Token Compression Calculator
Estimate the token savings achieved by compressing or summarizing prompt text.
About Token Compression Calculator
Token compression reduces prompt size through summarization, removing redundancy, or using specialized compression techniques like LLMLingua. A compression ratio of 0.4 means only 40% of original tokens are retained while preserving most semantic content.
Formula
Compression
compressed = original_tokens × compression_ratio; saved = original - compressed
- compression_ratio
- Fraction of tokens retained after compression
Worked example
With the default values below, Token Compression Calculator returns Compressed Tokens of 2,000. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Original Token Countminimum 1
- 5,000
- Compression Ratioaccepts 0.01–1
- 0.4
Results
- Compressed Tokens
- 2,000
- Tokens Saved
- 3,000
- Reduction
- 60.0%
Step by step
- 1Compressed tokens= 2000
- 2Tokens saved= 3000
- 3Reduction percentage= 60.0%
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does compression affect response quality?
Aggressive compression (below 30% retention) often degrades quality. The sweet spot is typically 40-60% retention where most information is preserved with significant cost savings.
What techniques achieve token compression?
Methods include extractive summarization, removing filler words, LLMLingua-style prompt compression, and structured prompt templates that convey the same information in fewer tokens.