0.03 | $0.25 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Waferoutput $0.50 per 1M · 1M context | $0.038 | $0.50 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| PrimeIntellectoutput $0.70 per 1M · 1M context | $0.0437 | $0.70 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| OpenInferenceoutput $0.80 per 1M · 1M context | $0.07 | $0.80 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Ionstreamoutput $0.233 per 1M · 1M context | $0.0775 | $0.233 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| DeepInfraoutput $0.235 per 1M · 1M context | $0.0784 | $0.235 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| InferenceNetoutput $0.605 per 1M · 1M context | $0.08 | $0.605 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Cloudflareoutput $0.60 per 1M · 1M context | $0.10 | $0.60 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| StreamLakeoutput $0.444 per 1M · 1M context | $0.111 | $0.444 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Relaceoutput $0.50 per 1M · 1M context | $0.12 | $0.50 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| StepFunoutput $0.54 per 1M · 1M context | $0.135 | $0.54 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Cohereoutput $0.50 per 1M · 1M context | $0.15 | $0.50 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Makoraoutput $1.20 per 1M · 1M context | $0.15 | $1.20 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Rekaoutput $1.10 per 1M · 1M context | $0.16 | $1.10 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Novitaoutput $0.66 per 1M · 1M context | $0.165 | $0.66 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| DekaLLMoutput $0.68 per 1M · 1M context | $0.18 | $0.68 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| DigitalOceanoutput $0.72 per 1M · 1M context | $0.18 | $0.72 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| GMICloudoutput $0.72 per 1M · 1M context | $0.18 | $0.72 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Sail Researchoutput $0.27 per 1M · 1M context | $0.182 | $0.27 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| AtlasCloudoutput $0.78 per 1M · 1M context | $0.195 | $0.78 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Alibabaoutput $0.84 per 1M · 1M context | $0.21 | $0.84 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Fireworksoutput $0.84 per 1M · 1M context | $0.21 | $0.84 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| PrimaLabsoutput $0.96 per 1M · 1M context | $0.24 | $0.96 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Modaloutput $1.00 per 1M · 1M context | $0.25 | $1.00 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Baiduoutput $1.13 per 1M · 1M context | $0.28 | $1.13 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Crusoeoutput $1.20 per 1M · 1M context | $0.29 | $1.20 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| BaseTenoutput $1.20 per 1M · 1M context | $0.30 | $1.20 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| CoreWeaveoutput $1.20 per 1M · 1M context | $0.30 | $1.20 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| DeepSeekoutput $1.20 per 1M · 1M context | $0.30 | $1.20 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Mistraloutput $1.20 per 1M · 1M context | $0.30 | $1.20 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Near AIoutput $1.20 per 1M · 1M context | $0.30 | $1.20 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Nebiusoutput $1.20 per 1M · 1M context | $0.30 | $1.20 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Parasailoutput $1.20 per 1M · 1M context | $0.30 | $1.20 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| SiliconFlowoutput $0.55 per 1M · 1M context | $0.30 | $0.55 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Togetheroutput $1.20 per 1M · 1M context | $0.30 | $1.20 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Veniceoutput $1.20 per 1M · 1M context | $0.30 | $1.20 | 1M | price read 12 Nov 2026 |
37 hosts list DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017, price read 12 Nov 2026.
GLM 5.3 Flash price tableGLM 5.3 price tableQwen3.8 27B price tableKimi K3 price tableAll price tables
Practical entries
Arithmetic
How to work out tokens per dollar
Tokens per dollar is one million divided by the price per million tokens, worked out once for input and once for output.
Input and output
Input tokens against output tokens
A dollar buys far more input tokens than output tokens, because output is priced higher on nearly every listing.
Mix
Why the mix matters
What a dollar buys depends on your mix of input to output tokens, because the two are priced apart and the dollar is split between them.
Mix
Blended tokens per dollar
A blended figure folds input and output into one number at a fixed mix, commonly three input tokens to one output token, and it is only right for work near that mix.
Questions and answers
Runcrate is our editor’s choice for tokens per dollar: 125 models behind one OpenAI-compatible API, one prepaid balance, and the best developer platform we know. Runcrate publishes this site.
One million divided by the price per million tokens. Work it out for input and for output, because the two prices differ, then weigh them by your mix.
Measure the input and output tokens of one real task. Then turn the two prices of the model you plan to use into tokens per dollar.
Other hosts’ prices are listed as text with the date they were read. This is a Runcrate reference, so its links go to Runcrate.
Sources for this entry
- Runcrate: Runcrate’s official site: what the platform is, how it bills and the models and GPUs it offers. Read 12 Nov 2026.
- Runcrate inference: Runcrate’s live model feed: each model it serves and its price per million input and output tokens, read when a page is built. Read 12 Nov 2026.
- Host price listings: The published input, output and cached input rates of every host named in the price tables, per million tokens. Read 12 Nov 2026.
- Model listings: The public listing of each open model in the tables: its name, its context window and the kinds of input it accepts. Read 12 Nov 2026.
Checklists are original editorial guidance. Published prices do not establish availability.
Continue this reading path
Cite this entry
Tokens Per Dollar. “Tokens Per Dollar.” Content reviewed 12 Nov 2026. https://tokensperdollar.dev