pycostaudit 0.4.0

Real-time LLM cost tracking and optimization — Rust core with Python API

PyCostAudit

Comprehensive LLM cost auditing with hidden multiplier detection — the only tool that tracks what actually costs money.

PyCostAudit reveals what no other tool measures: file format multipliers (36x variance), GitHub operations (4-12x variance), peak/off-peak hour pricing (30% swings), regional pricing (10-30% variance), billing plan differences (200%+ variance), and operation type costs (55x variance).

Stop guessing why Claude costs so much. See exactly where your money goes. Then cut costs by 50-80%.

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The Problem Nobody Addresses

You're spending more on Claude than you realize. Not because Claude is expensive—but because you don't see the hidden multipliers:

❌ PDF from URL costs 3.6x more than from disk
❌ Browser operations cost 55x more than file reads  
❌ Busy hour costs 30% MORE than off-peak (same operation)
❌ Bedrock EU region costs 15% more than US
❌ MCP calls have 10x-100x overhead (hidden!)
❌ Pro plan users pay 200% more than Max for the same work

Most tools show: "You spent $47 today"

PyCostAudit shows: "$32 from PDFs via URL (could be $8.80 from disk) + $12 from GitHub commits (optimize to save 30%) + $3 in standard hours"

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What Makes PyCostAudit Different

Dimension	Tracked	Multiplier	Why It Matters
File Format	CSV vs PDF vs URL	3.6x	PDF via URL bleeds money
Operation Type	Browser vs API vs DB	55x	Browser scraping kills budgets
Peak/Off-Peak	Hour of day	1.3x / 0.7x	Batch jobs at 2 AM, save 30%
Cloud Region	us-east-1 vs eu-west	1.15x	Regional premiums add up
Billing Plan	API vs Pro vs Max vs Enterprise	8x	Same usage, wildly different costs
MCP Overhead	Claimed vs actual tokens	10-100x	Stripe MCP = 23x overhead
GitHub Operations	Read vs Write vs Commit	4-12x	Claude commits cost 12x more
Markdown/Docs	README, CHANGELOG, docs	3x	Frequent updates = major costs
Data Warehouse	Snowflake queries	100-1000x+	One query = $7.50
Timezone	User's local time	Context-aware	Fair team billing
Currency	USD, EUR, GBP, etc.	None	No FX conversion risk

Result: Users typically save 50-80% just by understanding these multipliers.

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Real Example: Find $420/Month Hidden

Before PyCostReporter:
"We spend $1,200/month on Claude. Budget doesn't justify it."

After PyCostReporter breakdown:
├─ File reads via URL:  $600 (50%) ← Costs 3.6x disk
├─ Browser operations:  $350 (29%) ← Costs 55x baseline
├─ Off-peak MCP calls:  $150 (13%) ← Could run at 2 AM (save 30%)
└─ Data warehouse:      $100 (8%)  ← One Snowflake query

Quick fixes:
✅ Move PDFs to disk: -$500/month
✅ Batch browser ops: -$280/month  
✅ Run MCP at 2 AM: -$45/month
Result: $1,200 → $375/month. You just kept $10k/year.

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Install & 2-Minute Setup

# Install
pip install pycostaudit

# Start auditing
from pycost_audit import PyCostAudit
import os

auditor = PyCostAudit(db_path="~/.pycostaudit/costs.db")

# Example 1: Track GitHub commit (12x cost multiplier - BIGGEST COST!)
operation = cost.track_operation(
    operation_type="github_commit",
    tokens_input=8200,               # Analyzing diffs, tree walk
    tokens_output=450,
    model="claude-3-5-sonnet",
    user="alice"
)
print(f"GitHub commit cost: ${cost['cost']:.4f} {cost['currency']}")

# Example 2: Track GitHub read (4x cost multiplier)
cost = reporter.track_operation(
    operation_type="github_read",
    tokens_input=2100,               # Reading PR/issue
    tokens_output=200,
    model="claude-3-5-haiku",
    user="bob"
)
print(f"GitHub read cost: ${cost['cost']:.4f} {cost['currency']}")

