Looking for the cheapest AI API? I got tired of checking 7 different pricing pages every time I needed to pick a model, so I built AI Pricing Guru — a free comparison tool that tracks token costs across all major providers, updated daily.
Here's the current ranking as of March 2026.
Cheapest AI Models: Input Price Ranking
| Rank | Model | Provider | Input / 1M | Output / 1M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GPT-4.1 nano | OpenAI | $0.10 | $0.40 |
| 2 | Mistral Small | Mistral | $0.10 | $0.30 |
| 3 | Llama 4 Scout | Meta | $0.15 | $0.15 |
| 4 | GPT-4o mini | OpenAI | $0.15 | $0.60 |
| 5 | Llama 4 Maverick | Meta | $0.20 | $0.20 |
| 6 | GPT-5.4 nano | OpenAI | $0.20 | $1.25 |
| 7 | Grok 4.1 Fast | xAI | $0.20 | $0.50 |
| 8 | GPT-5.4 mini | OpenAI | $0.25 | $2.00 |
| 9 | Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite | $0.25 | $1.50 | |
| 10 | DeepSeek V3.2 | DeepSeek | $0.28 | $0.42 |
Best Value by Use Case
| Use Case | Best Model | Monthly Cost (10M tokens) |
|---|---|---|
| Classification/routing | GPT-4.1 nano | $5 |
| Chatbots | Mistral Small | $4 |
| Code generation | Grok 4.1 Fast | $7 |
| Document analysis | Llama 4 Scout | $3 |
| Complex reasoning | DeepSeek V3.2 | $7 |
| Multimodal | Gemini 2.5 Flash | $28 |
The Hidden Savings: Cached Input Pricing
Most providers offer 80-90% discounts on repeated prompts (system prompts, shared context). If your app reuses the same context:
- OpenAI: 90% off (e.g., $2.50 → $0.25)
- Anthropic: 90% off
- DeepSeek: 90% off ($0.28 → $0.028)
Design stable system prompts and you'll cut costs dramatically.
How to Save Even More
- Batch API — OpenAI offers 50% off for async processing
- Right-size your model — don't use GPT-5.4 for tasks GPT-4.1 nano handles
- Monitor usage — use a token calculator to estimate before committing
- Cache aggressively — same system prompt = cached pricing
Full Comparison
I track 33 models across 7 providers with daily updates. Check the full comparison:
All data is free, no signup required. I update prices daily by checking each provider's official docs.
Built this because I was wasting time comparing pricing pages manually. Hope it helps someone else too.
Top comments (2)
Nice list. One I'd add — Meshs One (meshs.one) serves DeepSeek V3 at $0.27/M input and R1 at $0.55/M input, 60-80% below official. Qwen2.5, Qwen3, MiniMax on the same endpoint. HK-based, authorized MSP. → meshs.one
Thanks for this comparison! One dimension that official pricing doesn't capture: for devs outside China, accessing DeepSeek, Qwen, MiniMax, and GLM APIs directly requires a China phone number + Alipay/WeChat Pay. That's a hidden "access cost" that isn't in the token price.
Gateway services solve this — one OpenAI-compatible endpoint, Stripe payment, no VPN. For example, Meshs One (api.meshs.one) offers Qwen 3.7 Max at $2.40/$7.20 and MiniMax M3 at $0.42/$1.68 per 1M tokens (source: Meshs One list pricing, June 2026) — comparable to official rates, but without the registration barrier.
It'd be great to see AI Pricing Guru add an "availability outside China" column — that's where the real cost story is for global devs.