No Bullshit AINo Bullshit AIno-bullshit-aiCannabis Courseby Distru00 XP
Plain English

What This Actually Costs

You pay by the word-chunk, and what the AI writes costs five times what it reads. A pasted spreadsheet is a few cents. A plug you leave switched on costs on every message. Here is how to estimate one month for one job.Input tokens are cheap, output tokens cost about five times more, and every connector you leave on re-sends its tool list each turn. A subscription is a flat fee; an API key is pay-per-token. Estimate a month for one workflow with the sheet, then pull the levers: smaller model, shorter context, cache, connectors off.Per-token pricing (input/output, cache read 0.1x, batch 0.5x), per-turn context re-send including tool definitions, subscription vs. API, decision models at $0.042/Mtok, and a CSV estimator for one workflow's monthly bill.

8 min read1 giveaway

Questions this answersQuestions this answersfaq

how much does it cost to have AI read a spreadsheet?how much does it cost to have AI read a spreadsheet?what does a 500-row export cost per call?
Pennies. A 500-row, ten-column export is about 20,000 word-chunks, which is roughly four cents to read on the mid-range model, and the answer coming back is under a cent. The waste is not the price per question, it is pasting the whole export when the question needed thirty rows.Pennies. A 500-row, ten-column export is about 20,000 word-chunks, which is roughly four cents to read on the mid-range model, and the answer coming back is under a cent. The waste is not the price per question, it is pasting the whole export when the question needed thirty rows.Roughly 20K input tokens for a 500-row, 10-column export: about $0.04 at mid-tier input pricing, plus well under a cent for a 700-token reply. Per-call cost is noise. Per-turn context re-send, uncached fixed blocks and oversized payloads are what actually move the bill.
why is my AI bill bigger than I expected?why is my AI bill bigger than I expected?what drives per-turn input cost?
Because you pay again for everything on every message. The chat so far, your files and every connector you left switched on are all re-sent each time you type. One internal connector of ours was loading about three hundred action descriptions per message before anyone noticed the bill. Switching off connectors you are not using is free and immediate.Because you pay again for everything on every message. The chat so far, your files and every connector you left switched on are all re-sent each time you type. One internal connector of ours was loading about three hundred action descriptions per message before anyone noticed the bill. Switching off connectors you are not using is free and immediate.Everything is re-sent per turn: system prompt, matched skill metadata, memory, every tool definition from every enabled server, then the full history. Tool definitions are the expensive row, at roughly 150 tokens each. Cache the fixed block, disable unused connectors, shorten context, and batch anything that can wait.
should I pay a monthly subscription or per use?should I pay a monthly subscription or per use?subscription or API key?
People get subscriptions, workflows get a pay-per-use account. A flat monthly chat plan means you cannot overspend and never see a per-message price. Anything that runs without you, a script or an automation, uses the pay-per-use key instead, and at about two cents a run a small credit goes a long way.People get subscriptions, workflows get a pay-per-use account. A flat monthly chat plan means you cannot overspend and never see a per-message price. Anything that runs without you, a script or an automation, uses the pay-per-use key instead, and at about two cents a run a small credit goes a long way.Subscription for interactive human use: flat, capped, no per-message visibility. API key for anything unattended, metered per token with no ceiling unless you set one. Set a budget cap, because enabled connectors, unbounded conversation length and agent loops all scale input tokens without anyone deciding to.

Read the rest for freeSign in to read the restauth required past this point

A name and an email, once. The whole course is free, nothing is sold to you, and your place is kept so you can pick it up on your phone later.A name and an email, once. The course is free; the account exists so your progress and your level on the dial follow you between devices, and so you can be issued a certificate at the end.name + email. free. account carries completion state, data-level and certificate issuance.

Sign in or sign upSign in or sign upsign in

We store your name, your email, which lessons you open and which you finish, and the reading level you use. Distru can see that. Nothing is charged and nothing is sold on.Stored: name, email, which lessons you open and complete, and your level on the dial. Distru staff can see it. No payment, no third-party advertising trackers.stored: name, email, per-lesson view + completion, data-level. visible to Distru. no payment, no ad-tech, no third-party pixels.