Claude Sonnet 5 API Pricing: Cost Calculator & Real Examples (2026)
Claude Sonnet 5 charges $2.00 per 1 million input tokens and $10.00 per 1 million output tokens. But per-token prices don't answer the real question: what will your workload cost per month? Below we compute it for three realistic scenarios — or run your own numbers with Claude Sonnet 5 preselected.
| Meter | Price per 1M tokens |
|---|---|
| Input | $2.00 |
| Cached input | $0.20 |
| Output | $10.00 |
Note: Introductory pricing through 2026-08-31; $3/$15 from 2026-09-01.
What does Claude Sonnet 5 cost in practice?
| Monthly scenario | Token bill |
|---|---|
| Support chatbot (150k requests, 400 in / 300 out tokens) | $570.00 |
| Document workflow (22k runs, 3,000 in / 400 out tokens) | $220.00 |
| High-volume classifier (1M requests, 300 in / 10 out tokens) | $700.00 |
In the chatbot scenario, output is ~79% of the Claude Sonnet 5 bill — capping response length (max tokens) is the most direct optimization. Document workflows are input-heavy, so the input rate dominates there.
Prompt caching savings
Claude Sonnet 5 offers cached input at $0.20/1M (vs $2.00 standard). At a 60% cache-hit rate, the example chatbot drops from $570.00 to $505.20/month — saving $64.80. If your system prompt and context are stable, this discount is free money.
Is Claude Sonnet 5 cheap or expensive?
On the same chatbot workload, Claude Sonnet 5 is cheaper than 6 of the 13 models we track (position 8 of 14, cheapest to priciest). The nearest cheaper alternative is Mistral Medium (latest) ($427.50/month on the same scenario). One step up: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview ($660.00/month). The right decision isn't absolute price but the cheapest model that meets your quality bar — test before overpaying.
FAQ
How much does Claude Sonnet 5 cost per 1M tokens?
$2.00 per 1M input tokens and $10.00 per 1M output tokens (verified 2026-07-09).
What does a chatbot cost on Claude Sonnet 5?
A 500-active-user chatbot (10 questions/day, 400 input + 300 output tokens per request) costs ~$570.00/month in tokens on Claude Sonnet 5. Adjust the assumptions in the calculator.
Prices verified on 2026-07-09 against the provider's official pricing page. Estimates are for planning purposes only — always confirm current pricing with the provider.