How much will an AI moderation system cost per 1,000 items?
Want to estimate AI moderation cost per 1,000 items? This page turns that question into a real number. It is aimed at trust and safety teams, who need a defensible monthly figure before they ship. Change the volume and token sizes to match your own product and the estimate updates instantly.
Results update automatically as you type.
- Per request
- $0.000450
- Per 1,000 requests
- $0.4500
- Per 10,000 requests
- $4.50
- Per 1,000,000 requests
- $450.00
Why this isn't trivial
The part people underestimate: moderation runs on huge volumes of usually-short items, so per-1,000 unit cost and total volume matter most. In practice the biggest savings come from pre-filtering with cheap rules and only escalating uncertain items to the LLM, so it is worth modelling before you commit.
How it's calculated
We estimate this by costing one moderation check and expressing it per 1,000 items at your chosen model's rates. Every figure uses the current provider prices baked into the site (reviewed daily), and you can override any input to match your own assumptions.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an LLM for every item?+
No — cheap heuristics can clear obvious cases, reserving the LLM for edge cases.
Why price per 1,000 items?+
Moderation is high-volume, so per-1,000 cost is the natural planning unit.
Are these prices up to date?+
Yes. The model prices behind this calculator are refreshed and reviewed daily, so your estimate reflects current provider rates rather than a stale snapshot.
Related
Estimates for planning. Pricing data last reviewed 28 July 2026.