What would Claude Code cost on the API?

Claude Code counts four kinds of tokens for each model: input, output, cache reads and cache writes. The Session block of /usage (/cost is the same command) lists them per model, and ccusage exports the same counts from your local transcripts. The calculator multiplies each count by the public API price of that model.

/usage only sees this machine: its figures come from the local session history, without your other computers or claude.ai. Run it on each PC, or export with ccusage on each one, to get the whole picture.

Anthropic’s public API prices per million tokens, checked on September 22, 2026. A model is matched by the longest known prefix of its id: claude-opus-5-5-20260922 is priced as claude-opus-5-5, never as claude-opus-5. A model that is not in the table is shown but never guessed.

Cache reads cost a tenth of the input price on most models (less on Claude Opus 5.5 and Claude Fable 5.1). Cache writes cost 1.25× the input price for a 5-minute lifetime, or 2× for one hour.

Claude Code sends the whole conversation with every request. Most of it is read back from the prompt cache, at a fraction of the input price, which is why cache reads are usually the biggest token count and a small part of the bill. The “Without the cache” line prices the same tokens as plain input to show what the cache saved.

The lifetime matters too: on a Pro or Max subscription Claude Code keeps its main cache for an hour, and for five minutes on an API key or usage credits. After a longer break the cache has expired, and the first request writes it again in full.

Pro and Max do not bill per token: the dollar figure of /usage is meant for API users, and on a subscription it is not what you pay. What limits you is the 5-hour session and the weekly limit, which the dollar figure does not show. The API equivalent is still a useful yardstick of how much you use Claude Code.

Anthropic’s own figures for Claude Code billed at API rates: about $13 per developer per active day, $150 to $250 per developer per month, and under $30 per active day for 90% of users. Past your limits on Pro and Max, usage credits are billed at these API rates.