Most Orbit users spend $1 to $5 per month on AI API usage. Here's a detailed breakdown.
Cost per feature
Scout Chat (most used)
- ~$0.01-0.03 per message with GPT-4o-mini
- ~$0.02-0.05 per message with Claude Haiku
- ~$0.05-0.15 per message with GPT-4o or Claude Sonnet
- Typical usage: 50-200 messages/month = $0.50-$3.00
Resume Tailor
- ~$0.05-0.15 per tailoring (larger prompt with full resume)
- Typical usage: 5-15 tailors/month = $0.25-$2.00
Interview Prep
- ~$0.03-0.08 per generation
- Auto-generates when job moves to Interviewing
- Typical: 2-5 per month = $0.06-$0.40
AI Draft (Compose)
- ~$0.01-0.03 per draft
- Typical: 10-20 per month = $0.10-$0.60
Follow-up Suggest
- ~$0.01-0.03 per suggestion
- Typical: 5-10 per month = $0.05-$0.30
Contact Parsing
- ~$0.01 per parse (small prompt)
- Typical: 5-15 per month = $0.05-$0.15
Cover Letter
- ~$0.05-0.15 per generation
- Typical: 2-5 per month = $0.10-$0.75
Estimated monthly totals
| Usage Level | Provider | Est. Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Light (casual search) | GPT-4o-mini | $0.50-$1.50 |
| Moderate (active search) | GPT-4o-mini | $1.50-$3.00 |
| Heavy (aggressive search) | GPT-4o-mini | $3.00-$5.00 |
| Moderate | Claude Haiku | $1.00-$3.00 |
| Moderate | Claude Sonnet | $3.00-$8.00 |
| Moderate | GPT-4o | $5.00-$12.00 |
How to minimize costs
- Use GPT-4o-mini or Claude Haiku for everyday tasks. They're 10-20x cheaper than premium models.
- Use premium models selectively — switch to Claude Sonnet or GPT-4o only for complex resume tailoring or important coaching conversations.
- Reuse AI outputs — edit an AI draft instead of regenerating it.
- Check your provider dashboard — both OpenAI and Anthropic show real-time usage charts.
Setting spending limits
OpenAI: Set a monthly budget at platform.openai.com > Settings > Limits
Anthropic: Add a fixed amount of credits. When they run out, top up manually.
xAI: Similar credit-based system.
Orbit will show a clear error message if your API key runs out of credits or hits a rate limit.