Batch API Cost Calculator

Calculate savings using the Batch API — a 50% discount on OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google models.

Batch API Benefits

  • 50% discount on all models compared to the standard API
  • 24-hour completion window for batch jobs
  • Ideal for non-time-sensitive workloads
  • Process thousands of requests efficiently

Batch Parameters

Total requests in batch
Average prompt size
Average response size

Standard API

Total Requests1,000
Total Input Tokens500,000
Total Output Tokens300,000
Input Cost$0.6250
Output Cost$3.0000
Total Cost$3.6250

Batch API

50% OFF
Total Requests1,000
Total Input Tokens500,000
Total Output Tokens300,000
Input Cost$0.3125
Output Cost$1.5000
Total Cost$1.8125

You Save $1.8125

That's 50% savings using Batch API!

Annual savings (if processing daily): $661.56

Perfect Use Cases for Batch API

📊 Data Analysis

Process large datasets for classification, sentiment analysis, or data extraction.

📝 Content Generation

Generate descriptions, summaries, or translations for product catalogs.

🔍 Evaluation

Run model evaluations or quality checks on existing outputs.

🎯 Embeddings

Generate embeddings for large document collections at half the cost.

When the Batch API saves you money

OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google all offer a Batch API that processes requests asynchronously — typically within 24 hours — in exchange for a flat 50% discount on both input and output tokens. For any workload that isn't time-sensitive, that's a straightforward way to halve your bill with no change to model quality.

This calculator compares the standard, real-time cost of a workload against its batch cost so you can see the savings in dollars. Good candidates include overnight data processing, bulk classification or extraction, embedding large document sets, evaluations, and content generation pipelines — anything where a result a few hours later is perfectly acceptable.

How to use this tool

  1. Select a model and enter your average input and output tokens per request.
  2. Set the number of requests in the batch.
  3. Compare the standard total against the discounted batch total to see your savings.

Frequently asked questions

What's the catch with the Batch API?+

Latency. Batch jobs are processed asynchronously and can take up to 24 hours, so it's unsuitable for anything a user is waiting on in real time. For background and bulk work, the 50% discount is essentially free money.

Does batching change the model's output quality?+

No. You're using the same models with the same parameters — only the delivery is deferred and the price is halved.