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How to Measure Token Usage and Cost in Claude Code

Claude Code’s /usage command shows current-session token counts and an estimated cost. Where to confirm actual spending depends on your billing route.
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Run /usage in Claude Code to see token counts and an estimated cost for the current session. The right place to verify actual spending depends on how you use Claude Code: API users should check Claude Console, Pro and Max subscribers should read their plan-usage indicators, and users billed through a cloud provider should check that provider’s billing console.

Check token usage for the current session

  1. In an interactive Claude Code session, enter /usage.
  2. Read the Session section for usage broken down by model and token category: input, output, cache reads and cache writes. It also shows session duration and a locally calculated cost estimate.
  3. If you need a continuous view while working, configure a status line to display usage. Anthropic’s cost-management guide describes this option along with other reporting methods.

The figures describe the current session, not an automatically accumulated lifetime or monthly total. Running /clear starts a new session and resets the displayed session totals, so record session boundaries if you are comparing tasks or tracking usage over time.

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Where to verify cost depends on billing route

How Claude Code is billed What to use How to interpret it
Anthropic API through Claude Console Use /usage for a session estimate, then check the Usage page in Claude Console. The CLI figure is an estimate; the Console Usage page is Anthropic’s authoritative reference for API billing.
Claude Pro or Max subscription Read the plan-usage bars, activity stats and usage breakdown shown by /usage. The session cost estimate is not a separate subscription bill. Use the plan indicators to understand included usage.
Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud Agent Platform or Microsoft Foundry Check the billing console for the cloud account serving Claude Code. Charges go through the relevant cloud provider. Anthropic Claude Code analytics do not cover that cloud-billed usage.

For organization-level monitoring, Anthropic’s cost guide also documents OpenTelemetry export for near-real-time per-user token and cost metrics, Enterprise Analytics API reports, and Teams spend-report CSVs. Access depends on the plan and deployment, so check the guide for current availability and requirements.

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Why the session cost can differ from the bill

By default, Claude Code calculates its displayed dollar amount locally from token counts using list prices. The estimate is useful for understanding a session, but it is not proof of the final charge. Actual pricing depends on the model, token category, account rates and deployment route. Anthropic explains current model and prompt-caching rates on its pricing page; check it when you need a precise calculation rather than relying on a static price list.

Organizations can configure a managed modelPricing table to make the CLI estimate reflect negotiated rates. That changes the estimate’s calculation, not the invoice, and the setting needs updating if contract rates change.

Read token categories in context

Input, output, cache-read and cache-write counts are reported separately because they can have different prices. A large session total alone does not explain its cost: the model and the mix of token categories matter. Reused or lengthy context and tool activity can also change token volume and category mix. Use /context to inspect context, and manage it proactively; Anthropic’s cost guide recommends clearing between unrelated tasks when appropriate.

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For detailed command and reporting guidance, consult Anthropic’s Claude Code cost guide and CLI reference. Rates, product commands, plan benefits and reporting access can change.

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