How much does Claude API cost per month?

Monthly costs vary by usage: Light use (personal projects) $10-50/month, Medium use (small apps) $50-200/month, Heavy use (production apps) $200-1000/month, Enterprise $1000+/month. Use our calculator above to estimate your specific monthly costs based on token usage.

Is there a Claude API free tier?

Yes, new users receive $5 in free credits (no credit card required). This equals: 20M input tokens with Claude Haiku 3, 6.25M input tokens with Claude Haiku 3.5, 1.67M input tokens with Claude Sonnet 4, or 333K input tokens with Claude Opus 4.1. Credits don't expire and are automatically applied to your usage.

How to get Claude API key?

1) Sign up at platform.claude.com (get $5 free credits), 2) Navigate to API Keys in your account settings, 3) Click 'Create Key' and copy it immediately, 4) Store securely - keys can't be viewed again. No credit card needed for initial signup.

What is Claude API pricing per token?

Claude API pricing per 1K tokens: Claude Haiku 3 ($0.00025/$0.00125), Claude Haiku 3.5 ($0.0008/$0.004), Claude Sonnet 4 ($0.003/$0.015), Claude Opus 4.1 ($0.015/$0.075) for input/output. Per million tokens multiply by 1000. Batch API offers 50% discount, prompt caching saves 90%.

How does Claude API batch pricing work?

Batch API offers 50% discount on all models for non-urgent tasks processed within 24 hours. Example: Claude Sonnet 4 batch pricing is $1.50/$7.50 per million tokens instead of $3/$15. Perfect for data processing, content generation, and analysis tasks that aren't time-sensitive.

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2025

Claude API Pricing Calculator

Calculate Claude API costs for all models per token, per request, and per month. Compare all 6 active models with batch & cache discounts.

Calculator Free Tier Monthly Costs Cost Savings Model Selection

Claude API Cost Calculator - Monthly Pricing

Calculate Claude API costs per token, per request, and per month

Calculate by

TokensWordsCharacters

Input Tokens

Output Tokens

API Calls / Month

Quick Examples:

Cost Optimization:

Batch API(50% off)

Prompt Caching(90% off)

Long Context(Sonnet 4 >200K)

Claude Opus 4.1

API Model Name

claude-opus-4-1-20250805

Context

200K

Per 1K Tokens

In: $0.0150

Out: $0.0750

Per 1M Tokens

In: $15.00

Out: $75.00

Per Call

$0.0525

Monthly Total

$52.50

Claude Opus 4

API Model Name

claude-opus-4-20250514

Context

200K

Per 1K Tokens

In: $0.0150

Out: $0.0750

Per 1M Tokens

In: $15.00

Out: $75.00

Per Call

$0.0525

Monthly Total

$52.50

Claude Sonnet 4

API Model Name

claude-sonnet-4-20250514

Context

Per 1K Tokens

In: $0.0030

Out: $0.0150

Per 1M Tokens

In: $3.00

Out: $15.00

Per Call

$0.0105

Monthly Total

$10.50

Claude Sonnet 3.7

API Model Name

claude-3-7-sonnet-latest

Context

200K

Per 1K Tokens

In: $0.0030

Out: $0.0150

Per 1M Tokens

In: $3.00

Out: $15.00

Per Call

$0.0105

Monthly Total

$10.50

Claude Haiku 3.5

API Model Name

claude-3-5-haiku-latest

Context

200K

Per 1K Tokens

In: $0.0008

Out: $0.0040

Per 1M Tokens

In: $0.80

Out: $4.00

Per Call

$0.0028

Monthly Total

$2.80

Claude Haiku 3

API Model Name

claude-3-haiku-20240307

Context

200K

Per 1K Tokens

In: $0.0003

Out: $0.0013

Per 1M Tokens

In: $0.25

Out: $1.25

Per Call

$0.0009

Monthly Total

$0.88

Claude API Explained

The Claude API provides programmatic access to Claude, a family of AI models created by Anthropic and designed for safety and helpfulness. Claude models (Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku) excel at tasks like content generation, code assistance, analysis, and conversation. Each model offers different capabilities and price points to match your specific needs.

How Pricing Works

Input vs Output Tokens

Input tokens (your prompts, context) cost less than output tokens (Claude's responses). Output typically costs 3-5x more than input.

Token Counting

1 token ≈ 4 characters. 1,000 tokens ≈ 750 words. A typical conversation uses 500-2,000 tokens total.

Model Tiers

Claude Opus (most capable, $15/$75 per M), Claude Sonnet (balanced, $3/$15 per M), Claude Haiku (fastest & cheapest, $0.25/$1.25 per M).

Prepaid Credits

Buy credits upfront, no monthly fees. Credits expire after 1 year. Set auto-reload to never run out.

Context Windows

All models support 200K tokens (~150K words). Claude Sonnet 4 offers special long-context pricing for >200K tokens.

Billing & Limits

Track usage in real-time. Set spending limits. Failed requests aren't charged. Rate limits increase with usage.

