LLM Budget Planning: Guardrails, Not Guesswork

A useful budget answers: What do we expect to spend? What could we spend if adoption spikes? What guardrail triggers should we set?

Create a budget guardrail

The 3 numbers you need

  • Base case (most likely)
  • High case (credible peak)
  • Guardrail (action threshold)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I pick a “credible” high case?
Look at your historical traffic peaks or assume a 2-3x multiplier on DAU/Usage for short bursts.
What guardrails actually work in production?
Hard limits on API spend, rate limiting per user, and alerts at 80% of budget.
How do I keep budgets stable when pricing changes?
Use conservative estimates and review your model unit economics quarterly.

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