Cost per User Calculator
Calculate the average AI infrastructure cost incurred per active user.
Inputs
Cost per User
$2.0000
Total Monthly Cost
$10,000.00
Step by step
Total monthly cost
$4000 + $6000
= $10000.00
Cost per user
$10000.00 ÷ 5000
= $2.0000
How it works
Cost per user is a core unit-economics metric for AI products: it divides total monthly cost — infrastructure plus third-party API spend — by the number of active users to determine how much each user costs to serve. Comparing this figure against your revenue per user (e.g. subscription price) tells you whether your AI feature is profitable at scale.
Formula
cost_per_user = (infrastructure_cost + api_costs) / active_users
- infrastructure_cost
- Monthly infrastructure spend
- api_costs
- Monthly third-party API spend
- active_users
- Number of active users in the period
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as an 'active user' here?
Define active users consistently with your product's usage metrics (e.g. monthly active users) so the cost figure aligns with your revenue-per-user calculations.
Should support and engineering salaries be included?
This calculator focuses on infrastructure and API costs; you can fold labor costs into the infrastructure cost input if you want an all-in figure.
How can I reduce cost per user?
Common levers include caching repeated responses, using smaller/cheaper models for simple requests, batching API calls, and negotiating volume discounts with providers.