Last updated: April 5, 2026 · Pricing & Deployment · by Daniel Ashford
What is Batch Processing?
QUICK ANSWER
Submitting large volumes of LLM requests at once for 50% cost savings.
Definition
Batch processing submits large volumes of requests asynchronously, with results returned within 24 hours at typically 50% off standard pricing.
How It Works
Offered by most major providers. Ideal for document processing, content generation, data extraction, and bulk analysis. You prepare a JSONL file of requests, submit via API, and receive results when complete.
Example
A legal firm classifying 50,000 contract clauses using Claude Sonnet 4 batch API saves 50% — from $1,500 to $750.
Related Terms
LLM API Pricing
The cost of using language models, typically measured in dollars per million tokens.
API (Application Programming Interface)
The technical interface that lets your software send prompts to an LLM and receive responses.
Tokens
The basic units of text that LLMs process — roughly 3/4 of a word.
See How Models Compare
Understanding batch processing is important when choosing the right AI model. See how 12 models compare on our leaderboard.
DA
Daniel Ashford
Founder & Lead Evaluator · 200+ models evaluated