So a lot of these things are relative.
Now if that equation plays out 20K times a day, well that's one thing, but if it's 'once a day' then the cost basis becomes irrelevant. Like the cost of staplers for the Medical Device company.
Obviously it will matter, but for development ... it's probably worth it to pay $300/mo for the best model, when the second best is $0.
For consumer AI, the math will be different ... and that will be a big deal in the long run.