Token Cost Monitor

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name: token-cost-monitor description: > Monitor OpenClaw API costs in real-time, set budget alerts, and optimize model spending. Track token usage by session and model, get cost optimization tips, and prevent budget overruns. Use when: checking API spending, setting budget alerts, optimizing model costs, analyzing usage trends. homepage: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw metadata: openclaw: files: ["scripts/*"] official: false

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Token Cost Monitor

Monitor OpenClaw API costs in real-time, set budget alerts, and optimize model spending.

Why This Matters

Real user stories:

One user spent $18.75 overnight on heartbeat checks asking "Is it daytime yet?"

Federico Viticci spent $3,600 in a single month

Regular users report $200/day bills from misconfigured automations

Quick Commands

Check current session costs:

# View token usage and estimated cost
openclaw /status
openclaw /usage

Set up cost alerts:

# Alert when daily spend exceeds $10
echo "Alert if daily_cost > $10"
Alert when monthly spend exceeds $100
echo "Alert if monthly_cost > $100"

Cost Optimization Strategies

1. Model Routing

Use cheaper models for simple tasks:

Claude Haiku: $0.25/1M input tokens (fast, cheap)

Claude Sonnet: $3/1M input tokens (balanced)

Claude Opus: $15/1M input tokens (expensive, powerful)

Routing rules:

Simple queries (weather, facts) → Haiku
Complex analysis → Sonnet
Creative writing → Opus (only if needed)

2. Context Management

Reduce token waste:

Clear old conversation context regularly

Don't store tool outputs in context

Use concise system prompts

Limit heartbeat frequency

3. Heartbeat Optimization

Common mistake:

❌ Every 30 min: "Is it daytime yet?" → $18.75/night
✅ Every 6 hours: Check emails + calendar → $2/day

Best practices:

Combine multiple checks into one heartbeat

Use longer intervals (4-6 hours)

Skip nighttime heartbeats (23:00-08:00)

Track heartbeat costs separately

Cost Tracking Dashboard

Daily Cost Breakdown

| Category | Tokens | Cost | |----------|--------|------| | Heartbeat checks | 50,000 | $0.50 | | Web searches | 100,000 | $1.00 | | Code generation | 200,000 | $2.00 | | Document analysis | 150,000 | $1.50 | | Total | 500,000 | $5.00/day |

Monthly Projection

Daily average: $5.00
Monthly projection: $150.00
Budget limit: $100.00
⚠️ Warning: Will exceed budget by $50

Budget Alerts Setup

Tier 1: Light User ($10-30/month)

Daily limit: $1.00
Alert at: $0.80/day
Actions: Reduce heartbeat frequency, use Haiku more

Tier 2: Regular User ($40-80/month)

Daily limit: $2.50
Alert at: $2.00/day
Actions: Optimize context, review model routing

Tier 3: Power User ($100-500/month)

Daily limit: $10.00
Alert at: $8.00/day
Actions: Audit all automations, implement strict routing

Cost Reduction Checklist

Immediate Actions (save 30-50%)

[ ] Reduce heartbeat frequency to 4-6 hours

[ ] Route simple queries to Haiku

[ ] Clear context after completed tasks

[ ] Disable unnecessary automations

Medium-term (save 50-70%)

[ ] Implement model routing rules

[ ] Optimize system prompts

[ ] Batch similar tasks together

[ ] Use caching for repeated queries

Long-term (save 70-90%)

[ ] Build cost-aware agent behaviors

[ ] Implement token budgets per task

[ ] Use local models for simple tasks

[ ] Optimize tool output storage

Monitoring Commands

Real-time Cost Check

# Get current session stats
openclaw /status
Get detailed usage breakdown
openclaw /usage --detailed

Historical Analysis

# Last 7 days cost trend
echo "Analyze spending trend for past 7 days"
Identify most expensive tasks
echo "What are my top 5 most expensive task types?"

Anomaly Detection

# Alert if spending is 2x normal
echo "Alert if hourly_cost > 2 * average_hourly_cost"

Integration Examples

Slack/Discord Alerts

# Send daily cost summary to Slack
curl -X POST https://hooks.slack.com/services/YOUR/WEBHOOK/URL \
  -d '{"text": "Daily OpenClaw cost: $5.00 (Budget: $10.00)"}'

Email Reports

# Send weekly cost report via email
echo "Weekly cost report: $35.00 total, $5.00/day average" | mail -s "OpenClaw Cost Report" user@example.com

Cost Optimization Scripts

Auto-pause Expensive Sessions

#!/bin/bash
Pause session if daily cost exceeds limit
DAILY_LIMIT=10
CURRENT_COST=$(get_current_cost)
if (( $(echo "$CURRENT_COST > $DAILY_LIMIT" | bc -l) )); then
    echo "⚠️ Daily cost ($CURRENT_COST) exceeds limit ($DAILY_LIMIT)"
    echo "Pausing non-essential automations..."
    # Add pause logic here
fi

Model Router

#!/bin/bash
Route queries to appropriate model based on complexity
QUERY="$1"
WORD_COUNT=$(echo "$QUERY" | wc -w)
if [ $WORD_COUNT -lt 20 ]; then
    echo "Using Haiku (simple query)"
    MODEL="haiku"
elif [ $WORD_COUNT -lt 100 ]; then
    echo "Using Sonnet (medium complexity)"
    MODEL="sonnet"
else
    echo "Using Opus (complex analysis)"
    MODEL="opus"
fi

Common Cost Pitfalls

❌ Mistake: Infinite Loops

Agent keeps calling itself → 1000s of API calls → $100+ in hours

Fix: Implement loop detection and limits

❌ Mistake: Storing Tool Outputs

Every tool output saved to context → Context grows → Each call costs more

Fix: Only store essential information

❌ Mistake: Wrong Model for Task

Using Opus for weather queries → 60x more expensive than needed

Fix: Implement model routing

❌ Mistake: Heartbeat Misconfiguration

Heartbeat every 5 minutes → 288 calls/day → $50+/day

Fix: Use 4-6 hour intervals

Pricing Reference (2026)

Anthropic Claude

| Model | Input | Output | Best For | |-------|-------|--------|----------| | Haiku | $0.25/1M | $1.25/1M | Simple queries, facts | | Sonnet | $3/1M | $15/1M | General tasks | | Opus | $15/1M | $75/1M | Complex analysis |

OpenAI GPT

| Model | Input | Output | Best For | |-------|-------|--------|----------| | GPT-4o Mini | $0.15/1M | $0.60/1M | Simple queries | | GPT-4o | $2.5/1M | $10/1M | General tasks | | o1 | $15/1M | $60/1M | Complex reasoning |

Google Gemini

| Model | Input | Output | Best For | |-------|-------|--------|----------| | Flash | $0.075/1M | $0.30/1M | Simple queries | | Pro | $1.25/1M | $5/1M | General tasks | | Ultra | $7.5/1M | $30/1M | Complex analysis |

ROI Calculator

Calculate if automation is worth it:

Manual task time: 30 minutes
Your hourly rate: $50/hour
Manual cost: $25 per task
Automation cost:
API calls: $0.50
Setup time (amortized): $5.00
Total: $5.50 per task
Savings: $25 - $5.50 = $19.50 per task
ROI: 355%

Updates

2026-03-27: Initial release

Pricing as of March 2026

Based on real user cost data