Ask HN: How much to charge for an API call?

#1

Post by waskip » Tue, Mar 12, 2024, 1:57 PM UTC

I have a SaaS web app that store customers and users data.

My app users want to pull/edit data of their customers using the app API (which is the same that I use internally).

I wonder how much I could charge for those looking for an API key. Maybe $5 + 0.001 per call?

Im looking for a number that’s affordable for those that want to make a few calls as well as those looking to make thousands of calls without costing them too much.

Thanks

Re: Ask HN: How much to charge for an API call?

#2

Post by adlpz » Tue, Mar 12, 2024, 2:17 PM UTC

As far as I've seen, for APIs that don't "consume" any resources, the usual schema is to charge a fixed fee.

Either that or it's just included part of a higher pricing tier. Of course, there can be a quota restricting how many API calls are allowed per period.

Charging per call feels weird when the cost of a call is essentially zero. You only really see that in things that are computationally expensive like LLMs, image optimization, etc.

Re: Ask HN: How much to charge for an API call?

#3

Post by trhr » Tue, Mar 12, 2024, 2:17 PM UTC

Your cost plus 20%

Re: Ask HN: How much to charge for an API call?

#4

Post by nullandvoid » Tue, Mar 12, 2024, 2:17 PM UTC

How much is it costing you? Charge a markup on that you're happy with rather than picking a number out of thin air?

Also set a healthy free limit, if people are already paying for one product, they're not going to want to pay for an API separately if they just want to make a few calls.

Re: Ask HN: How much to charge for an API call?

#5

Post by thenipper » Tue, Mar 12, 2024, 2:20 PM UTC

adlpz wrote: post #2

As far as I've seen, for APIs that don't "consume" any resources, the usual schema is to charge a fixed fee. Either that or it's just included part of a higher pricing tier. Of course, there can be a quota restricting how many API calls are allowed per period. Charging per call feels weird when the cost of a call is essentially zero. You only really see that in things that are computationally expensive like LLMs, ima…

Agreed. If this is a service I'm already paying for and if it's basically just doing 'CRUD' actions that are (hopefully) low in resource usage I'd be really uncomfortable with a pay-per-use model. Rate limiting sure, but I don't want another thing I need to price in my head as I'm writing code.

Re: Ask HN: How much to charge for an API call?

#6

Post by DuctTapeAI » Tue, Mar 12, 2024, 2:21 PM UTC

Depends on your business model, how useful/unique the API is and many other things.

I would suggest making it free to get an API key and run a small number of queries (or a low rate limit). That allows devs to build against your API without needing to take out their credit card. Beyond that, I'd suggest something like $1 per thousand calls and add a bulk discount if your larger users are providing extra value to you.

Re: Ask HN: How much to charge for an API call?

#7

Post by devgoth » Tue, Mar 12, 2024, 2:22 PM UTC

At a previous B2B SaaS company I worked at there was no per-call pricing but rather a larger yearly cost around API usage. If you anticipate the calls not to be too burdensome on your system that may be the route to go and add some rate limiting so your servers don't get too hammered.

Re: Ask HN: How much to charge for an API call?

#8

Post by ChrisBland » Tue, Mar 12, 2024, 2:25 PM UTC

How much value are you providing to your customers? Thats how you figure out what you are worth.

Re: Ask HN: How much to charge for an API call?

#9

Post by mateuszbuda » Tue, Mar 12, 2024, 2:27 PM UTC

To give you a reference point, at https://scrapingfish.com/ we charge $0.002 per API call but in our case, the API call gives you the value by itself: access to mobile proxies and cluster of browsers. For you, I would recommend to either give the API access for free as I assume users already pay for the product. Another option would be to include API access only to higher plan users who pay more and this could be an incentive for some users to upgrade their plan.

Re: Ask HN: How much to charge for an API call?

#10

Post by kylecazar » Tue, Mar 12, 2024, 2:29 PM UTC

"Im looking for a number that’s affordable for those that want to make a few calls as well as those looking to make thousands of calls without costing them too much."

I've been in this exact scenario before. What we decided on was a generous amount of free API calls included in the standard sales agreement/tier, with anything above 5000 reqs/monthly a bolstered on package.

Of course it will depend on the nature of your calls (are they really going to cost you much, even for many?), the nature of the relationship with your customer, etc. But it was smooth sailing for us.