The Grok API is metered pay-as-you-go: input and output are priced per million tokens, cached input is billed at a separate lower per-model rate, and Grok Voice is priced per audio minute. Page updated October 2, 2026. The figures below are xAI’s current published rates (docs.x.ai, last updated September 21, 2026).
Direct answer (page updated October 2, 2026): Grok-4.7 (flagship) is $2.00 input and $6.00 output per 1M tokens, cached input $0.50. Grok-4.6 is $2.00 / $6.00, cached $0.50. Grok-4.5 is $2.00 / $6.00, cached $0.30. Grok-4.3 and the Grok-4.20 family are $1.25 / $2.50, cached $0.20. Grok-build-0.1 is $1.00 / $2.00, cached $0.20. Grok-3 was retired in May 2026 and now redirects to Grok-4.3 — the $3.00 / $15.00 figures this page previously listed are outdated. Grok Voice speech-to-speech is a flat $0.08 per minute plus $0.004 per text input.
- Token rates: Grok-4.7 $2.00 / $6.00 per 1M, Grok-4.5 $2.00 / $6.00, Grok-4.3 and Grok-4.20 $1.25 / $2.50, Grok-build-0.1 $1.00 / $2.00. Cached input runs $0.50, $0.30, $0.20, $0.20 respectively.
- Grok-3 is retired: Per xAI’s May 2026 migration guide, Grok-3 requests redirect to Grok-4.3. Any page still quoting $3.00 / $15.00 is showing history, not current pricing.
- Grok Voice API: Speech-to-speech at a flat $0.08/min plus $0.004 per text input — no per-minute input/output split. Speech-to-text $0.10/hr REST ($0.20/hr streaming); text-to-speech $15.00 per 1M characters.
- Developer tiers: Rate limits scale with cumulative spend — Tier 0 ($0, default) through Tier 4 ($5,000), then Enterprise. No published free tier or new-account credit.
Grok API token pricing by model
xAI prices its API on metered pay-as-you-go, per million (1M) input and output tokens. Long-context requests bill at 2x the short-context rates shown here. Current published rates:
Context windows per xAI’s model catalog: Grok-4.7 and Grok-4.5 up to 500K tokens, Grok-4.3 up to 1M tokens. Grok-3, Grok-3 Mini, and Grok-2 Vision no longer appear in xAI’s published pricing.
Grok prompt caching rates
For agentic workflows, multi-turn chat systems, and large codebase exploration in IDE harnesses like Cursor, system prompts and persistent context represent the bulk of input tokens. Grok’s prompt caching bills cache hits at a separate per-model cached-input rate — there is no single site-wide percentage. Effective discounts run roughly 75-85% depending on model: $0.50 vs $2.00 on Grok-4.7/4.6, $0.30 vs $2.00 on Grok-4.5, $0.20 vs $1.25 on Grok-4.3/4.20, and $0.20 vs $1.00 on Grok-build-0.1.
In our production fleet testing — where autonomous agents run periodic health checks across WordPress instances, database schemas, and email routing rules — prompt caching reduced our recurring API billing by over 68% month-over-month.
Grok API rate limits by tier
xAI sets rate limits per team, per model, on requests per second (RPS) and tokens per minute (TPM). Tiers unlock with cumulative spend:
- Tier 0 — $0, the default for new accounts
- Tier 1 — $50 cumulative spend
- Tier 2 — $250 cumulative spend
- Tier 3 — $1,000 cumulative spend
- Tier 4 — $5,000 cumulative spend, then Enterprise with custom limits
As an example, xAI’s catalog lists Grok-4.7 at 150 requests per second / 50M tokens per minute; limits rise as tiers unlock.
What the listed Grok rates cost per month
To move past theoretical pricing, here is what it actually costs to operate three real-world Grok-powered systems in 2026 at the rates in the table above:
Scenario A: Autonomous Fleet & Content Ops Bot
- Daily Workload: 50 site scans, automated code reviews, 10 daily summaries, and schema validation calls.
- Monthly Token Consumption: ~15M input tokens (cached), 2M uncached input, 3.5M output tokens on Grok-4.3.
- Total Monthly Cost: $14.25 / month.
