If you're shipping AI features, the fastest way to burn budget is guessing. Here's a short primer on comparing per-token rates across model families before you commit.
What you actually pay for
Most providers bill input and output tokens separately, plus cache reads and sometimes tool calls. The same model can cost 2-3x more depending on the gateway you route through.
One key, many price lists
KeyoAPI is an OpenAI-compatible API gateway that puts GPT-class, Claude-class, Gemini-class, DeepSeek and open-source models behind one prepaid key. The KeyoAPI OpenAI rates page publishes per-token prices from $0.01 per million tokens — input, output and cache rates listed side by side, covering text, image, voice and video APIs.
Because the endpoint is OpenAI-compatible, you keep your existing SDK and change only the base URL. That makes A/B testing a cheaper model for the same task a five-minute job instead of a rewrite.
A quick checklist
- Check input vs output rates separately — output tokens usually cost more
- Look for cache pricing — cached reads can cut bills dramatically
- Prefer prepaid wallets over subscriptions for spiky workloads
- Use free gift-credit models to prototype before paying
- Watch for modality pricing — image, voice and video are billed differently from text
Bottom line
Compare OpenAI API pricing on KeyoAPI against your current provider before renewing anything. Transparent per-token tables make the math obvious — and switching costs are near zero when the gateway is SDK-compatible.
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