Free Tier & Credits

$5 Free Credits Breakdown

Claude Haiku 3 (Fastest):

20 million input tokens

~10,000 conversations

Claude Haiku 3.5 (Efficient):

6.25 million input tokens

~3,000 conversations

Claude Sonnet 4 (Balanced):

1.67 million input tokens

~800 conversations

Claude Opus 4.1 (Most Powerful):

333K input tokens

~150 conversations

Getting Started - No Credit Card Required

Sign up at platform.claude.com
Receive $5 free credits instantly
Generate your API key
Make your first API call

First API Call Example:

curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
-H "x-api-key: $API_KEY" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
-d '{"model": "claude-3-haiku", "messages": [...]}'

Claude API Monthly Cost Estimates

Light Use

$10-50/mo

• Personal projects

• <1K requests/day

• Haiku 3 recommended

Medium Use

$50-200/mo

• Small apps

• 1-5K requests/day

• Haiku 3.5 or Sonnet

Heavy Use

$200-1K/mo

• Production apps

• 5-20K requests/day

• Mixed models

Enterprise

$1K+/mo

• Large scale

• 20K+ requests/day

• Volume discounts

6 Claude API Cost Optimization Tips

Use Prompt Caching
Save 90% on repeated content by caching frequently used prompts, system messages, or documents. Cache write costs 1.25x base price, but cache hits only cost 0.1x base price with 5-minute TTL. Example: 10K requests with 80% cache hits saves $270/month on Sonnet 4.
Enable Batch API
Get 50% discount on all models by processing non-urgent workloads within 24 hours. Perfect for data processing, content generation, and analysis tasks. Sonnet 4 drops to $1.50/$7.50 per M tokens (vs $3/$15 standard).
Start with Haiku
Use the cheapest model (Claude Haiku 3 at $0.25/$1.25 per M tokens) for classification and routing. Only escalate to expensive models when necessary for complex tasks.
Implement Fallback Chains
Create smart escalation: Claude Haiku 3 → Claude Haiku 3.5 for moderate complexity → Claude Sonnet 4 for advanced tasks → Claude Opus 4.1 only for critical reasoning. This ensures you never overpay for simple queries.
Set Spending Limits
Configure auto-reload thresholds and maximum spending limits in your Console. Set up alerts to notify you before reaching budget limits to prevent unexpected charges.
Monitor Credits in Real-Time
Track your Claude API credit balance in real-time with CostGoat. Get instant alerts when spending exceeds thresholds, visualize usage patterns, and prevent bill shock with automated monitoring across all your AI APIs.

Claude Model Selection Guide

Use Case

Customer Support Chat

Recommended Model

Claude Haiku 3

Monthly Cost (Est.)

~$20-80

Why This Model?

Fastest, lowest cost for simple queries

Use Case

Code Generation

Recommended Model

Claude Sonnet 4

Monthly Cost (Est.)

~$100-500

Why This Model?

Excellent code quality, 1M context for large codebases

Use Case

Research & Analysis

Recommended Model

Claude Opus 4.1

Monthly Cost (Est.)

~$500-2000

Why This Model?

Best reasoning, handles complex multi-step tasks

Use Case

Content Writing

Recommended Model

Claude Sonnet 3.7

Monthly Cost (Est.)

~$75-300

Why This Model?

Step-by-step reasoning for quality content

Use Case

Data Extraction

Recommended Model

Claude Haiku 3.5 + Batch

Monthly Cost (Est.)

~$25-100

Why This Model?

Efficient extraction with batch discount

Use Case

Legal/Medical Review

Recommended Model

Claude Opus 4.1

Monthly Cost (Est.)

~$1000-5000

Why This Model?

Maximum accuracy for critical applications

Claude API Rate Limits & Tiers

Usage Tier

Tier 1 (Free)

Requirements

$0 spent

Claude Opus 4.1

2K TPM

5 RPM

Claude Sonnet 4

10K TPM

10 RPM

Claude Haiku 3.5

25K TPM

25 RPM

Usage Tier

Tier 2

Requirements

$100 spent

Claude Opus 4.1

20K TPM

50 RPM

Claude Sonnet 4

100K TPM

100 RPM

Claude Haiku 3.5

250K TPM

250 RPM

Usage Tier

Tier 3

Requirements

$1,000 spent

Claude Opus 4.1

100K TPM

250 RPM

Claude Sonnet 4

500K TPM

500 RPM

Claude Haiku 3.5

1M TPM

1K RPM

Usage Tier

Tier 4

Requirements

$10,000 spent

Claude Opus 4.1

500K TPM

1K RPM

Claude Sonnet 4

2M TPM

2K RPM

Claude Haiku 3.5

5M TPM

5K RPM

TPM: Tokens Per Minute | RPM: Requests Per Minute. Limits increase automatically based on spend.

Track Your Claude API Costs in Real-Time

Monitor your Claude API credit balance and spending as you use it. CostGoat runs on your desktop with privacy-first local monitoring. 7-day free trial, then $9/month.

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Claude API Pricing FAQ

Common questions about Claude API costs, billing, and optimization