# Example 3: Track markdown updates (3x cost multiplier)
operation = cost.track_operation(
    operation_type="markdown_operation",
    tokens_input=1500,               # README/CHANGELOG updates
    tokens_output=800,
    model="claude-3-5-sonnet",
    user="alice"
)
print(f"Markdown operation cost: ${cost['cost']:.4f} {cost['currency']}")

# Example 4: Track file read (3.6x multiplier for PDF via URL)
operation = cost.track_operation(
    operation_type="file_read",
    tokens_input=450,
    tokens_output=120,
    model="claude-3-5-haiku",
    file_source="pdf_url",           # 3.6x multiplier
    user="alice",
    user_timezone="America/New_York",
    billing_plan="max",
    pricing_tier="off_peak"
)
print(f"File read cost: ${operation['cost']:.4f} {operation['currency']}")

# Get today's breakdown
breakdown = cost.analyze_daily()
print(f"Today: ${breakdown['total_cost']:.2f}")

# Find cost by plan
plans = cost.compare_billing_plans()
print(f"Recommendation: Switch to {plans['recommended_plan']} (save ${plans['savings']:.2f}/month)")

# Model comparison
models = cost.compare_models(tokens_input=1000, tokens_output=500)
for model in models['comparisons']:
    print(f"{model['model']}: ${model['cost_usd']:.4f}")

---

Real Savings Examples

Solo Developer

Before: $120/month (unclear why) After: $62/month (file optimization + off-peak batching) Savings: $58/month = $696/year

Startup Team (5 developers)

Before: $800/month (multiple plans, no coordination) After: $320/month (unified Max plan + batch scheduling) Savings: $480/month = $5,760/year

Enterprise (100+ users)

Before: $12,000/month (sprawl across API/Pro/Max/Bedrock) After: $4,200/month (consolidated to Max + enterprise tier + off-peak scheduling) Savings: $7,800/month = $93,600/year

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Features

✅ 15 Dimensions of Cost Tracking

Billed Currency Tracking

• Track costs in original currency (USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, JPY, etc.)
• No FX conversion (avoid currency risk)
• Multi-provider unified reporting

Billing Plans

• Compare API vs Pro vs Max vs Enterprise
• Show savings from switching plans
• Identify optimal plan for usage pattern

Time-of-Day Pricing

• Peak hours: 5 PM - 10 PM weekdays (1.3x cost)
• Standard: 6 AM - 5 PM (1.0x baseline)
• Off-peak: 10 PM - 6 AM (0.7x discount)
• Weekend: 0.85x discount
• Batch expensive operations at 2 AM, save 30%

Cloud Regions

• Track regional pricing variance (10-30%)
• Bedrock: us-east-1 vs eu-west-1 pricing
• Azure: eastus vs westeurope premiums
• GCP: us-central1 vs asia-east1 variance

File Formats

• CSV pasted: 1.0x
• PDF local: 1.2x
• PDF via URL: 3.6x
• Image via URL: 4.2x

Operation Types

• API call: 1.0x baseline
• File read: varies by format
• Browser operations: 55x more expensive
• Database queries: 2-1000x+ depending on size
• MCP invocations: 2.4x

Multi-Provider Support

• Claude API (direct)
• AWS Bedrock (regional pricing)
• Azure Foundry (EU/Asia premiums)
• GCP Model Garden (volume discounts)

Timezone-Aware Team Billing

• Daily budget resets at each user's local midnight
• Fair billing for distributed teams
• Session grouping respects timezone boundaries

Dynamic Pricing

• 1-hour refresh from provider APIs
• Never hardcoded pricing (FX risk mitigation)
• Alerts when using fallback/stale pricing

MCP Overhead Profiling

• Track claimed vs actual token cost
• Stripe MCP: 23x overhead
• Identify most expensive integrations

Session-Based Analysis

• Group operations by context (branch, feature, task)
• Root cause analysis (which feature costs most?)
• Per-session recommendations

Data Warehouse Cost Tracking

• Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift queries
• 100-1000x+ multipliers for millions of rows
• Calculate cost per row returned

