AI Gross Margin: Are You Actually Making Money?
Revenue means little if AI costs quietly eat it. Gross margin per request — price minus the model cost to serve it — tells you whether each sale actually makes money.
Margin per request, not per month
Looking only at the monthly total hides which features or plans lose money. Costing a single request and subtracting it from what you charge exposes thin or negative margins before they scale.
Defend the margin as usage grows
Margins erode when users do more or when you upgrade models. Recompute regularly and pull the usual levers — caching, cheaper models, output limits — to keep each request comfortably profitable.
Calculators for this topic
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate AI gross margin?+
Subtract the model cost of serving a request from the price you charge for it, then divide by that price.
What is a healthy AI margin?+
It varies by business, but you want each request comfortably positive after model costs, with room for support and overhead.