AI COST CALCULATOR · FREE

What company AI costs: cloud vs. your own server

The calculator compares three routes to company AI: paying per token through a cloud API, a per-user chatbot subscription, and your own server running an open model. Cloud costs use OpenAI’s public prices as of 23 Oct 2026; the server cost uses our hardware price estimate. You get the payback month and a recommended setup.

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Small cloud model
$0.10 / $0.50 per 1M tokens in / out (gpt-6-luna)
Medium model
$2 / $10 per 1M tokens (gpt-6.1-sol)
Large model
$10 / $50 per 1M tokens (gpt-6-astra)
EU processing
+10% (OpenAI price list, 23 Oct 2026)
Official sourcesFull GDPR text (EUR-Lex)EU-US Data Privacy Framework decision

FREE TOOL

Calculator: cloud or your own AI server?

Enter how many people will use AI and how. Everything is computed in your browser; nothing is sent unless you ask for a call.

Model class
Adjust assumptions
How we calculate
  • Cloud API per month = (users × requests × 21 working days + automated requests × 30 days) × (input tokens × input price + output tokens × output price) ÷ 1,000,000 × 1.1 for EU processing.
  • Prices per 1M tokens (input / output), OpenAI Standard, 23 Oct 2026: gpt-6-luna $0.10 / $0.50, gpt-6.1-sol $2 / $10, gpt-6-astra $10 / $50.
  • Subscription per month = users × $20 (ChatGPT Business, annual billing) + cloud API for automated requests.
  • Own server = hardware + setup one-off; monthly operation + electricity (power in kW × 730 hours × price per kWh), at full power around the clock.
  • Sizing: one 96 GB GPU handles 30M tokens a day with a small and 12M with a medium model; a large model needs at least 8 GPUs, each handling 3M tokens a day. Up to 20 users and 1.5M tokens a day, a compact AI computer is enough.
  • Hardware (our estimate, 10/2026, excl. VAT): server €9,000 + €15,000 per GPU (0.4 kW + 0.6 kW per GPU); compact AI computer €6,000 (0.25 kW).
  • Payback = the first month in which cumulative cloud cost exceeds the one-off cost plus cumulative server operation.
  • Czech National Bank rate, 23 Oct 2026: $1 = €0.893.

An estimate, not a quote. Cloud prices from OpenAI public price pages as of 23 Oct 2026, without caching or batch discounts; hardware prices are our estimate excl. VAT and change month to month. The calculator compares model price classes, not their quality.

How does the calculator work?

It adds up what each of the three routes costs over 36 months.

  • cloud API: monthly requests × token price
  • subscription: users × $20 a month (ChatGPT Business, billed annually), plus automated requests via the API
  • your own server: hardware and setup one-off, operation and electricity monthly
  • payback: the first month in which the cloud has cost more in total than the server
  • the full formula with every constant is in the calculator’s “How we calculate” panel

Why is the cloud API often cheaper?

For ordinary chat, tokens cost less than a server’s operation and power alone.

  • 100 people at 20 requests a day, medium model with EU processing: API about €450 a month
  • your own server for them: about €27,200 one-off including setup, plus €670 a month for operation and power
  • against ChatGPT Business at about €1,790 a month, though, the server pays back in month 25
  • add 10,000 automated requests a day and the API costs about €3,700 a month; a four-GPU server at €72,200 including setup then pays back in month 27
  • calculated with the calculator’s defaults: 3,000 input and 500 output tokens per request

Why does the calculator oversize hardware?

It errs on the safe side: better a bigger server than one that falls short.

  • GPU capacities are set low on purpose
  • electricity is counted at full power around the clock
  • a large model above 200B parameters always gets at least eight GPUs for memory, whatever the headcount
  • the pilot load test measures the real capacity

What does the calculator leave out?

Five things that shift the decision differently in every company:

  • caching and batch discounts (Batch API at half price): the cloud would come out cheaper
  • building your own application and search on top of the API: the cloud would come out dearer
  • hardware residual value after 36 months: the server would come out cheaper
  • VAT and exchange-rate swings
  • data protection: in the cloud the provider is your processor (Art. 28 GDPR) and transfers of personal data to the US need a basis under Chapter V GDPR, such as the EU-US Data Privacy Framework; on your own server the data stays in your network

OFFER

After the calculator: a free tailored calculation

First you know what AI will cost and how it answers from your documents. Then you decide on the pilot.

Step 1 · Start here

Tailored cost calculation in 48 hours

You know what AI costs over 36 months in the cloud and on your own server, with concrete hardware.

Free

What you get

  • 15 minutes with an engineer on your inputs, no access to your systems
  • calculation from your real AI invoices or licence counts
  • concrete hardware with a supplier price
  • written 36-month comparison and a fixed pilot price
Get the free tailored calculation

Step 2

50-document test in 5 working days

You see how the AI answers from your documents before you pay anything.

Free

What you get

  • you send us the documents; isolated EU test server under NDA, no access to your systems
  • answers to 20 test questions with links to the source document
  • two or three open models compared
  • documents deleted after the test
Get the free 50-document test

Step 3

14-day pilot

The AI runs on your documents and the server capacity is measured, not estimated.

from €3,200excl. VAT

What you get

  • review of your infrastructure and document sources, installation on your server or a dedicated EU server
  • web interface for up to 20 users
  • load test with real requests
  • final hardware and operation sizing
Request a quote

PROCESS

From calculator to quote

  1. 01

    Calculator

    An estimate as soon as you fill it in.

  2. 02

    Call today

    Send the result with your number and we ask about the details. No access to your systems.

  3. 03

    Calculation in 48 hours

    In writing, with concrete hardware and a fixed pilot price.

  4. 04

    Test and pilot

    The free 50-document test, then the 14-day pilot: infrastructure review, installation and load test.

CONTACT

Send the result, get a call today

The calculator result is attached automatically. An engineer goes through it with you and sends a tailored calculation with concrete hardware and a fixed pilot price within 48 hours. Free, no commitment, no access to your systems.

Leave your number, I'll call you

Krystof Olik · founder and CEO

Same working day (CET), otherwise the next working morning.

Or email me directly at info@ollsoft.ai

We use your details only for this request. Privacy

FAQ

What clients ask us

It publishes a per-token price list you can calculate with exactly. For another provider, enter its prices; in the tailored calculation we do that for you.

The calculator compares price classes, not quality. The 50-document test shows the quality on your documents: free, within 5 working days and before you pay anything.

Yes. You can overwrite hardware, operation, setup and the electricity price. The defaults are our prices: setup (the pilot) from €3,200 excl. VAT, including the review of your infrastructure and the installation, and operation from €490 a month excl. VAT.

No. The calculator runs only in your browser. We receive the result only if you ask for a call.

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Sources

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