PROAPC Editorial add-on · Planning and publishing
AI cost tracking plugin: what every article cost, step by step
The APC Editorial AI Cost History records what each article, post and image cost on your account with each AI, split by step and added up by provider. You know what to charge your client and which model is worth it.
- Each step with its own cost
- 8 decimal places
- Nothing to set up
In short
The AI Cost History is the APC Editorial tab that shows, for the whole site, what the AI cost: the total spend, what each provider charged and the cost of each article, LinkedIn post, generated plan and image, step by step. The amounts come in by themselves with every generation.
You pay each AI directly, on your own account with the provider, and jode.io adds no margin on top. The history shows where every cent went, with 8 decimal places.
- Shows
- The whole site, every project
- Providers
- Anthropic, OpenAI, Perplexity and DataForSEO
- Per article
- Each step and each generation
- Also
- Generated plans, briefings and hand-made images
- Filters
- Title, project and date range
- Precision
- 8 decimal places
- Plan
- PRO, with 30 days free
Where the amount comes from
What makes an AI article cost what it costs.
An article has no fixed price. It goes through several steps, and each one is charged by the provider that did it, the way that provider charges.
The model matters most. Each AI model has its own price, and the gap between them is large: a model in the Opus line costs more than a Sonnet, and a Haiku costs a fraction of both. That is why the plugin uses cheaper models for short steps, such as the alt text, and lets you choose the article's model in each plan.
What the AI reads and what it writes. Anthropic's charge depends on how much text the model reads (the briefing, the competitors' pages, the plan's articles it compares) and how much text it writes. By volume, written text costs more than read text. A long article with a lot of research costs more than a short one.
Re-reading and bulk processing cost less. When the same text is read again within a short time, the re-read costs much less. And the article's text goes through Anthropic's bulk processing mode, billed at half the standard price. The history records each step with those discounts already applied.
Searches, images and lookups have their own price. Each web search in the competitor research has a fixed fee. An OpenAI image is charged per image, by model, size and quality. DataForSEO charges per lookup, and Perplexity is recorded at the real cost it reports.
| Step | Who charges | The cost depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Competitor research | Anthropic | Model, pages read and web searches |
| Google data | DataForSEO | Lookups of Google, AI Overviews and AI Mode |
| Anti-cannibalization | Anthropic | How many articles and themes the plan has to compare |
| Case research | Perplexity | Quick or deep research |
| Article generation | Anthropic | Model and article length; half the standard price through bulk processing |
| Featured image (AI) | OpenAI | Image model, size and quality |
| ALT text | Anthropic | A cheap model and a few words |
| LinkedIn summary | Anthropic | Model and summary length |
Only the steps the article used show up. The price table the plugin applies sits on the key cards, under Update price table.
For agencies and consultants
Content pricing with the math done.
Anyone who sells content needs each piece's cost to set an article or monthly package price without guessing. With the real cost of each step on screen, the math stops being an average and becomes what actually happened for that client.
- One project per client: the project filter shows what that client cost over the period you choose.
- Compare models: generate with one model, then another, and see in the history whether the price difference pays off.
- Regenerations in plain sight: an article generated more than once shows each generation and the total of all of them.
- Planning counts too: each Generate themes run shows up with its cost and an average per theme.
On each plan's and each project's screen, the Total cost and Cost by API cards show the same money, for just that slice. And the report with your brand shows your client what the content brought in.
What it does
Every cent, in the right place.
The tab is read-only: it gathers what the generations have already recorded. This view is for your whole site, across every project.
Total and each provider
Total AI spend at the top and one card for each provider: Anthropic (text), OpenAI (images), Perplexity (case research) and DataForSEO (Google search).
Math that adds up
The Where the total comes from line adds up the cards in front of you. If the sum doesn't match, the tab says so instead of hiding the difference.
Cost per article
Each article with its steps in generation order and its total. Generated more than once? Generations of this article opens each one, marked Full generation or with what was regenerated.
Plans and briefings
Each Generate themes and each Regenerate all briefings run, with its cost and the average per theme. LinkedIn plans have their own list.
