What is the cheapest AI API?
The cheapest AI API depends on the model family, provider type, input price, output price, source route, and workload. Sort by both input and output cost before shortlisting.
AI API pricing comparison
Cheapest AI API Providers 2026
Compare low-cost AI API options by input price, output price, provider type, model family, and source verification. Cheapest does not always mean best, so compare reliability and support as well.
Need a provider shortlist? Submit your model, usage volume, region, and budget. Inferras helps organize provider options before you contact vendors.
TLDR
Compare low-cost AI API options by input price, output price, provider type, model family, and source verification. Cheapest does not always mean best, so compare reliability and support as well.
Best for
Teams comparing public pricing before choosing a model API, marketplace route, or provider shortlist.
Looking for provider options beyond official APIs?
Compare AI API reseller options, pricing models and risk factors on Inferras before choosing which providers to contact.
cheapest AI API approved price listings
Public comparison pages only show approved price listings with source links, verification status, and last checked dates.
| Model | Provider | Provider category | Region | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | Source | Verification | Checked | Updated | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Groq Llama 3.1 8B Instant 128k | GroqOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.05 | $0.08 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Groq GPT OSS 20B 128k | GroqOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.075 | $0.30 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
DeepInfra Qwen3-32B | DeepInfraOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.08 | $0.28 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
DeepInfra Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct-Turbo | DeepInfraOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.10 | $0.32 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite | Google AI Gemini APIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.10 | $0.40 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Groq Llama 4 Scout 17Bx16E 128k | GroqOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.11 | $0.34 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Groq GPT OSS 120B 128k | GroqOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.15 | $0.60 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini | OpenRouterOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.15 | $0.60 | marketplaceSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Together AI gpt-oss-120B | Together AIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.15 | $0.60 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Gemini 2.5 Flash | Google AI Gemini APIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.15 | $1.25 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
DeepInfra DeepSeek-V3.1 | DeepInfraOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.21 | $0.79 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite Preview | Google AI Gemini APIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.25 | $1.50 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
gpt-5.2 | AICopy API | Submitted provider | China / Global | CN¥0.25 | CN¥2.00 | resellerSource | Source listed | May 15, 2026 | May 15, 2026 | View |
DeepInfra DeepSeek-V3.2 | DeepInfraOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.26 | $0.38 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Pro | OpenRouterOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.435 | $0.87 | marketplaceSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
gpt-5.4 | AICopy API | Submitted provider | China / Global | CN¥0.50 | CN¥3.00 | resellerSource | Source listed | May 15, 2026 | May 15, 2026 | View |
gpt-5.5 | AICopy API | Submitted provider | China / Global | CN¥0.50 | CN¥3.00 | resellerSource | Source listed | May 15, 2026 | May 15, 2026 | View |
Together AI Qwen3.6-Plus | Together AIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.50 | $3.00 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Together AI DeepSeek-V3.1 | Together AIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.60 | $1.70 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
gpt-5.4-mini | AICopy API | Submitted provider | China / Global | CN¥0.75 | CN¥4.50 | resellerSource | Source listed | May 15, 2026 | May 15, 2026 | View |
GPT-5.4 mini | OpenAIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.75 | $4.50 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Claude Haiku 3.5 | AnthropicOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.80 | $4.00 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Fireworks Kimi K2.6 | Fireworks AIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $0.95 | $4.00 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Claude Haiku 4.5 | AnthropicOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $1.00 | $5.00 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Gemini 2.5 Pro | Google AI Gemini APIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $1.25 | $10.00 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Fireworks DeepSeek V4 Pro | Fireworks AIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $1.74 | $3.48 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
gpt-5.3-codex | AICopy API | Submitted provider | China / Global | CN¥1.75 | CN¥14.00 | resellerSource | Source listed | May 15, 2026 | May 15, 2026 | View |
Together AI DeepSeek V4 Pro | Together AIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $2.10 | $4.40 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
OpenAI: GPT-4o | OpenRouterOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $2.50 | $10.00 | marketplaceSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
GPT-5.4 | OpenAIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $2.50 | $15.00 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Claude Sonnet 4.6 | AnthropicOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $3.00 | $15.00 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
GPT-Realtime-2 text | OpenAIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $4.00 | $24.00 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Claude Opus 4.6 | AnthropicOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $5.00 | $25.00 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Claude Opus 4.7 | AnthropicOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $5.00 | $25.00 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
GPT-5.5-对话Chat route / Variant | AICopy API | Submitted provider | China / Global | CN¥5.00 | CN¥30.00 | resellerSource | Source listed | May 15, 2026 | May 15, 2026 | View |
GPT-5.5 | OpenAIOfficial source | Official model owner | Global | $5.00 | $30.00 | officialSource | Source listed | May 10, 2026 | May 10, 2026 | View |
Verification indicates how confidently the listed price matches its public source.
Prices are collected from public provider pages and may change over time. Verify pricing, billing units, rate limits, and terms directly on the source page before purchase.
Source note: Source links open public provider pages. Prices may change over time.
FAQ
cheapest AI API
Is the cheapest AI API always reliable?
No. Low price should be checked against source transparency, support, rate limits, data policy, refund terms, and production reliability needs.
How should developers compare low-cost AI API providers?
Compare model fit, input and output token prices, provider category, source links, region support, billing unit, rate limits, and support path.
Which matters more, input price or output price?
It depends on the workload. Chatbots and agents with long answers may be more sensitive to output price, while retrieval-heavy workloads may care more about input price.
Are marketplace AI APIs cheaper than official APIs?
Sometimes, but not always. Marketplace routes can offer different pricing and model access, but buyers should verify billing terms, model route, support, and source links.