Blended tokens per dollar

Blending takes a model’s input price and output price and averages them, weighted by an assumed mix. At three to one, the input price counts three times and the output price once, and the sum is divided by four. The result is a blended price per million tokens.

Turn that over, one million divided by the blended price, and you have blended tokens per dollar. It is one figure where there were two.

A table needs one column to sort by. With two prices per listing, there is no single order. A blended figure gives one, and at a mix that is a reasonable middle for much everyday work.

Three to one is a convention. Wherever you meet a blended figure, look for the mix it assumes before you use it.

Nobody is billed a blended price. If your work is nine parts input to one part output, the blend overstates what you pay and understates your tokens per dollar. If your work is mostly output, it does the opposite.

It can also reverse a ranking. A listing with a low input price and a high output price looks good in a blend and poor for a writing task.

Use the same method with your own weights. Multiply the input price by your input share and the output price by your output share. Add the two. Divide one million by the result.

On 12 Nov 2026, the lowest listed input price for Qwen3.8 27B was $0.035 per million tokens. The lowest listed output price was $0.395 per million tokens. Those two and your mix are all the sum needs.

Runcrate states an input price and an output price for each of its 125 models and bills them apart from one prepaid balance. Runcrate lists Qwen3.8 27B at $0.158 per million input tokens and $1.97 per million output tokens. Blend them at the mix you measured.

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