Tokenomics: Quantifying Where Tokens Are Used in Agentic Software Engineering

Researchers analyzing token consumption in LLM-based multi-agent software engineering systems found that code review stages consume the majority of tokens at 59.4%, with input tokens accounting for 53.9% of total usage. The study, which examined 30 software development tasks using ChatDev with a GPT-5 reasoning model, indicates that automated refinement and verification drive costs more than initial code generation. These findings provide a methodology for predicting expenses and optimizing workflows in agentic software engineering.