TOOLS · CLAUDEGUIDE.IO
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 · live · 2026
Should you enable prompt caching?
Verdict
Enable caching — 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 × 1.25 = $3.75/M
- cache_read_rate = input_price × 0.1 = $0.30/M
- break-even = (write_cost − read_cost) / (no_cache_cost − read_cost)
- monthly multiplier = (60/ttl_min) × 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 1.25× the input price on the first call (5-min cache) and 0.1× 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 — at 10× 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 — 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 → $52 monthly trace from a 50K-call production agent.
Related on claudeguide.io: Prompt Caching Guide · Cost Benchmark ($487 → $52) · Break-Even Math (long form)