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FinTechIntermediateFeb 27, 2026

API CostPilot

Real-time API expense tracking, forecasting, and optimization for developers.

The Problem

Solo developers and small teams building SaaS products or complex applications frequently rely on a multitude of third-party APIs (e.g., OpenAI, Stripe, Twilio, AWS Lambda, Google Cloud services). The primary pain point is the lack of real-time visibility and control over API consumption costs. Developers often get surprised by unexpectedly high monthly bills, leading to budget overruns or forcing reactive adjustments. They spend hours manually checking individual provider dashboards, struggling to attribute costs to specific features or projects, and have no clear mechanism to predict future expenses based on usage patterns. This leads to wasted time, financial stress, and inefficient resource allocation, diverting precious focus from product development to tedious financial reconciliation. The market lacks a consolidated, developer-centric tool that proactively manages these micro-expenses across providers.

The Solution

API CostPilot provides a unified dashboard to monitor, optimize, and predict API spending across all your integrated services. Users connect their various API accounts (initially supporting 2-3 popular ones like OpenAI, Stripe, with more to follow) via secure API keys or OAuth. The platform then ingests real-time usage data, displays estimated costs, and provides granular insights into consumption patterns. Key features include customizable spending alerts (e.g., 'Notify me if OpenAI spending exceeds $50 this week'), usage forecasting based on historical trends, and the ability to tag usage data to specific projects or features for cost attribution. This unique focus on cross-provider API cost aggregation and proactive prediction empowers developers to stay within budget, identify inefficiencies, and make data-driven decisions about their API usage, all through a simple, intuitive interface built specifically for their needs.

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14ReactTailwind CSSShadcn/ui
Backend
Next.js API Routes (Edge Functions)Node.js
Database
PostgreSQL (Supabase)
APIs
Stripe (for subscriptions & user API data)Resend (for email alerts)OpenAI API (for usage data)Twilio API (for usage data)

System Architecture

Database Schema

CREATE TABLE users (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
  email TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL,
  password_hash TEXT NOT NULL,
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

CREATE TABLE workspaces (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
  owner_id UUID REFERENCES users(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
  name TEXT NOT NULL,
  stripe_customer_id TEXT UNIQUE, -- For billing the workspace for API CostPilot
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

CREATE TABLE workspace_members (
  workspace_id UUID REFERENCES workspaces(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
  user_id UUID REFERENCES users(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
  role TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'member', -- 'owner', 'admin', 'member'
  PRIMARY KEY (workspace_id, user_id)
);

CREATE TABLE api_connections (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
  workspace_id UUID REFERENCES workspaces(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
  provider TEXT NOT NULL, -- e.g., 'openai', 'stripe', 'twilio'
  api_key TEXT, -- Encrypted API key or OAuth token
  api_secret TEXT, -- Encrypted API secret if needed
  oauth_access_token TEXT, -- For OAuth providers
  status TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'active', -- 'active', 'inactive', 'error'
  connected_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
  UNIQUE(workspace_id, provider) -- Only one connection per provider per workspace for simplicity
);

CREATE TABLE usage_records (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
  workspace_id UUID REFERENCES workspaces(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
  api_connection_id UUID REFERENCES api_connections(id) ON DELETE SET NULL,
  provider TEXT NOT NULL,
  event_timestamp TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL,
  usage_units NUMERIC NOT NULL,
  unit_type TEXT NOT NULL, -- e.g., 'tokens', 'requests', 'messages'
  estimated_cost NUMERIC NOT NULL DEFAULT 0.0,
  currency TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'USD',
  project_tag TEXT, -- Optional tag for cost attribution
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

CREATE INDEX idx_usage_records_workspace_id ON usage_records(workspace_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_usage_records_event_timestamp ON usage_records(event_timestamp);

CREATE TABLE alerts (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
  workspace_id UUID REFERENCES workspaces(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
  alert_type TEXT NOT NULL, -- 'spending_threshold', 'usage_spike'
  provider TEXT, -- NULL for all providers, or specific provider
  threshold_value NUMERIC NOT NULL,
  threshold_unit TEXT, -- 'USD', 'tokens', 'requests'
  time_period TEXT NOT NULL, -- 'daily', 'weekly', 'monthly'
  recipient_email TEXT NOT NULL,
  status TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'active', -- 'active', 'paused'
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

-- Stripe subscription details for API CostPilot itself
CREATE TABLE subscriptions (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT uuid_generate_v4(),
  workspace_id UUID REFERENCES workspaces(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
  stripe_subscription_id TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL,
  stripe_price_id TEXT NOT NULL,
  status TEXT NOT NULL, -- 'active', 'canceled', 'trialing'
  current_period_start TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL,
  current_period_end TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL,
  cancel_at_period_end BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
  created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
  updated_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

API Endpoints

POST/api/auth/signupRegister a new user and create their initial workspace.
POST/api/auth/loginAuthenticate user and return session token.
GET/api/workspaces/:id/connectionsRetrieve all API connections for a specific workspace.
POST/api/workspaces/:id/connectionsAdd a new API connection (e.g., OpenAI API key) to a workspace.
GET/api/workspaces/:id/usageGet aggregated API usage data for a workspace within a specified time range and optional filters.
GET/api/workspaces/:id/forecastRetrieve AI-driven usage and cost forecast for the next period based on historical data.
POST/api/webhooks/provider-usageReceive and process usage data webhooks from integrated API providers (internal use).
GET/api/workspaces/:id/alertsList all active and inactive alerts for a workspace.
POST/api/workspaces/:id/alertsCreate a new spending or usage threshold alert.
POST/api/stripe/webhookHandle Stripe webhooks for subscription management (e.g., plan changes, cancellations).
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