At your generation volume, does bring-your-own-keys beat managed credits? Compute break-even per month.
Last verified · 2026-10-23 · by Moe Ameen
Published 2026-05-19 · Updated
Short answer
The BYOK vs managed AI calculator compares two monthly bills: a platform fee plus your own provider API costs (bring your own keys), and a flat managed plan. Enter your generations per month and your average cost per generation. BYOK cost grows with every generation while the managed price stays flat, so BYOK is cheaper below the break-even volume and managed is cheaper above it.
Key takeaways
Compare two ways to pay for AI: bring your own API keys and pay each provider directly, or use a managed plan like Kompozy's that bundles model costs into credits. Which one costs less depends on how much you generate each month. On Kompozy, HeyGen avatar video is the only part that runs on your own key.
Break-even: 9,980 generations/month. Under that, BYOK is cheaper. Over it, the managed plan is cheaper.
A real AI avatar video generated in the Kompozy workspace. On Kompozy's paid plans, avatar outputs like this one run on your own HeyGen key.
Best for:
Not ideal for:
BYOK means bring your own key. You connect your own API keys from providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, HeyGen or ElevenLabs and pay them directly for usage, and the tool charges a separate platform fee.
Not to new buyers. The $39/mo founding option with BYO API keys closed on Aug 31, 2026. Current plans use managed credits (Starter $199/mo with 5,500 credits, Pro $499/mo with 18,000 credits), and HeyGen avatar outputs run on your own HeyGen key on every paid plan.
Below the break-even volume. BYOK cost rises with each generation, so at low volume the platform fee plus usage stays under a flat managed price. Once you pass break-even, the flat plan costs less.
The calculator subtracts the BYOK platform fee from the managed plan price, then divides by your average cost per generation. The result is the monthly generation count where both options cost the same.
One AI output: an image, a video clip, a voiceover or a text variant. A finished video can take several generations, so count outputs rather than finished posts.
We read the calculator's formula in its source code and checked the Kompozy plan prices, credits and founding-tier dates against kompozy.io/pricing and kompozy.io/founders on 2026-10-23. Cost per generation is your own input; this page doesn't publish a provider rate.
Sources
Kompozy handles multi-format generation, brand voice, and scheduling across 9 platforms. Plans from $199/mo, cancel anytime.