Cost Comparison

Plan vs API Cost

If you're on a Claude Code subscription plan, you're paying a flat monthly fee. But how much would that same usage cost on the API? The cost comparison feature answers this question.

Supported Plans

Plan	Monthly Cost	Description
Pro	$20/mo	Basic Claude Code access
Max5x	$100/mo	5x usage limits
Max20x	$200/mo	20x usage limits

How It Works

1. claude-telemetry tracks token counts per model for every session
2. Each token count is multiplied by Anthropic's published API pricing:
   • Opus 4: $15/MTok input, $75/MTok output
   • Sonnet 4: $3/MTok input, $15/MTok output
   • Haiku 3.5: $0.80/MTok input, $4/MTok output
3. The total API-equivalent cost is compared against your plan cost

Dashboard View

The cost comparison page shows:

Savings Gauge

A visual gauge showing your subscription efficiency:

Plan cost:    $100/mo  ──────────────────────
API equivalent: $340/mo  ──────────────────────────────────

                You saved $240 (70%) this month

Monthly Comparison Chart

Bar chart comparing plan cost vs API-equivalent cost for each month.

Break-Even Analysis

• Break-even point: the usage level where your plan cost equals API cost
• Current usage: where you are relative to break-even
• Recommendation: whether upgrading or downgrading your plan makes sense

Per-Model Breakdown

How much each model contributes to your API-equivalent cost:

• Opus sessions tend to be expensive — a few heavy Opus sessions can justify the plan
• Haiku sessions are cheap — mostly noise in the cost comparison

Use Cases

• Justify your subscription to your manager or team lead
• Choose the right plan — are you getting value from Max5x vs Pro?
• Track ROI over time — see how your savings change as usage patterns evolve