Hand-made images
Featured images created with Generate with AI, outside a generation, and the images from the APC - Add Image with AI tab, each with its cost.
Filters that answer
Search by title, pick the project and set the Start date and End date. Load more brings the rest of the list without reloading the page.
Trust in the number
Numbers that match your bill.
A cost history is only useful if you can trust it. That is why:
- The price table is yours: keep its values the same as your account's, and the recorded cost follows your bill. Perplexity is recorded at its real cost, with no table.
- A generation that failed and was charged counts too, marked Failed or Incomplete.
- No fraction is lost: each amount has 8 decimal places, because a short step costs less than 1 cent.
- Old spend stays apart: what came before per-run tracking shows as Before per-run tracking, never mixed in.
- The cap pauses, it never downgrades: in Global Settings, the monthly cap for Anthropic, OpenAI and Perplexity can Pause queue or Alert only. It never shortens the text or swaps the model.
Step by step
Follow the cost in 4 steps.
Costs are recorded automatically as your articles and images are generated. There is nothing to set up in the tab.
-
Turn the add-on on
In Global Settings, on the Add-ons/Tools card, turn on AI Cost History and click Save.
-
Check the prices
On the Anthropic, OpenAI and DataForSEO cards, open Update price table and keep the values the same as your account's.
-
Generate as usual
Every generated article, post, plan or image goes into the history by itself, step by step.
-
Filter and decide
Open the AI Cost History tab, pick the project and the period, and use the numbers to price your work and choose the model.
Want each step in detail? The What an article costs page has an example receipt, and the spending cap page shows how to limit the month.
Free and PRO
A PRO add-on, with 30 days free.
Generating with AI is a PRO feature, and the history shows what those generations cost. On Free there is no AI generation, so there is no AI cost to record.
Site tools, with no AI
- The Free tools run on your server and cost nothing in AI
- The report with your brand is Free too
Every AI cost, explained
- The AI Cost History tab, with each article's steps
- The Total cost and Cost by API cards on each plan and project
- The AI is charged by the provider, straight to your account, with no jode.io margin
- 30 days free to try it. See the price
FAQ
Questions about the cost of AI articles.
How much does an AI article cost in APC Editorial?
It depends on the model chosen in the plan, the article's length and the steps turned on, such as case research and the AI image. The docs have an example receipt; your real cost shows up in the history, step by step, after each generation.
Who charges for the AI: jode.io or the provider?
The provider. Texts use your Anthropic key and images, your OpenAI key; the amount goes straight to your account with each one, with no jode.io margin. The history only records what was spent.
Is the history's amount the same as my bill?
It is calculated from the plugin's price table. If you keep the table the same as your account's, under Update price table, the recorded cost follows your bill. Perplexity is recorded at the real cost it reports.
Does a failed generation count in the cost too?
Yes, if the provider charged for it. It shows up with what it spent, marked Failed or Incomplete, so you see the whole cost, including what didn't work.
Does regenerating an article raise its cost?
Yes: each generation is charged. The article shows each one under Generations of this article and the Article total (all generations). Regenerating only the LinkedIn summary costs only the summary.
Can I see what each client cost?
Yes, if each client has their own project. Pick the project and the period in the Cost per article filter, or open the project and look at the Total cost and Cost by API cards.
Can I cap the month's spending?
Yes. In Global Settings there is a monthly cap for Anthropic, OpenAI and Perplexity. When it is reached, the queue pauses or you only get an alert, and quality never drops to save money.
Why 8 decimal places?
Because several steps cost less than 1 cent, such as the alt text. Rounding to 2 places would make those amounts vanish, and the sum would stop matching the total.
More add-ons and tools
Works together with these.
Each add-on and each tool turns on and off on its own, in Global Settings › Add-ons/Tools.
APC Editorial
Try it free for 30 days, with everything unlocked.
The AI Cost History add-on is part of APC Editorial, the plugin to generate articles with AI with editorial planning. Free add-ons and tools stay free forever; PRO ones are unlocked during the 30 free days.