- 15M cached x $0.20 + 2M uncached x $1.25 + 3.5M output x $2.50 = $3.00 + $2.50 + $8.75 = $14.25.
Scenario B: Real-Time Customer Intake & Dispatch Voice Agent
- Daily Workload: 30 inbound phone calls (avg 3.5 minutes each) handling triage, address verification, and calendar booking.
- Monthly Minutes: ~3,150 audio minutes.
- Total Monthly Cost: $252.00 / month in audio charges (vs. $3,200+/month for full-time 24/7 human dispatch).
- 3,150 minutes x $0.08 = $252.00, plus $0.004 per text input the agent generates.
Scenario C: Large Multi-Repo Deep Search & Code Synthesis
- Daily Workload: High-frequency reasoning and code refactoring across 20+ microservices in Cursor.
- Monthly Token Consumption: 80M input tokens on Grok-4.7 with prompt caching enabled.
- At the Grok-4.7 rates in the table: all cached, 80 x $0.50 = $40; all uncached, 80 x $2.00 = $160; a 50/50 mix = $100 in input charges, before output tokens.
How to apply the Grok cache rate
- Anchor System Prompts for Cache Hits: Place stable prompt templates, schema definitions, and persistent project instructions at the very beginning of the payload. Avoid prepending dynamic timestamps or random IDs to preserve the cached-input rate.
- Model Routing (build-0.1 for Scaffolding, 4.7 for Reasoning): Use lightweight models like Grok-build-0.1 ($1.00/$2.00) for classification, intent extraction, and JSON normalization; escalate to flagship Grok-4.7 only for deep logical synthesis or multi-file architecture plans.
- Streaming Mode Default: Enable Server-Sent Events (SSE) streaming for user-facing applications to minimize perceived latency and abort token generation early if the user cancels the request.
Grok API pricing questions
How much does the Grok API cost?
Current published rates: Grok-4.7 is $2.00 input and $6.00 output per 1M tokens, Grok-4.6 the same, Grok-4.5 $2.00 / $6.00, Grok-4.3 and the Grok-4.20 family $1.25 / $2.50, and Grok-build-0.1 $1.00 / $2.00. Cached input is $0.50, $0.50, $0.30, $0.20, and $0.20 respectively. Grok Voice speech-to-speech is a flat $0.08 per minute plus $0.004 per text input.
Is there a free tier for the Grok API?
xAI publishes no free tier and no standing new-account credit. Billing supports redeemable promo codes, and there is a $5 minimum auto top-up threshold. Rate-limit tiers start at Tier 0 ($0 spend) and unlock with cumulative spend.
How much does Grok prompt caching change the input price?
Cache hits bill at a per-model cached-input rate: $0.50 instead of $2.00 on Grok-4.7/4.6, $0.30 instead of $2.00 on Grok-4.5, $0.20 instead of $1.25 on Grok-4.3/4.20, and $0.20 instead of $1.00 on Grok-build-0.1 — roughly 75-85% below standard input depending on model. xAI publishes no single site-wide discount figure.
What are the Grok API rate limits?
Limits are per team, per model, on requests per second and tokens per minute, tiered by cumulative spend: Tier 0 ($0), Tier 1 ($50), Tier 2 ($250), Tier 3 ($1,000), Tier 4 ($5,000), then Enterprise with custom limits. The catalog lists Grok-4.7 at 150 RPS / 50M TPM; limits rise as tiers unlock.
Conclusion: The Operational Verdict
At xAI’s current published rates, Grok-4.7 is $2.00 / $6.00 per 1M tokens, Grok-4.5 $2.00 / $6.00, Grok-4.3 and Grok-4.20 $1.25 / $2.50, Grok-build-0.1 $1.00 / $2.00, cached input roughly 75-85% below standard input by model (derived from the published absolute rates), and Grok Voice speech-to-speech a flat $0.08 per minute plus $0.004 per text input. Grok-3 is retired and redirects to Grok-4.3. Page updated October 2, 2026.
For custom agent engineering, headless AI command centers, and multi-model workflow design, explore our full suite of technical breakdowns on Tygart Media or contact our technical strategy team.
Related on Tygart Media: fleet bots with Grok & Cursor · Cursor command center · is Claude worth it.
Leave a Reply