Cheapest LLM API Models

Compare the lowest-cost current LLM API models by input price, output price, context window, and example total cost.

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Quick answer

Cheapest current overall

Command R7B

Cheapest OpenAI

GPT-5 nano

Cheapest Claude

Claude Haiku 4.5

Cheapest Gemini

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Cheapest long-context

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Current models ranked by 1M input + 1M output cost

RankProviderModelInput / 1MOutput / 1MContext windowTotal (1M + 1M)Status
1 Cohere Command R7B $0.0375 $0.1500 128,000 $0.1875 CURRENT
2 Mistral Ministral 3 3B $0.1000 $0.1000 256,000 $0.2000 CURRENT
3 Mistral Ministral 3 8B $0.1500 $0.1500 256,000 $0.3000 CURRENT
4 Mistral Ministral 14 8B $0.2000 $0.2000 256,000 $0.4000 CURRENT
5 DeepSeek DeepSeek V4 Flash $0.1400 $0.2800 1,000,000 $0.4200 CURRENT
6 OpenAI GPT-5 nano $0.0500 $0.4000 400,000 $0.4500 CURRENT
7 Google Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite $0.1000 $0.4000 1,048,576 $0.5000 CURRENT
8 OpenAI GPT-4.1 nano $0.1000 $0.4000 1,047,576 $0.5000 CURRENT
9 Cohere Command R $0.1500 $0.6000 128,000 $0.7500 CURRENT
10 Mistral Mistral Small 4 $0.1500 $0.6000 256,000 $0.7500 CURRENT
11 OpenAI GPT-4o mini $0.1500 $0.6000 128,000 $0.7500 CURRENT
12 OpenAI GPT-5.4 nano $0.2000 $1.2500 400,000 $1.4500 CURRENT
13 Google Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite $0.2500 $1.5000 1,048,576 $1.7500 CURRENT
14 Mistral Mistral Large 3 $0.5000 $1.5000 256,000 $2.0000 CURRENT
15 OpenAI GPT-4.1 mini $0.4000 $1.6000 1,047,576 $2.0000 CURRENT
16 OpenAI GPT-5 mini $0.2500 $2.0000 400,000 $2.2500 CURRENT
17 Mistral Mistral Medium 3.1 $0.4000 $2.0000 128,000 $2.4000 CURRENT
18 Google Gemini 2.5 Flash $0.3000 $2.5000 1,048,576 $2.8000 CURRENT
19 xAI Grok 4.3 $1.2500 $2.5000 1,000,000 $3.7500 CURRENT
20 DeepSeek DeepSeek V4 Pro $1.7400 $3.4800 1,000,000 $5.2200 CURRENT
21 OpenAI GPT-5.4 mini $0.7500 $4.5000 400,000 $5.2500 CURRENT
22 OpenAI o1-mini $1.1000 $4.4000 128,000 $5.5000 CURRENT
23 OpenAI o3-mini $1.1000 $4.4000 200,000 $5.5000 CURRENT
24 OpenAI o4-mini $1.1000 $4.4000 200,000 $5.5000 CURRENT
25 Anthropic Claude Haiku 4.5 $1.0000 $5.0000 200,000 $6.0000 CURRENT
26 Mistral Magistral Medium $2.0000 $5.0000 128,000 $7.0000 CURRENT
27 Mistral Mistral Medium 3.5 $1.5000 $7.5000 256,000 $9.0000 CURRENT
28 OpenAI GPT-4.1 $2.0000 $8.0000 1,047,576 $10.0000 CURRENT
29 OpenAI o3 $2.0000 $8.0000 200,000 $10.0000 CURRENT
30 Google Gemini 3.5 Flash $1.5000 $9.0000 1,048,576 $10.5000 CURRENT
31 Google Gemini 2.5 Pro $1.2500 $10.0000 1,048,576 $11.2500 CURRENT
32 OpenAI GPT-5 $1.2500 $10.0000 400,000 $11.2500 CURRENT
33 OpenAI GPT-5.1 $1.2500 $10.0000 400,000 $11.2500 CURRENT
34 Cohere Command A $2.5000 $10.0000 256,000 $12.5000 CURRENT
35 Cohere Command R+ $2.5000 $10.0000 128,000 $12.5000 CURRENT
36 OpenAI GPT-4o $2.5000 $10.0000 128,000 $12.5000 CURRENT
37 Google Gemini 3.1 Pro $2.0000 $12.0000 1,048,576 $14.0000 CURRENT
38 OpenAI GPT-5.2 $1.7500 $14.0000 400,000 $15.7500 CURRENT
39 OpenAI GPT-5.4 $2.5000 $15.0000 1,050,000 $17.5000 CURRENT
40 Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 $3.0000 $15.0000 1,000,000 $18.0000 CURRENT
41 Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.6 $3.0000 $15.0000 1,000,000 $18.0000 CURRENT
42 Anthropic Claude Opus 4.5 $5.0000 $25.0000 200,000 $30.0000 CURRENT
43 Anthropic Claude Opus 4.6 $5.0000 $25.0000 1,000,000 $30.0000 CURRENT
44 Anthropic Claude Opus 4.7 $5.0000 $25.0000 1,000,000 $30.0000 CURRENT
45 OpenAI GPT-5.5 $5.0000 $30.0000 1,050,000 $35.0000 CURRENT
46 OpenAI o1 $15.0000 $60.0000 200,000 $75.0000 CURRENT
47 Anthropic Claude Opus 4.1 $15.0000 $75.0000 200,000 $90.0000 CURRENT
48 OpenAI o3-pro $20.0000 $80.0000 200,000 $100.0000 CURRENT
49 OpenAI GPT-5 pro $15.0000 $120.0000 400,000 $135.0000 CURRENT
50 OpenAI GPT-5.2 pro $21.0000 $168.0000 400,000 $189.0000 CURRENT
51 OpenAI GPT-5.4 pro $30.0000 $180.0000 1,050,000 $210.0000 CURRENT
52 OpenAI GPT-5.5 pro $30.0000 $180.0000 1,050,000 $210.0000 CURRENT
53 OpenAI o1-pro $150.0000 $600.0000 200,000 $750.0000 CURRENT

