Classification and routing cost drivers
Classification usually has short output but high volume, making per-request overhead and lower-cost model routing important budget variables.
Workload cost scenario
LLM Classification and Routing Cost Calculator
Compare API spend for short classification, moderation-routing, and intent-detection requests at high volume.
Platform teams routing requests before a larger model or human workflow.
Lowest tracked estimate
$51.00
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite for the current assumptions
Lowest cost does not mean best model. Test output quality, latency, retries, and reliability on your own workload.
Cost comparison
Estimated monthly cost by model
Comparing 22 models that fit the initial input length.
| Model | Provider | Input cost | Output cost | Monthly estimate | Context usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite | $35.00 | $16.00 | $51.00 | 0.1% | |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash non-thinking | DeepSeek | $49.00 | $11.20 | $60.20 | 0.1% |
| GPT-4o mini | OpenAI | $52.50 | $24.00 | $76.50 | 0.5% |
| gpt-5.4-nano | OpenAI | $70.00 | $50.00 | $120.00 | 0.2% |
| Gemini 3.5 Live Translate Preview | $87.50 | $60.00 | $147.50 | 0.5% | |
| Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | $87.50 | $60.00 | $147.50 | 0.1% | |
| deepseek-v4-pro | DeepSeek | $152.25 | $34.80 | $187.05 | 0.1% |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | $105.00 | $100.00 | $205.00 | 0.1% | |
| Gemini 3 Flash Preview | $175.00 | $120.00 | $295.00 | 0.1% | |
| gpt-5.4-mini | OpenAI | $262.50 | $180.00 | $442.50 | 0.2% |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | Anthropic | $350.00 | $200.00 | $550.00 | 0.4% |
| gpt-5.6-luna | OpenAI | $350.00 | $240.00 | $590.00 | 0.1% |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | $437.50 | $400.00 | $837.50 | 0.1% | |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | $525.00 | $360.00 | $885.00 | 0.1% | |
| Claude Sonnet 5 | Anthropic | $700.00 | $400.00 | $1,100.00 | 0.1% |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview | $700.00 | $480.00 | $1,180.00 | 0.1% | |
| GPT-4o | OpenAI | $875.00 | $400.00 | $1,275.00 | 0.5% |
| gpt-5.6-terra | OpenAI | $875.00 | $600.00 | $1,475.00 | 0.1% |
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Anthropic | $1,050.00 | $600.00 | $1,650.00 | 0.1% |
| Claude Opus 4.8 | Anthropic | $1,750.00 | $1,000.00 | $2,750.00 | 0.1% |
| gpt-5.6-sol | OpenAI | $1,750.00 | $1,200.00 | $2,950.00 | 0.1% |
| Claude Fable 5 | Anthropic | $3,500.00 | $2,000.00 | $5,500.00 | 0.1% |
What to measure
- Use a compact response schema.
- Measure fallback rates to larger models.
- Test whether deterministic rules can handle obvious cases before an LLM call.
Estimate boundary: Quality and latency are not assumed equal across models; validate labels on a representative evaluation set.
View pricing sources
OpenAI model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-13
Tracked prices for included OpenAI models are checked against official provider documentation.
Anthropic model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-12
Tracked prices for included Anthropic models are checked against official provider documentation.
Google model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-14
Tracked prices for included Google models are checked against official provider documentation.
DeepSeek model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-12
Tracked prices for included DeepSeek models are checked against official provider documentation.
Anthropic model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-14
Tracked prices for included Anthropic models are checked against official provider documentation.