Bring Your Own Key (BYOK)
Chief doesn’t charge for AI usage. You bring your own LLM API keys, and Chief uses them directly.
How It Works
- You create an API key with your LLM provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, etc.).
- You add the key in your Chief dashboard.
- Chief validates the key and encrypts it with AES-256-GCM.
- All AI calls Chief makes on your behalf use your key — billed by your provider, not by Chief.
What You Pay
| Item | Who bills you |
|---|---|
| Chief platform | Chief — $1,000 (Pro) or $3,000 (Enterprise) per month |
| LLM tokens | Your provider — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, etc. |
There’s no markup, no margin, no per-token fee from Chief.
Why BYOK?
- No surprises. You see exactly what you spend on AI in your provider’s dashboard. No mystery infrastructure costs hidden in your Chief invoice.
- No markup. Chief doesn’t add margin on token costs. The LLM cost you see at the provider is the LLM cost you pay.
- Your rate limits. Enterprise Anthropic accounts get higher rate limits. You take that benefit directly.
- Your data policies. Your API key, your provider’s data and retention policies apply to your traffic. Chief doesn’t sit between you and the model.
- Your discounts. If your provider gives you volume pricing or promotional credits, those apply to your Chief usage automatically.
Provider Access by Plan
| Provider | Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | ✅ | ✅ |
| OpenAI / Codex | ❌ | ✅ |
| Google Gemini | ❌ | ✅ |
| Local (self-hosted GPU) | ❌ | ✅ |
Typical Token Spend
Per-tenant LLM cost varies enormously based on workload. Rough guidelines:
| Tenant profile | Monthly token cost (estimate) |
|---|---|
| Light (a few asks per day, no crons) | $20–$60 |
| Medium (daily use across team, a few crons) | $80–$200 |
| Heavy (multiple users, many crons, app factory) | $250–$800 |
| Enterprise scale (multi-agent, high volume) | $1,000+ |
Setting Provider-Side Limits
Always set a hard monthly cap with your LLM provider. In the Anthropic console: Settings → Billing → Limits. This is your seatbelt — Chief’s tenant-side limits are advisory, but provider-side limits are enforced at the source of money.
What Chief Stores
Chief stores the encrypted ciphertext of your key only. The plaintext value is never written to disk and never logged. See Encryption for details on how that works.