Price record, updated
AI prices move. This page keeps the dates.
Ten dated list-price events since November 2025, and the next two are increases. Google's pricing page now lists Gemini 4 Argon doubling on December 1, 2026 and Gemini 3.6 Flash and 3.8 Flash doubling on January 1, 2027. Below: the dated record, what each move does to a bill, and the alert list for the next one.
Provider list prices only, every entry dated. No estimates, no rumors.
Next scheduled change: Gemini 4 Argon, $2/$10 to $4/$20 per million tokens.
Scheduled: Gemini 4 Argon doubles on .
Listed on Google's Gemini API pricing page, checked Oct 21, 2026.
Ten price events, two still ahead
Hover, tap, or arrow through the nodes. The card underneath shows what moved, by how much, and the source.
Scheduled
Gemini 4 Argon doubles
$2 / $10$4 / $20 +100%
Google's pricing page lists Gemini 4 Argon at $2/$10 per million tokens through November 30 and $4/$20 from December 1. Caching goes from $0.10 to $0.20. Every token rate doubles, so any input/output mix costs 2x at unchanged tokens.
Source: Google Gemini API pricing, first seen Oct 17, 2026, re-checked Oct 21, 2026.
The ten events in full
- Nov 2025. Claude Opus rate cut: $15/$75 to $5/$25 per Mtok, 67% off both legs. Source: provider list price, November 2025.
- Jul 7, 2026. Fable 5 leaves Claude subscription plans: API-only at $10/$50, billed as usage credits. Source: plan change, public announcement.
- Jul 16, 2026. Kimi K3 API launches at $3/$15, flat across the full context window, cache-hit input $0.30. Source: Moonshot list price.
- Jul 24, 2026. Opus 5 launches at $5/$25, the Opus 4.8 card. Metered task: 4,610 tokens written vs 2,877 on Opus 4.8; $0.1158 vs $0.0724. Source: same-day dashboard bills.
- Aug 25, 2026. Fable 5.1 listed at $10/$50, the Fable 5 card, with cache hits at $0.25 per Mtok against $1.00 on Fable 5 (75% less). Source: Anthropic pricing, first seen Aug 25, re-checked Oct 21, 2026.
- Aug 25, 2026. Sonnet 5's scheduled Sep 1 increase was cancelled. $2/$10 is now standard. Source: Anthropic pricing documentation.
- Sep 28, 2026. Sonnet 5.5 launches at $2/$10, the Sonnet 5 card, with cache hits at $0.10 against $0.20 on Sonnet 5. Source: Anthropic pricing, checked Oct 21, 2026.
- Oct 13, 2026. Opus 5.5 listed at $4/$20, 20% under the $5/$25 Opus 5 card, cache hits $0.20. Source: Anthropic pricing, first seen Oct 13, re-checked Oct 21, 2026.
- Dec 1, 2026 (scheduled). Gemini 4 Argon rises from $2/$10 to $4/$20; caching from $0.10 to $0.20. Source: Google Gemini API pricing, first seen Oct 17, re-checked Oct 21, 2026.
- Jan 1, 2027 (scheduled). Gemini 3.6 Flash and 3.8 Flash rise from $0.75/$3.75 to $1.50/$7.50; caching from $0.075 to $0.15. Source: Google Gemini API pricing, first seen Oct 17, re-checked Oct 21, 2026.
Cheaper or pricier since you last checked?
Pick the last time you looked at a rate card. This lists every dated move since.
Current cards, October 2026
| Note | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-6 Luna | $0.10 | $0.50 | 5x | Cached input $0.01 |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | $0.75 | $3.75 | 5x | To $1.50 / $7.50 on Jan 1, 2027 scheduled |
| Claude Sonnet 5 | $2.00 | $10.00 | 5x | $2 / $10 now standard increase cancelled |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | $2.00 | $10.00 | 5x | Cache hits $0.10 |
| Gemini 4 Argon | $2.00 | $10.00 | 5x | To $4 / $20 on Dec 1, 2026 scheduled |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | $2.00 | $10.00 | 5x | Cached input $0.10 |
| Kimi K3 | $3.00 | $15.00 | 5x | Cache-hit input $0.30, flat across context |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | $4.00 | $20.00 | 5x | Cache hits $0.20; 20% under Opus 5 |
| Claude Opus 4.8 | $5.00 | $25.00 | 5x | Cache hits $0.50 |
| Claude Opus 5 | $5.00 | $25.00 | 5x | Launched Jul 24 on the 4.8 card |
| Claude Fable 5 | $10.00 | $50.00 | 5x | API-only since Jul 7; cache hits $1.00 |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | $10.00 | $50.00 | 5x | Cache hits $0.25 |
Standard list prices from each provider's own pricing page, all checked : Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Moonshot (Kimi). Names as published; batch discounts not shown. All 57 tracked models, with cache rates and a daily check, are in the LLM price index.
Scale check: one million tokens is roughly 750,000 English words. Every card above prices output tokens at 5x the input rate.
What the scheduled Google increases do to a bill
Gemini 4 Argon doubles on December 1, 2026; Gemini 3.6 Flash and 3.8 Flash double on January 1, 2027. Input, output and caching rates all double, so the math is the same for both. Enter your monthly spend on either.
Any number works; the slider tops out at $2,000.
Receipt: every listed token rate doubles (Argon $2/$10 to $4/$20, caching $0.10 to $0.20; Flash $0.75/$3.75 to $1.50/$7.50, caching $0.075 to $0.15), so any input/output mix costs exactly 2x. Added per year = monthly spend × 12. Source: Google Gemini API pricing, checked Oct 21, 2026.
For the record: Sonnet 5's planned September 1 rise to $3/$15 was cancelled on August 25, and $2/$10 stays standard.
Add both dates to your calendar (.ics) or take the email alert below.
Get the next change the day it lands
Every price change reprices a roadmap. The November cut turned yesterday's too-expensive flagship into today's default; the cancelled September rise left Sonnet 5 at $2/$10; the Gemini increases double two cards. This list exists so the next one reaches you the day it is announced, not on the invoice after.
Sample alert: the Gemini 4 Argon increase
Subject: Gemini 4 Argon doubles on December 1: $2/$10 becomes $4/$20
Google's pricing page lists Gemini 4 Argon at $4 / $20 per million tokens from December 1, 2026, up from $2 / $10.
At unchanged tokens, any input/output mix costs 2x.
One paragraph, two numbers, no upsell.
One email per price change: what moved, by how much, and what the same task costs now. Nothing else, ever.
Next scheduled change: Gemini 4 Argon, Dec 1, 2026.
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