Tool Engineering Utilities

Agent Loop Budget Calculator

Estimate AI agent loop costs, token budgets, and risk levels before deployment. Configure your model, iteration limits, and token usage.

5models
4risk levels

AI agents that loop without budget controls can run up significant costs. This calculator helps you estimate the token usage and cost of an agent loop so you can set appropriate limits before deployment.

Critical risk

Based on estimated cost of $218.7500

ModelGPT-4o
Total tokens50.0K
Input cost$93.7500
Output cost$125.0000
Estimated total$218.7500

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Frequently asked questions

How does the cost estimate work?
The calculator assumes 75% of tokens are input (prompt + context) and 25% are output (response). It multiplies by the model's per-token cost to estimate total cost. Actual costs vary based on exact token counts and caching.
What is a safe max iterations setting?
Start with 10-25 iterations for most agent tasks. Set a hard limit of 50 as a safety net. Monitor actual usage after deployment and adjust. Use the risk assessment to determine appropriate limits for your budget.
How do I prevent runaway costs?
Set hard max iteration limits, implement global timeouts, track token budgets in real-time, add circuit breakers on tool failures, log all iterations for post-mortem analysis, and require human approval for destructive actions.

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