Methodology
Infrastructure cost is fixed for provisioned hours. Useful capacity scales by throughput and utilization, producing an effective token cost that is compared with the entered API rate.
Infrastructure and Migration
Self-Hosted LLM vs API Calculator
Compare GPU inference economics with an API at an editable throughput, utilization, and token rate.
Interactive Tool
Build a Scenario
| Result | Value | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Self-host infrastructure | $7,200.00 | Provisioned GPU cost per month. |
| Useful monthly capacity | 414.72M | Tokens available at entered throughput and utilization. |
| Effective self-host rate / 1M | $3.60 | GPU cost divided by actual useful demand. |
| API alternative | $20,000.00 | The same output volume at the entered API rate. |
| Breakeven volume | 720M | Monthly tokens where API spend equals GPU spend. |
Direct accelerator cost is a floor. Add engineering, networking, storage, orchestration, redundancy, and support.
Catalog model: Anthropic Claude Fable 5 →
Inputs
What the Calculation Needs
| Input | How it is used |
|---|---|
| GPU fleet and hourly cost | Accelerator count and fully loaded hourly rental or ownership cost. |
| Throughput | Sustained output tokens per second per GPU. |
| Utilization | Share of provisioned time doing useful inference. |
| API rate and volume | Comparable per-million-token price and monthly output demand. |
How to Interpret the Result
Direct GPU cost is only a floor. Add engineering, orchestration, idle reserve, networking, observability, storage, and reliability before making a migration decision.
Boundaries
What the Result Does Not Prove
- Model quality, quantization, batch size, and latency targets change throughput.
- Input processing and output generation can have different economics.
- API prices may include operational features absent from raw GPU cost.
Catalog values retain their source and freshness on the linked model, provider, benchmark, or comparison page. Editable scenario assumptions are not Model Markets measurements.
Continue the Analysis
Related Tools
| Tool | Next question |
|---|---|
| GPU Inference Cost | Normalize a GPU deployment into cost per million generated tokens. |
| Model Migration | Calculate payback for switching a production workload instead of comparing token prices alone. |
| API vs Subscription | Find the usage level where seat pricing and metered API pricing cross for a team. |
Questions
Self-Host vs API FAQs
What does the Self-Hosted LLM vs API Calculator calculate?+
Find the utilization and volume conditions under which a self-hosted inference cluster can beat an API on direct compute cost. It returns monthly infrastructure cost, capacity, effective cost per million tokens, API alternative, and breakeven utilization.
Does the Self-Hosted LLM vs API Calculator use current model data?+
Where the calculation needs model facts, it uses the current Model Markets catalog snapshot updated 2026-09-02. User-entered assumptions remain clearly editable, and unsupported values stay unknown rather than being inferred.
What should I verify before using the Self-Hosted LLM vs API Calculator result?+
Model quality, quantization, batch size, and latency targets change throughput. Input processing and output generation can have different economics. API prices may include operational features absent from raw GPU cost. Open the linked canonical records and primary sources before making a production or purchasing decision.