The price is a curve.

One published curve prices the listed shelf; committing ahead earns the discount. The further the delivery month, the deeper the price below the list rate, up to the curve’s 20% cap, which binds from about 60 days before the month ends; the discount shrinks as a month nears maturity.

The formula

Every model carries a list rate S: a 1B-Token allocation valued at the model’s posted per-1M output rate, fixed at listing. A delivery month bought τ days before its maturity (the month’s last day) prices at

price = S × (1 − min(20%, 10% × τ/30))

Providers set S per listing, and provider-listed series can carry their own curve parameters; posted asks re-mark to the curve daily, and resale listings are seller-priced. The best ask is simply the lowest. Live prices for every listed model and month are in the market.

What a Token buys

1 Token = 1 output token; input tokens count at the model’s input:output price ratio, cache reads at cache:output. At a ratio of ×0.32, one input token draws 0.32 Tokens, so 1M input tokens draw 320,000. Each listing states its ratios, and a contract’s effective cost per 1M raw tokens depends on your traffic mix.

Benchmark-referenced best-in-class contracts, quoted in Synthetic Tokens, price on the same curve (mechanics: the FAQ).