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[ARTICLE · art-101175] src=the-decoder.com ↗ pub= topic=artificial-intelligence verified=true sentiment=· neutral

Anthropic's per-token cost runs 4.4 times the average on Vercel, and developers keep paying

Anthropic accounts for 65.1 percent of spending on Vercel's AI Gateway but only 30 percent of tokens, with its per-token cost running 4.4 times the average of every other provider. Token volume on Vercel rose 59 percent overall, spending grew 37 percent, and average token prices fell 13.6 percent as companies shift toward cheaper tiers.

read1 min views1 publishedAug 18, 2026
Anthropic's per-token cost runs 4.4 times the average on Vercel, and developers keep paying
Image: The Decoder

Anthropic accounts for 65.1 percent of spending on Vercel's AI Gateway but only 30 percent of tokens. Its per-token cost runs 4.4 times the average of every other provider, meaning the company earns far more per use than its competitors.

Fable 5 quickly climbed to 13.2 percent of Gateway spending, second only to Opus 4.8. Nine out of ten Fable teams in July were new customers, which Vercel reads as a sign that the model is attracting fresh users and that willingness to pay for premium models remains strong. Payments company Ramp had previously flagged relatively low Fable usage as evidence the model might be priced too high. Both companies only see a slice of the full picture.

Token volume on Vercel rose 59 percent overall, and spending grew 37 percent. Average token prices fell 13.6 percent, though, as companies shift toward cheaper tiers.

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