What affects cost
- Selected model endpoint
- Input and output token volume
- Text, speech, transcription, or other service unit
- Retries and application-level agent loops
- Production rate limits and enterprise-only model requirements
LLM API
GroqCloud API pricing
GroqCloud API pricing lists per-model input and output token rates for hosted open models, with spend controls and separate rates for audio services.
Decision summary: Consider GroqCloud when its supported model catalog, token rates, service limits, and spend controls fit the production workload.
Pricing overview
Usage-based model inference priced per million tokens, plus separate per-character or per-audio-hour units for non-text services.
Source-tracked model data
GroqCloud API model prices in one table
Example cost uses 1,000,000 input tokens and 300,000 output tokens at each model's default tracked rate, with no cache discount.
| Model | Input price | Cached input | Output price | Context | Example cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-OSS 120B on Groq Stable | $0.15 / 1M | $0.075 / 1M | $0.60 / 1M | 131.1K tokens | $0.33 |
| GPT-OSS 20B on Groq Stable | $0.075 / 1M | $0.037 / 1M | $0.30 / 1M | 131.1K tokens | $0.165 |
| Llama 4 Scout on Groq Preview | $0.11 / 1M | Not tracked | $0.34 / 1M | 131.1K tokens | $0.212 |
| Qwen3-32B on Groq Preview | $0.29 / 1M | Not tracked | $0.59 / 1M | 131.1K tokens | $0.467 |
Cost boundary: this example compares token charges only. It does not assume equal output quality, latency, retry rates, or output length across models.
Lower-cost options from the same provider
- Llama 3.1 8B Instant for suitable lower-complexity work
- GPT OSS 20B when its task quality is sufficient
- Cap generated output and monitor retries for every endpoint
Alternative providers or products
- Together AI
- OpenRouter
- Direct model-provider APIs
- Self-hosted inference when operational cost is understood
Best for
- teams evaluating Groq-hosted open models
- applications that need explicit per-model token rates
- buyers that want dashboard usage and spend controls
Not ideal for
- teams requiring models outside the current Groq catalog
- budgets that mix text and audio billing units
- workloads that have not tested endpoint availability and rate limits
FAQ
GroqCloud API pricing questions
Are all GroqCloud models billed at the same token rate?
No. Each listed model has its own input and output rate, while speech and transcription services use different billing units.
Does the lowest token rate identify the right Groq model?
No. Token cost should be evaluated with task quality, output length, retries, context limits, endpoint availability, and rate limits.