Prompt Engineering

Count Tokens in Code

Code is not prose: symbols, indentation, and punctuation push it to more tokens per character. This counts a real snippet so the difference is visible.

Open in Token Counter

Overview

Pasting a file into a model costs more than its character count suggests, because code tokenizes denser than prose — every brace, semicolon, and indent is tokens. This loads a real JavaScript function, detects it as code, and applies the denser ratio, so the estimate reflects what the model will actually see. If you budget code context as if it were prose, you will undercount; this tool counts it as code.

How to use this resource

Paste the code

A snippet, file, or diff — detected as code automatically.
Get the dense ratio

Symbols and indentation push tokens per character up.
Budget honestly

Use the code-aware count, not a prose approximation.

Why This Works

Content-type detection flags code and applies a denser ratio
Symbols, indentation, and punctuation are counted, not ignored
The estimate reflects what the model actually tokenizes

Best for

Budgeting code pasted into a model
Estimating context for a codebase prompt
Anyone undercounting code as if it were prose

Not for

Optimizing the SQL itself — that's the SQL Optimization Prompt
Fitting a whole repo into context — use the Context Window Estimator

FAQ

Why does code show more tokens than prose of the same length in this counter?

Because it detects the content type as Code and applies a denser ratio — about 0.3 tokens per character here — since "symbols, indentation, and punctuation push code to more tokens per character." Budget a pasted file as prose and you'll undercount. The report gives a range (426–547), not one number, because tokenizers differ. It's a character-based estimate, so treat it as a planning figure, not exact.

Can I use these token numbers for my actual API billing?

Only as an approximation. The report states these are "character-based ESTIMATES, not tokenizer output," gives a range rather than one figure, and warns pricing is approximate as of June 2026 — "verify before relying on a number." Per-model counts differ too (GPT-5 ~463 vs Claude Opus ~487). Use the per-1,000-calls line to budget on volume, but confirm against your provider's real tokenizer for billing.

Customize This Resource

Opens this text in Token Counter. Count to get the full token and cost report — then adjust the model and assumed response length.

Open in Token Counter

Prompt Template

Copy it as-is, or use Open in Token Counter to load it pre-filled and customize it with your own context.

TOKEN COUNT REPORT

TOKEN ESTIMATE
- Estimated tokens: ~487 (range 426–547)
- Characters: 1,458
- Words: 176
- Detected content type: Code
- Tokens per word (approx): 2.8
- Tokens per character (approx): 0.3

COST ESTIMATE — Claude Opus
- Pricing (approximate, June 2026): input $15.00/1M tokens · output $75.00/1M tokens
- Input cost (this prompt): $0.006390–$0.008205
- Assumed response: Medium response (~800 tokens) -> output cost $0.0600
- Combined per call: $0.0664–$0.0682
- Per 1,000 calls: $66.39–$68.20

MODEL NOTES
- Anthropic tokenizer — counts tend to run a little higher than GPT for the same English text.
- Same text, estimated per model: GPT-5 ~463 · Claude Opus ~487 · Claude Sonnet ~487 · Gemini Pro ~463 (a count, not a fit check — for "will it fit?" use the Context Window Estimator).

USAGE GUIDANCE
- For scale on Claude Opus: a short prompt ≈ 75, a medium prompt ≈ 531, a large prompt ≈ 3,182 tokens.
- This text is closest to a medium prompt.
- A single call looks cheap; the per-1,000-calls line is where token cost becomes real — budget on volume, not on one request.

ESTIMATION NOTES
- A token is not a character and not a word — it is a sub-word chunk. English averages ~4 characters / ~0.75 words per token.
- Estimates vary by tokenizer: the same text tokenizes differently on GPT, Claude, and Gemini — that is why this is a range, not a single number.
- Language matters: CJK and many non-Latin scripts use more tokens per character than English.
- Code differs from prose: symbols, indentation, and punctuation push code to more tokens per character.
- These are character-based ESTIMATES, not tokenizer output. Pricing is approximate as of June 2026; providers change rates — verify before relying on a number.

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