[tools] cost
Claude Code cost calculator: is Max worth it?
Claude Code writes every request’s token counts to logs on your Mac. Drop them here to see what that work would cost at API prices, and how it compares with a $20, $100 or $200 plan.
Drop your ~/.claude/projects folder here
Or choose it below. The page reads token counts from the logs in your browser and uploads nothing.
[01] find it
Run this in Terminal to open the folder in Finder, then drag it onto the page.
[02] hidden folder
In the file dialog, press ⌘⇧. to show hidden folders, then pick .claude › projects in your home folder.
[03] private
Prompts and code in the logs are never kept. The page reads token counts and model names, then drops the rest.
The prices it uses
Anthropic’s list prices per million tokens, by model family. Cache reads cost a tenth of the input price, 5-minute cache writes 1.25× and 1-hour cache writes 2×.
| [model family] | [input] | [output] |
|---|---|---|
Fable | $10 | $50 |
Opus | $5 | $25 |
Sonnet | $3 | $15 |
Haiku | $1 | $5 |
These are the same prices Burnstate uses for the cost of each session in the app.
Reading the result
- Cache reads dominate. Claude Code resends the conversation every turn, mostly from cache. That’s why token counts look huge next to the cost.
- The API figure is a ceiling, not a bill. On a plan you pay the plan price, and usage past its limits waits for a reset or goes to usage credits.
- Hitting limits often? If the API figure is several times your plan price and you hit the 5-hour limit most days, the next plan up likely pays for itself. The Claude Code limits guide covers each plan.
What the page reads
Only lines for assistant messages with a usage object: the model, the timestamp and the token counts. Requests logged more than once while streaming count once. To add logs from another Mac, copy its projects folder over and drop both folders at once.
Questions
Where are Claude Code’s logs?
In ~/.claude/projects on your Mac, one folder per project, one .jsonl file per session. If you set CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, they’re in the projects folder under that directory instead.
Are my logs uploaded anywhere?
No. The page reads the files in your browser and keeps only token counts per request. Nothing is sent to Burnstate or anyone else, and closing the tab discards it.
How is the API cost calculated?
Each request’s tokens times Anthropic’s list price for its model family: input, output, cache reads at a tenth of the input price, and cache writes at 1.25× (5-minute) or 2× (1-hour). Requests repeated across log lines count once.
Does a higher API cost mean I should buy Max?
It means a plan is cheaper than paying per token for the same work, as long as that work fits the plan’s 5-hour and weekly limits. Anthropic doesn’t publish those limits in tokens, so check how often you hit them too.
[burnstate]
Cost per session, without the drag and drop.
Burnstate reads these logs on your Mac as you work and shows tokens and cost for every session, next to the limits they draw from.