Hacker News · AI· ianberdin·· 5 hours agoSelectedAI score76
Tests Reveal Hidden Price Hikes by AI Vendors: Token Unit Prices Remain Flat or Drop, but Output Tokens Inflate Dramatically
AI labs raise prices without raising prices
AI guide
Playcode's testing indicates that multiple AI labs are effectively raising prices by inflating output token counts. Even with per-token pricing unchanged, OpenAI's GPT Image 2.6 consumes 3.3 times as many output tokens as version 2.5 to generate the same image.
Why it matters
Through multiple hands-on tests, the article highlights the hidden pricing tactic of surging output token counts despite flat or lower nominal unit rates, helping developers accurately calculate actual API call costs.
Source:Hacker News · AI · playcode.io