Model Switch Savings Calculator

Compare two models on the same traffic and see what switching saves — or costs — each month.

Moving a workload from a flagship model to a cheaper one can cut the bill hard, but by how much depends on your own token sizes and call volume. This tool works out the switching AI model cost savings from four numbers: the model you run now, the one you are eyeing, the input and output tokens in a typical call, and how many calls you make a month. It prices both sides against the same traffic so you can answer questions like gpt-4o vs gpt-4o-mini cost, size up a model downgrade savings, or check whether a cheaper llm alternative cost is worth the trade. Switching up to a pricier model is handled too — the result just flips to show what the upgrade adds.

Read the guide: How Much You Save Switching AI Models

Your switch

From (current model)$2.50/1M input · $10/1M output
To (new model)$0.15/1M input · $0.60/1M output

You save per month

$411.25

Down from $437.50 to $26.25 a month

GPT-4o / month
$437.50
GPT-4o mini / month
$26.25
Saved per year
$4935.00
Cost change
−94%
Cheaper models are usually smaller and trade away some capability. Test the new model on your own prompts before you switch — a wrong answer that needs a retry can erase the saving.

Prices updated January 2026. These are list pay-as-you-go rates from a dated table — verify against each provider's pricing page before you budget. Token counts and call volume are yours to supply.

How it works

  1. 1

    Pick both models

    Choose the model you run today under From and the one you are considering under To. The per-million input and output rates appear beneath each so you can see the gap before entering any traffic.

  2. 2

    Describe a typical call

    Enter the input and output tokens for an average request, then your calls per month. Both models are priced on this identical traffic, so the difference is purely the rate change.

  3. 3

    Read the monthly and yearly delta

    The headline says what you save, or what the switch costs, each month. The stats show each model's monthly bill, the annual difference and the percentage change.

Instant & 100% private — nothing is uploaded

Every calculation runs locally in your browser. The prompts, token counts and numbers you enter stay on your own device and are never sent to a server — nothing is stored, logged or shared.

Frequently asked questions

How much does switching from GPT-4o to GPT-4o mini save?
It depends on your token sizes and volume, but the rate gap is large: GPT-4o mini is roughly one-sixteenth the input price and one-sixteenth the output price of GPT-4o. On a workload of 1,500 input and 500 output tokens across 50,000 calls a month, that is the difference between a few hundred dollars and a few tens of dollars. Enter your own numbers to see the exact figure.
Does a cheaper model always save money overall?
Not always. Smaller models trade away some capability, so if the cheaper model gets more answers wrong you may pay again in retries, longer prompts to steer it, or human review. The token savings are real, but test the new model on your actual prompts before you commit — the true saving is net of any extra work its mistakes create.
Can I use this to check the cost of upgrading?
Yes. Put your current model in From and the pricier one in To, and the result flips to show what the upgrade adds per month and per year instead of what you save. It is the same comparison read in the other direction.
Are these prices exact?
No. They come from a shared price table dated on the page, using list pay-as-you-go rates. Providers change pricing and offer volume or committed-use discounts this tool does not model, so treat the figure as a close estimate and confirm against each provider's own pricing page.

Important

For planning and estimates only. Prices come from a published rate table dated on the page; providers change pricing without notice, and token counts here are approximations. Confirm against the provider’s own pricing before you budget or commit.

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