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Price Per TokenPrice Per Token
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Price Per Token

Subscription vs API Cost Calculator

Is ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro worth it? Input your usage and instantly see whether a subscription or pay-per-token API access is cheaper for you.

OpenClaw

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Longer prompt, thorough response

800 input + 1500 output tokens/msg

OpenAI

Full OpenAI analysis

At your usage, the API saves you $9.80/month

Your estimated API cost is $10.20/mo compared to ChatGPT Plus at $20.00/mo. The API gives you full flexibility with no rate limits.

Note: Subscriptions include features not available via API (web browsing, file uploads, custom GPTs, etc.)

API

Best Value

$10.20/mo

GPT-4o via API

Pay per token used

No rate limits

Full API access

ChatGPT Free

Free

Saves $10.20/mo vs API

May exceed rate limits

Limited GPT-4o access
  • GPT-4o mini
  • Limited GPT-4o
  • Web browsing
  • Limited file uploads

ChatGPT Plus

$20/mo

$9.80/mo more than API

  • GPT-4o
  • GPT-4o mini
  • o1
  • o3-mini

ChatGPT Pro

$200/mo

$189.80/mo more than API

  • Unlimited GPT-4o
  • Unlimited o1
  • o1 pro mode
  • Unlimited Advanced Data Analysis

Anthropic

Full Anthropic analysis

At your usage, Claude Free saves you $14.94/month

Claude Free costs $0.0000/mo vs $14.94/mo for API.

Note: Subscriptions include features not available via API (web browsing, file uploads, custom GPTs, etc.)

API

$14.94/mo

Claude Sonnet 4.5 via API

Pay per token used

No rate limits

Full API access

Claude Free

Best Value

Free

Saves $14.94/mo vs API

  • Claude Sonnet 4.5
  • Basic web search
  • Limited file uploads

Claude Pro

$20/mo

$5.06/mo more than API

  • Claude Sonnet 4.5
  • Claude Opus 4
  • Extended thinking
  • Projects

Claude Max 5x

$100/mo

$85.06/mo more than API

  • Everything in Pro
  • 5x Pro usage limits
  • Higher rate limits on all models

Claude Max 20x

$200/mo

$185.06/mo more than API

  • Everything in Pro
  • 20x Pro usage limits
  • Highest rate limits

Detailed Provider Calculators

OpenAI
Is ChatGPT Plus Worth It? Subscription vs API Cost Calculator
3 subscription tiers + API comparison
Anthropic
Is Claude Pro Worth It? Subscription vs API Cost Calculator
4 subscription tiers + API comparison

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about subscription vs API pricing

A typical short question uses about 200 input tokens and gets a 300-token response. A detailed request with a longer prompt uses around 800 input tokens and generates about 1,500 output tokens. Complex coding tasks can use 2,000+ input tokens and 4,000+ output tokens. One token is roughly 0.75 words.
The API gives you raw model access without the chat interface features. You lose: web browsing, file upload/analysis, DALL-E image generation (separate API), custom GPTs/Projects, conversation history, and the polished chat UI. However, you gain: no rate limits, programmatic access, batch processing, fine-tuning options, and exact control over system prompts and parameters.
Monthly API cost = (messages per day x 30 days) x (input tokens per message x input price per token + output tokens per message x output price per token). Prices are per 1 million tokens. For example, at $3/1M input tokens: 50 messages/day x 30 days x 800 tokens = 1.2M tokens/month = $3.60/month for input alone.
Yes. Subscriptions are month-to-month and can be canceled anytime. API usage is pay-as-you-go with no commitment. Many power users maintain a subscription for casual use and use the API for automated/bulk tasks.
It depends on your usage. ChatGPT Plus is worth it if you send fewer than ~80 messages per day using GPT-4o and value features like DALL-E, web browsing, and custom GPTs. If you mainly need text completions and send many automated requests, the API is usually cheaper. Use the calculator above to check your specific usage.
ChatGPT Pro is designed for heavy users who need unlimited access to all models including o1 pro mode. At $200/month, you'd need to send hundreds of messages daily using premium models for the API to cost more. Most individual users won't need Pro unless they rely on o1 pro mode or need guaranteed unlimited access without rate limits.
ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo) gives you a chat interface with GPT-4o, DALL-E, web browsing, file analysis, and custom GPTs. The API gives you programmatic access to the same models but charges per token. Plus has rate limits (~80 msgs/3hr for GPT-4o); the API has no message limits (only rate limits on requests per minute).
Claude Pro at $20/month gives you 5x more usage than the free tier, access to Claude Opus, extended thinking, and Projects. If you send more than ~20 messages per day (the free tier limit), Pro is likely worth it for the convenience. Compare with API costs above to see if your usage exceeds the subscription price.
Claude Max comes in two tiers: 5x ($100/mo) and 20x ($200/mo), offering 5x or 20x the Pro usage limits. Max is designed for power users who hit Pro's rate limits regularly. If you're sending hundreds of messages daily, Max ensures you're never throttled. Check the breakeven chart above to see if your volume justifies the upgrade.
Claude Pro ($20/mo) provides a chat interface with Claude Sonnet 4.5, Claude Opus 4, Projects, and extended thinking. The Anthropic API charges per token and gives you programmatic access. Pro has daily usage limits; the API limits are based on requests per minute and tokens per minute, which are more generous for automated use.

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