Skip to content

BYOK API Cost Estimation

Short answer

use.fo BYOK costs: the one-time license ($29.99 desktop or $9.99 mobile) plus your API provider's usage fees. For Groq (currently one of the most affordable providers), STT and rewrite costs for typical use are often under $5/month for moderate users. Exact costs depend on your usage volume and the provider pricing at the time.

Evidence and updates

Facts checked on July 24, 2026

Reviewed by use.fo product team. Sources below identify whether a fact comes from an official product page, a first-party test, customer evidence, or an independent source.

Update log: July 24, 2026 — Published the no-subscription product fact registry and clarified BYOK, Local AI, and Windows support boundaries.

Steps

  1. Understand the cost components

    use.fo BYOK has two cost components: (1) The use.fo BYOK license — a one-time fee of $29.99 for desktop or $9.99 for mobile. (2) Provider API usage fees — these are charged by your provider (Groq, OpenRouter, etc.) based on your actual usage.

  2. Estimate your voice minutes per month

    Use a simple, repeatable input: minutes dictated per workday × workdays per month. Example A: 5 minutes × 20 days = 100 minutes/month. Example B: 30 minutes × 20 days = 600 minutes/month.

  3. Estimate STT costs with Groq

    Groq offers Whisper-based STT at rates published on their pricing page. As of mid-2026, Groq's speech-to-text is among the most cost-effective available. At 100 minutes/month, monthly STT costs at current Groq rates are typically under $1–2.

  4. Estimate rewrite costs

    Each dictation produces a few hundred tokens of input and output for the rewrite model. At typical use.fo usage (5–30 dictations/day), rewrite token costs with a fast, cheap model on Groq or OpenRouter are typically under $1–3/month.

  5. Compare to Subscription

    use.fo Subscription is $7.99/mo or $69.99/yr. If your estimated monthly provider cost plus the amortised one-time BYOK license fee is less than $7.99/mo, BYOK is likely cheaper for you. Calculate your break-even point: $29.99 ÷ ($7.99 − your monthly provider cost).

Before you start

use.fo license prices were verified on 2026-07-24. Provider pricing changes frequently, so always check the provider’s current pricing page before estimating costs.

Troubleshooting

Problem: My provider costs are higher than expected

Solution: Check which model is selected for rewrite in use.fo BYOK settings. Some models are significantly more expensive per token. Choose a smaller, faster model for everyday rewriting and reserve larger models for complex tasks.

FAQ

It depends on your usage. For heavy users with a low-cost provider, BYOK can be significantly cheaper. For light users, the Subscription free tier (66 minutes/month) or the $7.99/mo paid plan may be simpler and comparably priced.

Groq is generally among the most cost-effective providers for both STT and fast rewriting as of 2026. Pricing changes, so check current rates at console.groq.com.

No. use.fo BYOK does not include a free API usage allowance. You can test use.fo free with the Subscription free tier (66 minutes/month) before deciding to switch to BYOK.

Related