{
  "billing_concept": {
    "id": "bil_input_vs_output_tokens",
    "name": "Input tokens are typically billed at a different rate than output tokens",
    "category": "token_pricing",
    "description": "Most LLM API providers, including Anthropic, bill output tokens at a materially higher per-token rate than input tokens, because generating tokens is more computationally expensive than processing them as input.",
    "how_it_works": "When estimating the cost of a workflow, the split between input and output token volume matters — a request with a huge input document but a short answer costs differently than one with a short prompt and a long generated response.",
    "source_note": "General, widely-known industry pattern for token-based LLM API pricing; no specific current Anthropic rate is asserted, since this session did not perform a live pricing search.",
    "created_at": "2026-07-02 08:30:36",
    "cite_as": "https://subagentcredits.com/api/billing-concepts/bil_input_vs_output_tokens"
  }
}