diff --git a/server/src/llm/__tests__/usageCounters.test.ts b/server/src/llm/__tests__/usageCounters.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..694c422
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/llm/__tests__/usageCounters.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { createUsageCounters } from '../usageCounters.js';
+
+describe('usageCounters', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+  });
+
+  it('tracks requests per model', () => {
+    const counters = createUsageCounters();
+    counters.record('free/model');
+    counters.record('free/model');
+    counters.record('paid/model');
+
+    const stats = counters.getStats();
+    expect(stats['free/model'].total).toBe(2);
+    expect(stats['paid/model'].total).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  it('resets daily counts at midnight UTC', () => {
+    // Set time to 23:59:59 UTC
+    const nearMidnight = new Date('2026-03-09T23:59:59Z');
+    vi.setSystemTime(nearMidnight);
+
+    const counters = createUsageCounters();
+    counters.record('free/model');
+    expect(counters.getStats()['free/model'].total).toBe(1);
+
+    // Advance past midnight UTC
+    vi.advanceTimersByTime(2000);
+    counters.record('free/model');
+
+    // After reset, count should be 1 (just the new one)
+    expect(counters.getStats()['free/model'].total).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  it('returns empty stats when no requests recorded', () => {
+    const counters = createUsageCounters();
+    expect(counters.getStats()).toEqual({});
+  });
+
+  it('formats a summary string', () => {
+    const counters = createUsageCounters();
+    counters.record('free/model');
+    counters.record('free/model');
+    counters.record('paid/model');
+
+    const summary = counters.getSummary();
+    expect(summary).toContain('free/model: 2');
+    expect(summary).toContain('paid/model: 1');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/server/src/llm/usageCounters.ts b/server/src/llm/usageCounters.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..16a4144
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/llm/usageCounters.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+interface ModelStats {
+  total: number;
+}
+
+export interface UsageCounters {
+  record(model: string): void;
+  getStats(): Record<string, ModelStats>;
+  getSummary(): string;
+}
+
+export function createUsageCounters(): UsageCounters {
+  let counts = new Map<string, number>();
+  let resetTime = getNextMidnightUTC();
+
+  function getNextMidnightUTC(): number {
+    const now = new Date();
+    const midnight = new Date(Date.UTC(
+      now.getUTCFullYear(), now.getUTCMonth(), now.getUTCDate() + 1,
+      0, 0, 0, 0,
+    ));
+    return midnight.getTime();
+  }
+
+  function checkReset(): void {
+    if (Date.now() >= resetTime) {
+      counts = new Map();
+      resetTime = getNextMidnightUTC();
+    }
+  }
+
+  return {
+    record(model: string): void {
+      checkReset();
+      counts.set(model, (counts.get(model) ?? 0) + 1);
+    },
+
+    getStats(): Record<string, ModelStats> {
+      checkReset();
+      const result: Record<string, ModelStats> = {};
+      for (const [model, total] of counts) {
+        result[model] = { total };
+      }
+      return result;
+    },
+
+    getSummary(): string {
+      checkReset();
+      if (counts.size === 0) return 'No LLM requests today';
+      const parts: string[] = [];
+      for (const [model, total] of counts) {
+        parts.push(`${model}: ${total}`);
+      }
+      return `LLM usage today — ${parts.join(', ')}`;
+    },
+  };
+}