Token Counter

Real-time tokenizer for supported OpenAI and Llama models. Analyze token counts, estimate supported costs, and visualize context window limits.

Context: 128,000 tokens$0.005 / 1k

Tokens0

Characters / Words0 / 0

Est. Cost (Prompt)$0.0000

Context Window Usage0.00% (0 / 128,000)

Input Text

Token Heatmap

Visualized tokens will appear here...

Private Token Counting for OpenAI & Llama 3

A token is the unit an LLM uses to process text. Before you send a prompt, count its tokens to check the context-window budget, estimate supported input costs, and understand where the tokenizer splits code, punctuation, and non-English text.

Token Counter runs in your browser. The text you paste stays out of shareable URLs and is not sent to the tokenization service. Choose the tokenizer that matches the model you plan to use, then paste or type the raw text you want to measure.

Choose the Matching Tokenizer

Different models can split the same text differently. This tool intentionally lists only tokenizers it can run accurately on-device.

GPT-3.5 Turbo & GPT-4 Turbo: use the cl100k_base encoding.
GPT-4o & o1 Preview: use the o200k_base encoding.
Llama 3: uses the published Llama 3 tokenizer, with hosting-specific costs left to your provider.

The token heatmap shows the boundaries used by the selected tokenizer. For very large inputs, it displays the first 2,000 token boundaries while preserving the exact total token count.

Understand What the Cost Estimate Covers

For supported OpenAI models, the estimate uses the displayed input-token price. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Output tokens, cached tokens, batch discounts, tool calls, images, and chat-message formatting can change an API invoice.

Use the estimate to compare prompt alternatives before you send a request. Confirm final pricing and model limits in your provider’s documentation before production use.

A Practical Prompt-Review Workflow

Start with the exact model tokenizer, paste the raw prompt, check the context-window percentage, and review the colored boundaries where wording or formatting looks unexpectedly expensive. If you are counting a complete chat request, remember to account for system instructions and message-format overhead separately.

The tool is free to use without an account. For more details on local processing and analytics, read the Privacy Policy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an LLM token and why do I need an online token counter?

A token is a unit a language model uses to process text. Counting tokens helps you check a model’s context-window budget, compare prompt versions, and estimate applicable input-token costs before you make a request.

How does this free token cost estimator calculate prices?

The estimator multiplies the selected model’s token count by the input-token price displayed in the tool. It does not include output tokens, caching, batch discounts, images, tool calls, or provider-specific request overhead.

Is this an unlimited token counter free of charge?

Yes. Token Counter is free to use without an account. It does not impose a daily count limit, though very large files may take longer to tokenize in a browser.

Is it safe to count tokens in a prompt here?

Tokenization runs locally in your browser, and entered text is not placed in shareable URLs or sent to the tokenization service. Review the Privacy Policy for analytics and contact-form details.

How is the OpenAI token counter different from the Llama token counter?

Models use distinct tokenization libraries. Supported OpenAI models use the `cl100k_base` or `o200k_base` encoding, while Llama 3 uses its own published tokenizer. The same paragraph may yield different totals depending on the model.

Why are Claude and Gemini not in the model list?

Each provider uses a different tokenizer. This app only lists models for which it includes the correct client-side tokenizer, so it does not present an OpenAI estimate as a Claude or Gemini count.

What exactly does the token visualizer heatmap show?

Our token visualizer breaks your text down and assigns alternating background colors to individual tokens. To keep the page responsive, it displays the first 2,000 boundaries while retaining the exact total count.

How accurate is the real time token count?

For the tokenizers listed in the selector, the displayed count is calculated with the matching client-side tokenizer. The tool measures raw input text; complete API requests may add system-message or chat-formatting overhead.

Do I need an account to use this ai token counter?

No account or API key is required. Open the tool, select a supported tokenizer, and paste or type text to begin.

Why is Llama pricing not shown?

Llama may be self-hosted or offered by many different providers, each with different pricing. The app therefore shows an exact token count but leaves its cost as custom pricing rather than presenting a misleading estimate.