AI API pricing glossary
Plain-language definitions of the terms developers hit when comparing API providers, written for DiscountedTokens with live pricing on /api/pricing.
API key
A credential that identifies your account when calling DiscountedTokens. Keys are issued after checkout and stored hashed; they are shown once.
API reseller
A gateway that buys model access wholesale and sells it per token at a markup or discount. DiscountedTokens is an independent reseller, not an official OpenAI or Anthropic service.
Base URL
The server address your SDK points at. For DiscountedTokens it is https://discountedtokens.com/v1 for OpenAI-compatible calls, /v1/responses for Codex, and /v1/messages for Anthropic-format calls.
Cost per million tokens (USD/M)
The standard unit of LLM pricing: dollars charged per one million input or output tokens. DiscountedTokens publishes live rates in this unit on /api/pricing.
GPT-5.x family
The current generation of OpenAI frontier chat models: gpt-5.6, gpt-5.5, gpt-5.4, and variants (sol, terra, luna, mini). DiscountedTokens sells access to these through one key.
Guest checkout
A purchase flow that requires no account. DiscountedTokens guest checkout issues a one-time API key on payment and stores it hashed.
Input tokens
The tokens in your request (system prompt, user message, tools) that a model reads. Billed at the input rate, usually lower than output.
Live supplier price
A sell rate DiscountedTokens derives from its upstream supplier sync and bills at, replacing a static catalog rate. The source policy is stated on /api/pricing.
Markup
The multiplier applied to model cost to produce a sell price. DiscountedTokens applies a markup to the verified base rate and publishes live supplier-derived sell rates when available.
OpenAI-compatible endpoint
An API surface that accepts the same request/response shape as the official OpenAI API, so existing SDKs work by changing only the base URL and key.
Output tokens
The tokens a model generates in response, billed at the output rate which is usually higher than input.
Prepaid credits
A balance you top up in advance and draw down per request. There is no monthly subscription; DiscountedTokens credits are prepaid and metered per token.
Responses API
OpenAI's newer agent-friendly API used by Codex and coding harnesses. DiscountedTokens exposes it at /v1/responses.
Structured data (schema.org Dataset)
Machine-readable markup that tells search engines and AI tools what a page is. The DiscountedTokens price index publishes Dataset schema with JSON/CSV distributions.
Source policy
The documented rule for where a published price comes from. DiscountedTokens states it on /api/pricing: live supplier sell rows override static verified base rates.