Token Cost Estimation
Last updated: June 2026
⚠️ Important: These are estimatesbased on typical usage. Actual token consumption varies based on input length, conversation history, model version, and complexity. Always monitor your spending in your AI provider's dashboard.
How It Works
Alternate QA uses your own API key to call third-party AI providers (Google Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic). Your key is stored only in your browser and is never sent to our servers. All AI-related costs are billed directly to your account by the AI provider. We do not charge any markup on token usage.
Model Pricing Reference (June 2026)
Prices are per 1 million tokens (1M). Source: official provider pricing pages.
| Provider | Model | Input / 1M | Output / 1M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Gemini | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (Budget) | $0.25 | $1.50 |
| Gemini 3 Flash | $0.50 | $3.00 | |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro (Flagship) | $2.00 | $12.00 | |
| OpenAI | GPT-5.4-nano (Budget) | $0.20 | $1.25 |
| GPT-5.4-mini | $0.75 | $4.50 | |
| GPT-5.5 (Flagship) | $5.00 | $30.00 | |
| Anthropic | Claude Haiku 4.5 (Budget) | $1.00 | $5.00 |
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | $3.00 | $15.00 | |
| Claude Opus 4.8 (Flagship) | $5.00 | $25.00 |
Estimated Cost Per Feature
The table below shows the estimated cost of a single useof each feature. Costs are calculated using the model pricing above. "Budget" uses the cheapest model per provider, "Standard" uses the mid-tier, and "Flagship" uses the most expensive.
| Feature | ~Input | ~Output | Budget | Standard | Flagship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🛠️ QA Tools | |||||
| QA Audit (Pipeline Optimization) | ~5K | ~2K | < $0.01 | $0.04 | $0.07 |
| Site Audit (Full — 4 parallel calls) | ~32K | ~4K | $0.01 | $0.11 | $0.26 |
| Test Strategy Generation (3 sequential calls) | ~9K | ~6K | $0.01 | $0.12 | $0.20 |
| QA Role AI Forecast | ~5K | ~3K | < $0.01 | $0.06 | $0.10 |
| Prompt Optimizer | ~2K | ~1.5K | < $0.01 | $0.03 | $0.05 |
| Prompt Runner | varies | varies | varies | varies | varies |
| 👥 Team & Career | |||||
| Career Roadmap Generation | ~2K | ~2K | < $0.01 | $0.04 | $0.06 |
| Competency Matrix Generation | ~2K | ~3K | < $0.01 | $0.05 | $0.09 |
| Competency Matrix Analysis | ~4K | ~3K | < $0.01 | $0.06 | $0.10 |
| 💬 AI Coach & Chat (per message) | |||||
| AI QA Coach (per message) | ~2K | ~1K | < $0.01 | $0.02 | $0.04 |
| Quiz Hint AI | ~500 | ~300 | < $0.01 | < $0.01 | $0.01 |
| Bash Chat Mentor (per message) | ~1.5K | ~800 | < $0.01 | $0.02 | $0.03 |
| Python Chat Mentor (per message) | ~1.5K | ~800 | < $0.01 | $0.02 | $0.03 |
| 🎓 Academy Evaluations | |||||
| Academy Task Review | ~1.5K | ~500 | < $0.01 | $0.01 | $0.02 |
| Academy AI Exam Evaluator | ~1K | ~300 | < $0.01 | < $0.01 | $0.01 |
| Bash Command Evaluator | ~1.5K | ~500 | < $0.01 | $0.01 | $0.02 |
| Python Code Evaluator | ~2K | ~800 | < $0.01 | $0.02 | $0.03 |
| Hiring Simulation Evaluator | ~4K | ~2K | < $0.01 | $0.04 | $0.07 |
| Hiring Scenario Generator | ~3K | ~4K | < $0.01 | $0.07 | $0.12 |
💡 Budget Tip: For most QA tasks, budget-tier models (Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite, GPT-5.4-nano) provide excellent results at a fraction of the cost. Reserve flagship models for complex analysis tasks like full Site Audits or Test Strategy generation.
Provider Pricing Pages
For the most up-to-date pricing, refer directly to the official provider pages:
Spending Recommendations
- Set monthly limits: All three providers allow you to set hard spending caps in their dashboards. We strongly recommend doing this.
- Monitor usage: Check your provider's usage dashboard periodically to understand your spending patterns.
- Start small: Use budget models first. Only upgrade to flagship models when you need higher-quality output for complex analysis.
- Chat history grows: AI Coach and Chat Mentors send the full conversation history with each message. Longer conversations cost more. Start a new chat when switching topics.
Disclaimer:The cost estimates on this page are approximate and provided for informational purposes only. Actual costs depend on the exact model version, prompt length, conversation context, and provider pricing at the time of use. Alternate QA does not guarantee the accuracy of these estimates. For your financial protection, always set spending limits in your AI provider's dashboard. See our Terms of Service, Section 11 for full details on financial responsibility.