> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.helicone.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How We Calculate Cost

> Learn how Helicone calculates the cost per request for nearly all models, including both streamed and non-streamed requests. Detailed explanations and examples provided.

### OpenAI Non-Streaming

OpenAI Non-Streaming are requests made to the OpenAI API where the entire response is delivered in a single payload rather than in a series of streamed chunks.

For these non-streaming requests, OpenAI provides a `usage` tag in the response, which includes data such as the number of prompt tokens, completion tokens, and total tokens used.

Here is an example of how the `usage` tag might look in a response:

```json theme={null}
"usage": {
	"prompt_tokens": 11,
	"completion_tokens": 9,
	"total_tokens": 20
},
```

We capture this data, and we estimate the cost based on the model returned in the response body, using [OpenAI's pricing tables](https://openai.com/pricing#language-models).

### OpenAI Streaming

To calculate cost using OpenAI streaming please look at enabling the [stream usage flag docs](/faq/enable-stream-usage#incorrect-cost-calculation-while-streaming)

### Anthropic Requests

In the case of Anthropic requests, there is no supported method for calculating tokens in Typescript. So, we have to manually calculate the tokens using a Python server. For more discussion and details on this topic, see our comments in this thread: [https://github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-typescript/issues/16](https://github.com/anthropics/anthropic-sdk-typescript/issues/16)

### Developer

For a detailed look at how we calculate LLM costs, please follow this link: [https://github.com/Helicone/helicone/tree/main/costs](https://github.com/Helicone/helicone/tree/main/costs)

<Tip>
  If you want to calculate costs across models and providers, you can use our
  free, open-source tool with 300+ models: [LLM API Pricing
  Calculator](https://www.helicone.ai/llm-cost)
</Tip>

<Info>
  Please note that these methods are based on our current understanding and may
  be subject to changes in the future as APIs and token counting methodologies
  evolve.
</Info>

***

<Accordion title="Need more help?">
  Additional questions or feedback? Reach out to
  [help@helicone.ai](mailto:help@helicone.ai) or [schedule a
  call](https://cal.com/team/helicone/helicone-discovery) with us.
</Accordion>