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Local vs API Cost Calculator

Compare the real cost of running an LLM locally versus calling a hosted API: hardware amortization, electricity, and token pricing — with a break-even point.

Cost assumes 75% input / 25% output tokens. Only models with a same-model hosted API appear here — that's the only apples-to-apples comparison.

Hosted API

$6.6

deepinfra · meta-llama/Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct · $0.28/mo

  • groq: $0.58/mo

Run locally

$400

rtx-3060-12gb · 7.5 GB

  • Hardware (reference price): $180
  • Amortized hardware: $7.5/mo
  • Electricity: $9.18/mo

Verdict

At this usage, the API is cheaper — at these token prices and electricity costs, local hardware never pays for itself.

We don't push either answer. Local wins at sustained high volume; for bursty or light usage the API almost always wins. Privacy and offline use are separate reasons to go local that this calculator doesn't price.

Estimates. API prices verified monthly from official pricing pages; hardware prices are manual reference prices; electricity assumes 50% average GPU load. Local speed/quality differences vs hosted APIs are not priced.