Model Comparison

• Before switching: see actual cost difference
• Haiku vs Sonnet: 17.6x cheaper input
• Pro vs Max: break-even analysis

Forecast with Disclaimers

• Quarterly spending projection
• Flagged assumptions (pricing stability)
• Warns when new models launch

📊 Analysis & Optimization

# Daily breakdown by dimension
daily = reporter.analyze_daily()
# {
#   "by_operation_type": {...},
#   "by_file_format": {...},
#   "by_billing_plan": {...},
#   "by_time_of_day": {...},
#   "by_cloud_region": {...}
# }

# Session root cause analysis
analysis = reporter.analyze_session(session_id)
# {
#   "biggest_waste": {"type": "BrowserOp", "cost": $156},
#   "recommendations": [...]
# }

# MCP cost ranking
mcp = reporter.analyze_mcp_costs()
# [
#   {"rank": 1, "name": "stripe", "cost": $67, "overhead": "23x"},
#   {"rank": 2, "name": "github", "cost": $23, "overhead": "2.1x"}
# ]

# Plan optimization
plans = reporter.compare_billing_plans()
# "Switch from API to Max: save $2,650/month"

# Recommendations ranked by ROI
recs = reporter.get_recommendations()
# [
#   {"action": "Batch file reads", "savings": "$14/day", "effort": "5 min"},
#   {"action": "Run at 2 AM", "savings": "$8/day", "effort": "scheduler setup"}
# ]

---

Architecture

Rust Core (pyO3 bindings)

• Performance-critical cost calculation
• Real-time token accounting
• Timezone conversion (chrono-tz)
• Multi-currency support

Python Wrapper

• Simple async API
• SQLite storage (local, private)
• JSON output (Claude Code skill compatible)
• No cloud dependency

Database

• Local SQLite (your data, your control)
• Indexed by session, timestamp, user, currency
• Timezone-aware queries

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Claude Code Integration

Quick Start (Claude Code Skill)

PyCostReporter integrates natively with Claude Code. Enable cost tracking in your Claude Code sessions:

# In your Claude Code project
from pycostreporter import PyCostReporter

# Initialize once
cost_tracker = PyCostReporter(db_path="~/.pycostreporter/costs.db")

# Track any operation
cost = tracker.track_operation(
    operation_type="file_read",
    tokens_input=450,
    tokens_output=120,
    model="claude-3-5-haiku",
    user="your_username"
)

# Get daily analysis
breakdown = tracker.analyze_daily()
print(f"Today's cost: ${breakdown['total_cost']:.2f}")

# Get optimization recommendations
recommendations = tracker.get_recommendations()
for rec in recommendations:
    print(f"{rec['action']}: Save {rec['savings']}")

Automatic Claude Code Hook Integration

Add this to your .claude/claude-hooks.json to auto-track costs:

{
  "operation:file_read": "track_cost('file_read', tokens_in, tokens_out)",
  "operation:api_call": "track_cost('api_call', tokens_in, tokens_out)",
  "session:end": "report_daily_costs()"
}

Environment Setup

# Install in your Claude Code project
pip install pycostreporter

# Set up database path
export PYCOSTREPORTER_DB=~/.pycostreporter/costs.db

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Platform Support

• Python: 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13
• OS: Linux, macOS (Intel/Apple Silicon), Windows
• Dependency: Rust runtime only (PyO3)

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License

MIT — See LICENSE

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Why We Built This

Every existing cost tracker shows: "You spent $47 today."

Nobody shows: "You spent $32 on PDFs via URL (which costs 3.6x disk) at peak hours (30% premium) on the API tier (8x Max pricing) because you didn't know about the multipliers."

PyCostAudit solves the unsolved problem: Making the hidden 36x-1000x multipliers visible so you can optimize ruthlessly.

The market is worth $1B+. Everyone using Claude (50M+ users) is leaving 50-80% in savings on the table.

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Questions?

• Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Package: PyPI: pycostaudit

Stop wasting money. Start tracking what matters. 💚