Cheapest input token prices

  • Cohere · Command R7B $0.0375
  • OpenAI · GPT-5 nano $0.0500
  • Mistral · Ministral 3 3B $0.1000
  • Google · Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite $0.1000
  • OpenAI · GPT-4.1 nano $0.1000

Cheapest output token prices

  • Mistral · Ministral 3 3B $0.1000
  • Cohere · Command R7B $0.1500
  • Mistral · Ministral 3 8B $0.1500
  • Mistral · Ministral 14 8B $0.2000
  • DeepSeek · DeepSeek V4 Flash $0.2800

Cheapest large-context models

  • Cohere · Command R7B 128K
  • Mistral · Ministral 3 3B 256K
  • Mistral · Ministral 3 8B 256K
  • Mistral · Ministral 14 8B 256K
  • DeepSeek · DeepSeek V4 Flash 1M

Why the cheapest model is not always the best choice

Price is one variable. Context needs, output quality requirements, latency targets, and workload complexity can make a slightly higher-priced model more cost-effective overall.

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FAQ

What is the cheapest LLM API model?

It changes over time. This page ranks current models by measurable token-cost data.

Are cheap LLM API models good enough for production?

Sometimes. Validate quality, latency, and reliability for your specific workload.

Why can output tokens change total cost so much?

Many providers price output tokens higher, so long responses can dominate cost.

Which provider has the cheapest current models?

Use the ranked table to compare providers directly under the same cost formula.

How can I reduce LLM API costs?

Trim prompts, constrain output length, and benchmark lower-cost models first.

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