AI models are billed by the token — a unit of text roughly equal to ¾ of a word. Here's what that means in practice for a property management agency.
The basics
~¾
of a word
The word "tenant" = 2 tokens. "Hi" = 1 token.
~4
characters
"Baker Street" = 3 tokens. Numbers and punctuation count too.
~260
tokens per 200 words
A typical email or chat message runs 50–150 words.
How billing works
Every AI response has two costs: input tokens (the conversation history + instructions sent to the model) and output tokens (the response it writes back). Output costs more, but responses are usually shorter than the context sent in.
Raia adds a short system prompt (~160 tokens) to every request — this tells the model your org name, the conversation context, and how to respond. This overhead is the same whether the message is two words or two paragraphs.
Example 1
A tenant enquires via WhatsApp and books a slot in two replies.
Tenant
Hi, I'd like to book a viewing for the 2-bed on Baker Street. Do you have anything this week?~25 tokens
Raia
Hi! We have slots on Thursday 24 April at 2pm or Friday 25 April at 11am. Which works better for you?~27 tokens
Tenant
Friday at 11am please.~5 tokens
Raia
Confirmed! Your viewing is booked for Friday 25 April at 11am at 47 Baker Street, W1U 3PR. You'll get a confirmation SMS shortly. See you then!~34 tokens
Token breakdown
Cost for this conversation
Haiku 4.5
$0.80 in · $4 out per 1M
$0.445m
<0.01p
Sonnet 4.6
$3 in · $15 out per 1M
$0.0017
0.13p
Example 2
A tenant reports a broken boiler. Raia raises the job and notifies all parties automatically.
Tenant
The boiler has stopped working — no hot water since yesterday morning.~16 tokens
Raia
I'm sorry to hear that. No hot water is classified as urgent. I've raised emergency job J-1042 on your property. Our engineer will call you within 4 hours to arrange access. Is there a preferred time today?~48 tokens
Tenant
Any time before 3pm would be great.~9 tokens
Raia
Done. J-1042 is updated — engineer to arrive before 3pm today. If you haven't heard within 2 hours, reply here and I'll escalate. Your landlord has been notified.~36 tokens
Token breakdown
Cost for this conversation
Haiku 4.5
$0.80 in · $4 out per 1M
$0.551m
<0.01p
Sonnet 4.6
$3 in · $15 out per 1M
$0.0021
0.17p
Scale
Estimates based on a mix of conversation types. Actual usage depends on message length and how much your tenants chat.
| Portfolio size | AI conversations/month | Haiku 4.5 | Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 properties | 80 | £0.03 | £0.12 |
| 50 properties | 200 | £0.08 | £0.30 |
| 100 properties | 400 | £0.16 | £0.60 |
| 250 properties | 1,000 | £0.40 | £1.49 |
| 500 properties | 2,000 | £0.80 | £2.99 |
Estimates at ~5 AI conversations per property per month. Exchange rate: $1 = £0.80.
Choosing a model
Haiku 4.5
$0.80 in · $4 out per 1M tokens
Sonnet 4.6
Recommended$3 in · $15 out per 1M tokens
Note on legal tasks
Legal-grade tasks — eviction assessments, deposit disputes, contract reviews — always use Opus, Raia's highest-tier model. These tasks are never available through the chat panel and are not configurable. This is a governance requirement, not a cost decision.
Ready to see it in action?
Change your model any time in Settings → AI model inside the platform.