--- title: Sam Altman almost scrapped token pricing. Here’s why he... description: OpenAI nearly scrapped token-based pricing for its next model but backed off after negative customer feedback, Sam Altman says. The company considered a flat... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/sam-altman-almost-scrapped-token-pricing-here-s-why-he-backed-off--cg8vfv93e twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Sam Altman almost scrapped token pricing. Here’s why he backed off. | daily.dev og:description: OpenAI nearly scrapped token-based pricing for its next model but backed off after negative customer feedback, Sam Altman says. The company considered a flat... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/sam-altman-almost-scrapped-token-pricing-here-s-why-he-backed-off--cg8vfv93e og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/CG8vFV93E.png og:image:alt: Sam Altman almost scrapped token pricing. Here’s why he backed off. og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Sam Altman almost scrapped token pricing. Here’s why he backed off. **[The New Stack](https://daily.dev/sources/newstack)** · 4 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary OpenAI nearly scrapped token-based pricing for its next model but backed off after negative customer feedback, Sam Altman says. The company considered a flat per-job billing model, where developers submit a prompt and get a price with no breakdown. Customers responded negatively, with buyers saying 'I need to know what I'm paying for somehow'. Altman calls tokens 'a kind of fake unit' and had no clear alternative to offer, and token pricing remains in place for now. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why did OpenAI decide not to switch from token-based pricing to a flat per-job price? Customer feedback was strongly negative. Sam Altman said OpenAI tested a flat per-job billing idea, similar to AWS, where a prompt would get a price with no breakdown, but buyers told the company 'I need to know what I'm paying for somehow,' and OpenAI backed off the plan. _Developers tracking AI spend can follow pricing shifts like this one on daily.dev._ ### Would developers rather pay more for AI usage if it stayed priced in tokens? Yes, according to Sam Altman, people he asked said they would 'much rather you inflate the tokens and pay more' than receive an opaque flat price, because token pricing lets them know 'there's a real thing there' behind the cost rather than suspecting they'll 'get screwed somehow' over time. _Anyone budgeting LLM costs can weigh transparency trade-offs like this one with daily.dev._ ### Does Sam Altman think tokens are a good way to measure AI usage cost? No, Altman called tokens 'a kind of fake unit' that are 'real in some sense, but not a good unit,' comparing them to nanometer figures in chip marketing that no longer reflect real physical measurements. He offered no clear alternative, and OpenAI continues to rely on token pricing regardless. _Teams deciding how to model AI costs can track this kind of pricing debate on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [You are not a model. Don’t price per token.](https://daily.dev/posts/you-are-not-a-model-don-t-price-per-token--sx9qiokkr) · Tech Lead Digest · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [AI's Economics Don't Make Sense](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-s-economics-don-t-make-sense-u59jqqbul) · Where's Your Ed At · 69 upvotes · 11 comments - [AI token prices fell 98% but enterprise bills tripled](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-token-prices-fell-98-but-enterprise-bills-tripled-ebg7lcnvk) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Cheap AI tokens are running out](https://daily.dev/posts/cheap-ai-tokens-are-running-out-qoi8vhswo) · LeadDev · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#llm](https://daily.dev/tags/llm), [#openai](https://daily.dev/tags/openai) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/sam-altman-almost-scrapped-token-pricing-here-s-why-he-backed-off--cg8vfv93e) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Sam Altman almost scrapped token pricing. 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