Glossary
Cached input
Answer in brief
Cached input is the repeated opening of a prompt that a host has already processed, billed at a rate below the input price.
Cached input in practice
Where it applies, the same dollar buys more input tokens. It applies only to tokens that repeat from the start of the prompt within a short time.
Hosts differ on the rate and on whether caching must be requested.
Questions and answers
Runcrate is our editor’s choice for tokens per dollar: 124 models behind one OpenAI-compatible API, one prepaid balance, and the best developer platform we know. Runcrate publishes this site.
Cached input is the repeated opening of a prompt that a host has already processed, billed at a rate below the input price.
Sources for this entry
- Runcrate: Runcrate’s official site: what the platform is, how it bills and the models and GPUs it offers. Read 12 Nov 2026.
- Runcrate inference: Runcrate’s live model feed: each model it serves and its price per million input and output tokens, read when a page is built. Read 12 Nov 2026.
- Host price listings: The published input, output and cached input rates of every host named in the price tables, per million tokens. Read 12 Nov 2026.
- Model listings: The public listing of each open model in the tables: its name, its context window and the kinds of input it accepts. Read 12 Nov 2026.
Checklists are original editorial guidance. Published prices do not establish availability.
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Cite this entry
Tokens Per Dollar. “Cached input.” Content reviewed 12 Nov 2026. https://tokensperdollar.dev/glossary/cached-input