Skip to main content
Estimate cost before a model call by combining the model directory price with the units that the endpoint bills: tokens, images, audio length, or video tasks. Treat the estimate as a budget guard, then use actual usage and billing records after the request completes.

​
Estimate token-based calls

The following Python example estimates token-based request cost from configured pricing values: 
import math
import os

prompt = "Write a short product description for CometAPI."
max_output_tokens = 200

input_price_per_1m = float(os.environ["MODEL_INPUT_PRICE_PER_1M"])
output_price_per_1m = float(os.environ["MODEL_OUTPUT_PRICE_PER_1M"])

estimated_input_tokens = math.ceil(len(prompt) / 4)

estimated_cost = (
    estimated_input_tokens * input_price_per_1m
    + max_output_tokens * output_price_per_1m
) / 1_000_000

print(f"Estimated maximum cost: ${estimated_cost:.6f}")
The result is a pre-call estimate: 
Estimated maximum cost: $0.000123

​
Set a maximum output budget

The following request caps generated output so the estimate has an upper bound: 
curl https://api.cometapi.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COMETAPI_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "your-model-id",
    "messages": [
      {
        "role": "user",
        "content": "Write a short product description for CometAPI."
      }
    ],
    "max_completion_tokens": 200
  }'
The response includes actual usage after the model call: 
{
  "usage": {
    "prompt_tokens": 10,
    "completion_tokens": 42,
    "total_tokens": 52
  }
}

​
Estimate task-based calls

The following JavaScript example estimates a task-based workflow such as image or video generation: 
const taskCount = 3;
const pricePerTask = Number(process.env.MODEL_PRICE_PER_TASK);

const estimatedCost = taskCount * pricePerTask;

console.log(`Estimated maximum cost: $${estimatedCost.toFixed(4)}`);
The result is the task budget: 
Estimated maximum cost: $0.4500

​
Common errors

ErrorFix
Using a price from the wrong modelCopy pricing from the same model ID in the model directory.
Ignoring output tokensSet max_completion_tokens or the endpoint-specific output limit.
Treating estimates as invoicesCompare estimates with actual usage after the call.
Missing task multipliersFor image, audio, and video, check whether billing is per task, per second, or per generated asset.
Last modified on May 28, 2026