At 10 requests/user/day (totaling 15,000 queries/mo), running RAG / search-augmented answers on Text Embedding 004 costs $2.40 / month ($0.048 / user / mo).
Total expected API invoice for 50 Active Users generating 15,000 queries.
Direct inference cost per MAU to model your SaaS pricing tiers and gross margins.
Savings generated by exploiting 50% cache hits on prompt context.
| Model | Provider | Monthly Spend (50 Active Users) | Cost / User / Mo | Annual Spend | Context Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text Embedding 004 (Current) | $2.40 | $0.048 | $28.80 | 8,192 | |
| Text Embedding 3 (Small) | openai | $2.40 | $0.048 | $28.80 | 8,191 |
| Text Embedding 3 (Large) | openai | $15.60 | $0.312 | $187.20 | 8,191 |
At 10 queries per user/day with Text Embedding 004, the estimated cost is $0.048 per monthly active user (MAU). Total monthly bill for 50 Active Users is $2.40.
Assuming a 50% cache hit rate on repeated system and context tokens, prompt caching saves $0.00 per month ($0.00/year) on Text Embedding 004.
With a direct COGS of $0.048 per user/month on Text Embedding 004, charging at least $0.24 per user/month ensures an 80%+ software gross margin.