AI Cost Gate (CostBrake)

$29Starting price

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About AI Cost Gate (CostBrake)

AI Cost Gate is a local-first gateway that intercepts LLM requests to attribute every call by project, agent and model while enforcing spend limits. It runs on the user’s own infrastructure and stores only metadata—tokens, cost, model and timestamp—never prompts or responses. The tool supports SQLite for single-host setups or PostgreSQL for concurrent multi-agent deployments, with the same codebase switchable via an environment variable. It integrates into existing workflows through a REST API that lets agents query projected costs before each call, preventing runaway spend before invoices arrive. AI Cost Gate is provider-agnostic and works with any OpenAI-compatible API, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and OpenRouter, avoiding vendor lock-in. Typical use cases include solo founders tracking per-product costs, research labs managing grant-funded API credits, and engineering teams containing costs from automated agents in CI pipelines.

Key features

Per-request attribution by project, agent and model
Budget auto-stop before spend exceeds limits
REST API for agents to query costs and budgets
SQLite or PostgreSQL storage backend
Provider-agnostic integration with any OpenAI-compatible API
Alerts and thresholds for early intervention
No prompt storage, only metadata logged
Release updates included with purchase

Use cases

Solo founder tracking costs across multiple LLM products
Research lab managing grant-funded API credits
Engineering team containing costs from automated agents

Pros

Self-hosted with no mandatory cloud metering
Tracks spend by project, agent and model in one local database
Auto-stops requests when budgets are exceeded
Supports SQLite or PostgreSQL with the same codebase
Provider-agnostic, works with any OpenAI-compatible API

Cons

One-time purchase only, no free tier or trial
Requires self-hosting infrastructure
No built-in multi-user or team dashboard
No cloud-hosted option

Frequently asked questions about AI Cost Gate (CostBrake)

What is AI Cost Gate and what problem does it solve?

AI Cost Gate is a self-hosted gateway that intercepts LLM requests to track, attribute, and control spending by project, agent, and model. It prevents runaway costs by enforcing budgets and blocking requests that exceed thresholds before invoices arrive.

Who should use AI Cost Gate?

It suits solo founders managing multiple LLM apps, research labs with grant-funded API credits, engineering teams controlling costs from automated agents, and organizations requiring compliance or data privacy for LLM usage.

Does AI Cost Gate work with all LLM providers?

Yes, it is provider-agnostic and supports any OpenAI-compatible API, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, DeepSeek, and OpenRouter, avoiding vendor lock-in.

How does AI Cost Gate store data?

It stores only metadata—tokens, cost, model, timestamp, project, agent—and never logs prompts or responses. Data can be stored in SQLite for single-host setups or PostgreSQL for multi-agent deployments.

Can AI Cost Gate integrate with existing workflows?

Yes, it provides a REST API that allows agents to query projected costs before each call, enabling integration into existing platforms and CI pipelines without modifying agent code.

How do I get started with AI Cost Gate?

The tool can be deployed locally via Docker or a simple setup process, with configuration options for storage, budgets, and alerts. Documentation and guides are available to assist with quick integration.