Reading Your Own Bill: How a 1.3x Multiplier Shows Up in Each Model Call's USDC Cost

How the 1.3x Multiplier Works

When you use our API aggregator, each call to a model like Claude, GPT, or DeepSeek incurs a cost in USDC. The cost is calculated as the official price for that model multiplied by 1.3. This multiplier covers our service, payment processing, and infrastructure. You pay in USDC on Base, with no KYC required.

Tracing a Single Call

To verify the USDC cost of a call, you need three pieces of information:

• The model's official input price per token (in USD)
• The model's official output price per token (in USD)
• The number of input tokens and output tokens in your request

The formula is:

cost_usd = (input_tokens * input_price + output_tokens * output_price) * 1.3
cost_usdc = cost_usd  // USDC is pegged to USD

Example: Claude Call

Suppose the official price for Claude is $X per 1K input tokens and $Y per 1K output tokens. If you send a request with 500 input tokens and receive 300 output tokens:

• Input cost: (500 / 1000) * X
• Output cost: (300 / 1000) * Y
• Subtotal: input cost + output cost
• Total with multiplier: subtotal * 1.3

This total is deducted from your USDC balance.

Example: GPT Call

For GPT, the official prices differ. Using the same token counts, the calculation follows the same steps with GPT's input and output prices. The final USDC cost is the official cost multiplied by 1.3.

Example: DeepSeek Call

DeepSeek models may have different pricing. Again, you apply the same formula: sum the input and output costs based on official prices, then multiply by 1.3 to get the USDC cost.

Contributor Credits

If you contribute your API keys to the pool, you earn credits in USDC. For each call made with your key, you receive the official price multiplied by 1.1 (or 1.2 for premium models) in USDC. This is separate from what the caller pays (official price * 1.3). The difference covers platform costs.

Verifying the Math

You can independently verify each call's cost by:

• Checking the model's official pricing (from the provider's website)
• Counting input and output tokens from your request and response
• Applying the 1.3 multiplier

Your dashboard should show the same calculation. This transparency lets you audit your spending.

Why This Matters

Understanding the multiplier helps you predict costs and compare models. It also clarifies how contributor credits work. The multiplier is fixed and applies uniformly, so no hidden fees or variable markups.

Final Thoughts

The 1.3x multiplier is straightforward: it's applied to the official cost of each model call, resulting in the USDC amount deducted. By tracing tokens and prices, you can verify any charge. This model supports the service while keeping costs predictable.