Long-context research cost drivers
Long prompts can approach model context limits or pricing thresholds, so per-request input size matters more than monthly token totals alone.
Workload cost scenario
Long-Context Research API Cost Calculator
Compare LLM API cost for research prompts that combine many source documents with a detailed generated answer.
Research and analysis teams working with large source packets.
Lowest tracked estimate
$31.30
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite for the current assumptions
Lowest cost does not mean best model. Test output quality, latency, retries, and reliability on your own workload.
Cost comparison
Estimated monthly cost by model
Comparing 36 models that fit the initial input length.
| Model | Provider | Input cost | Output cost | Monthly estimate | Context usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite | $27.30 | $4.00 | $31.30 | 14.3% | |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash non-thinking | DeepSeek | $37.88 | $2.80 | $40.68 | 15.0% |
| Gemini 1.5 Flash | $41.63 | $6.00 | $47.63 | 14.3% | |
| GPT-5.6 Luna | OpenAI | $54.60 | $12.00 | $66.60 | 14.3% |
| gpt-5.4-nano | OpenAI | $54.60 | $12.50 | $67.10 | 37.5% |
| Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | $68.25 | $15.00 | $83.25 | 14.3% | |
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | $81.90 | $25.00 | $106.90 | 14.3% | |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | $81.90 | $25.00 | $106.90 | 14.3% | |
| DeepSeek V4 Pro | DeepSeek | $117.56 | $8.70 | $126.26 | 15.0% |
| Gemini 3 Flash Preview | $136.50 | $30.00 | $166.50 | 14.3% | |
| Gemini 3.6 Flash | $204.75 | $37.50 | $242.25 | 14.3% | |
| Gemini 3.7 Flash | $204.75 | $37.50 | $242.25 | 14.3% | |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | $204.75 | $37.50 | $242.25 | 14.3% | |
| gpt-5.4-mini | OpenAI | $204.75 | $45.00 | $249.75 | 37.5% |
| Kimi K2.6 | Moonshot AI | $261.30 | $40.00 | $301.30 | 57.2% |
| Kimi K2.7 Code | Moonshot AI | $262.20 | $40.00 | $302.20 | 57.2% |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | Anthropic | $273.00 | $50.00 | $323.00 | 75.0% |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro | $341.25 | $100.00 | $441.25 | 14.3% | |
| Mistral Medium 3.5 | Mistral | $409.50 | $75.00 | $484.50 | 58.6% |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | $409.50 | $90.00 | $499.50 | 14.3% | |
| Kimi K2.7 Code High-Speed | Moonshot AI | $524.40 | $80.00 | $604.40 | 57.2% |
| Grok 4.5 | xAI | $555.00 | $60.00 | $615.00 | 30.0% |
| Claude Sonnet 5 | Anthropic | $546.00 | $100.00 | $646.00 | 15.0% |
| GPT-5.6 Terra | OpenAI | $546.00 | $120.00 | $666.00 | 14.3% |
| Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview | $546.00 | $120.00 | $666.00 | 14.3% | |
| Gemini 1.5 Pro | $750.00 | $100.00 | $850.00 | 7.2% | |
| Command A | Cohere | $750.00 | $100.00 | $850.00 | 58.6% |
| Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Anthropic | $819.00 | $150.00 | $969.00 | 15.0% |
| Kimi K3 | Moonshot AI | $819.00 | $150.00 | $969.00 | 14.3% |
| GPT-5.6 Sol | OpenAI | $1,092.00 | $200.00 | $1,292.00 | 14.3% |
| Claude Opus 4.8 | Anthropic | $1,365.00 | $250.00 | $1,615.00 | 15.0% |
| Claude Opus 5 | Anthropic | $1,500.00 | $250.00 | $1,750.00 | 15.0% |
| Claude Fable 5 | Anthropic | $2,730.00 | $500.00 | $3,230.00 | 15.0% |
| Claude Mythos 5 | Anthropic | $2,730.00 | $500.00 | $3,230.00 | 15.0% |
| GPT-6 Astra | OpenAI | $2,730.00 | $500.00 | $3,230.00 | 14.3% |
| GPT-5.6 Cyber | OpenAI | $3,412.50 | $750.00 | $4,162.50 | 37.5% |
What to measure
- Check each model's context window before comparing cost.
- Track citations and source coverage separately from price.
- Summarize or retrieve only relevant sections when full-context quality is unnecessary.
Estimate boundary: Models whose tracked context window is below the scenario input are excluded from the compatible-model table.
View pricing sources
How StackLens verifies data and calculates cost
OpenAI model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-09-08
Tracked prices for included OpenAI models are checked against official provider documentation.
Anthropic model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-09-08
Tracked prices for included Anthropic models are checked against official provider documentation.
Google model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-09-03
Tracked prices for included Google models are checked against official provider documentation.
DeepSeek model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-08-16
Tracked prices for included DeepSeek models are checked against official provider documentation.
Groq model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-15
Tracked prices for included Groq models are checked against official provider documentation.
Groq model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-15
Tracked prices for included Groq models are checked against official provider documentation.
Groq model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-15
Tracked prices for included Groq models are checked against official provider documentation.
Groq model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-15
Tracked prices for included Groq models are checked against official provider documentation.
Google model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-17
Tracked prices for included Google models are checked against official provider documentation.
Google model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-17
Tracked prices for included Google models are checked against official provider documentation.
Cohere model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-17
Tracked prices for included Cohere models are checked against official provider documentation.
Cohere model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-17
Tracked prices for included Cohere models are checked against official provider documentation.
Cohere model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-17
Tracked prices for included Cohere models are checked against official provider documentation.
Mistral model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-17
Tracked prices for included Mistral models are checked against official provider documentation.
Moonshot AI model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-17
Tracked prices for included Moonshot AI models are checked against official provider documentation.
Moonshot AI model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-17
Tracked prices for included Moonshot AI models are checked against official provider documentation.
Moonshot AI model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-17
Tracked prices for included Moonshot AI models are checked against official provider documentation.
xAI model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-07-17
Tracked prices for included xAI models are checked against official provider documentation.
Anthropic model pricingHigh confidenceChecked 2026-09-08
Tracked prices for included Anthropic models are checked against official provider documentation.
Provider pricing used in this comparison
Review the source-tracked provider pages before using this workload estimate in a budget.