LLM Token Cost Calculator for ERP Chat
API pricing looks tiny per token and surprising per month. This calculator turns user counts and prompt size into a monthly bill so you can compare a hosted model against running one on your own GPUs.
Your numbers
Share of named users who ask at least one question on a working day
System prompt + chat history + retrieved ERP rows or document chunks + the question
Your results
Prices change often and differ by model, caching and batch discounts. Enter the current list price from your provider. This estimate excludes embedding costs, vector database hosting, engineering time and any enterprise minimums.
Monthly API cost vs named users
Sweeps Named users with chat access from 50 to 3000, holding your other inputs fixed.
Compare API cost with running it on-prem
Share your usage numbers and we will return a side by side estimate for a hosted model versus open-weight models on your own GPUs.
Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.
How to use it
Enter the number of people who will have access, the share who use it daily and the questions each one asks. The most important input is input tokens per question. An ERP assistant does not send only the question: it sends a system prompt, recent chat turns and retrieved rows or document chunks. Four to eight thousand input tokens per question is common for grounded answers. Output is usually much shorter than input, but costs more per token.
The formula
Cost per month = questions x input tokens / 1,000,000 x input price, plus questions x output tokens / 1,000,000 x output price. Questions equal named users x daily active share x questions per user x working days. Prompt caching and batch discounts can reduce input cost, but only if your prompt prefix is stable and the provider supports it. Model the list price first, then treat any discount as upside.
- Retrieved context is usually the biggest cost driver
- Long chat history multiplies input tokens on every turn
- Agents that call several tools per question can use five to ten times the tokens of a single answer
Reading the result
The default scenario of 300 users produces a modest monthly bill, which is why many pilots look cheap. The chart shows how cost scales with headcount: it is linear, so cost at 3,000 users is ten times the cost at 300. Compare the annual figure with a self-hosted option in the TCO calculator. Hosted APIs usually win at low volume and lose when volume is high and constant, or when data cannot leave your network.
Common mistakes
The usual error is estimating tokens from the visible question and answer only, which underestimates input by a factor of ten. Another is forgetting that agent loops and retries consume tokens. A third is ignoring growth: usage tends to double after a good launch. Add a 30 to 50 percent buffer for the first year, and measure real token counts from your pilot logs before committing a budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tokens is a typical ERP question?
A short question is 20 to 60 tokens, but the full request including instructions, history and retrieved data is usually 3,000 to 8,000 input tokens. Check your provider's usage logs from a pilot for real numbers.
Does a cheaper model change the answer?
Yes, a lot. Smaller models can cost a fraction per token, and for lookup-style ERP questions they are often adequate. Test accuracy on your own questions before choosing on price alone.
Are embeddings included?
No. Embedding your documents is a one-time and incremental cost that is much smaller than chat usage for most companies, but the vector store and re-indexing still need budget.
What about taxes and currency?
Provider invoices may add VAT, GST or withholding, and billing is usually in US dollars. Add those on top of the calculated figure for your finance team.
If you want to see what the same workload costs on your own GPUs, we can size it with you and run the assistant against your ERP read-only.
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