🚀 Before You Begin
Before we start coding, we need to talk about something important: money and setup. 💸
The OpenAI API is powerful, but it’s not free. I’ll help you get started safely, avoid surprise bills, and keep your costs under control.
💰 How Much Does It Really Cost?
Section titled “💰 How Much Does It Really Cost?”Here’s the deal:
- Every API call costs a little bit — usually fractions of a cent.
(Think ~$0.001 per small request, but big prompts or lots of tests can add up fast.)
Some developers have accidentally racked up $200+ in testing costs simply by not tracking usage. Let’s make sure you’re not one of them. 😅
To start, you’ll need:
- ✅ At least $5 in credits on your OpenAI account
- ✅ A verified phone number
- ✅ A valid payment method (credit card, PayPal, etc.)
Pro Tip: Begin with the budget-friendly gpt-4-nano or gpt-5-nano. It’s cheap, fast, and perfect for learning. Upgrade only if you need more power.
🚧 Things to Watch Out For
Section titled “🚧 Things to Watch Out For”🌍 Country Restrictions
Section titled “🌍 Country Restrictions”Your location affects what you can access. Some models and features aren’t available everywhere.
👉 Check OpenAI’s supported countries here
🧱 Usage Tiers
Section titled “🧱 Usage Tiers”The more you spend, the more you unlock. But Tier 1 is more than enough for this course.
| Tier | Spend | Access Level |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5+ | Basic features, 500 requests/minute |
| 2 | $50+ | More models, faster limits |
| 3 | $100+ | Full access, top performance |
🛡️ How to Avoid Surprise Bills
Section titled “🛡️ How to Avoid Surprise Bills”Set spending limits right now:
- Go to Billing Limits
- Set a monthly cap (I recommend $20 while learning)
- Turn on notifications at 50% usage so you stay aware
💡 Extra safe move: Create a separate OpenAI account for testing. This way, your “learning costs” never mix with production apps.
💡 Smart Ways to Keep Costs Low
Section titled “💡 Smart Ways to Keep Costs Low”- Use
gpt-4-nano or gpt-4-minifor testing — it’s 10x cheaper than bigger models. - Keep prompts short and focused — fewer tokens = lower cost.
- Experiment in the Playground before coding.
- Check your usage dashboard often.
🎉 You’re Almost Ready!
Section titled “🎉 You’re Almost Ready!”You now know how to control costs, stay within budget, and start without fear of surprise bills.
👉 Next: Get your OpenAI API key so we can start building.