Prompt Caching Break-Even Calculator
Should you enable Claude prompt caching? In 5 seconds, this tool tells you the break-even point + monthly $ savings for your specific traffic pattern. No signup. Live 2026 Anthropic pricing.
Prompt caching break-even calculator ยท live ยท 2026
Should you enable prompt caching?
Verdict
Enable caching โ save $704/month (52.5%)
Break-even point: 1.28 requests per 5min-window. Your traffic = 5.00 req/window.
No caching
$1,340
$/month
With caching
$636
$/month
Savings
$704
52.5%
Show the math
- cache_write_rate = input_price ร 1.25 = $3.75/M
- cache_read_rate = input_price ร 0.1 = $0.30/M
- break-even = (write_cost โ read_cost) / (no_cache_cost โ read_cost)
- monthly multiplier = (60/ttl_min) ร 730 hours
Numbers are estimates. Actual savings depend on cache hit rate, traffic burstiness, and breakpoint placement. For 20+ production patterns and the math behind multi-breakpoint caching, see the Cost Optimization Masterclass ($59).
The math, in one line
Claude prompt caching costs 1.25ร the input price on the first call (5-min cache) and 0.1ร the input price on every cache hit afterward. Whether caching saves money depends entirely on how many requests reuse the same prefix within the cache TTL window.
The break-even point is ~1.28 requests per 5-minute window (or ~2.11 per 1-hour window). Below that, the write premium isn't recouped. Above it, savings climb fast โ at 10ร the break-even rate, you're paying ~12% of the no-cache bill.
What this calculator gets right
- Per-model accuracy. Cache write/read multipliers apply to the input rate of the chosen model.
- 5-min vs 1-hour TTL. Write premiums and cache durations are modeled separately.
- Edge case: traffic below 1 req/window. If requests are spread thinner than 1 per cache window, every request is a cache miss.
What this calculator does NOT model
- Multi-breakpoint caching (up to 4 breakpoints per request).
- Cache hit rate variance from traffic burstiness โ real production cache hit rates run 60-90%.
- Interaction with Batch API (50% discount on non-urgent calls).
- Tool-use tokens (cached separately from message body).
Going deeper
For the 20 production patterns that achieve 60-90% real-world cache hit rates and the math behind combining caching with Batch API, see the Cost Optimization Masterclass ($59). It includes a real $487 โ $52 monthly trace from a 50K-call production agent.
Related on claudeguide.io: Prompt Caching Guide ยท Cost Benchmark ($487 โ $52) ยท Break-Even Math (long form)