diff --git a/spire-ui/src/components/SettingsLlmModelForm.tsx b/spire-ui/src/components/SettingsLlmModelForm.tsx
index 3d0e9ead..718ada69 100644
--- a/spire-ui/src/components/SettingsLlmModelForm.tsx
+++ b/spire-ui/src/components/SettingsLlmModelForm.tsx
@@ -131,57 +131,65 @@ export default function SettingsLlmModelForm({ initial, onClose, onSaved }: Sett
 
   return (
     <div className="modal-overlay">
-      <div className="modal tall" onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()} role="dialog" aria-modal="true">
+      <div className="modal tall model-dialog" onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()} role="dialog" aria-modal="true">
         <h3>{editing ? 'Edit model' : 'Add model'}</h3>
         <form className="modal-body" onSubmit={submit}>
-          <div className="field-row-2">
-            <label className="field">
-              <span>Type</span>
-              <Select
-                ariaLabel="Type"
-                value={identity.type}
-                options={LLM_TYPES.map((t) => ({ value: t, label: t }))}
-                onChange={(v) => updateIdentity({ type: v as LlmType })}
+          <div className="model-panes">
+            <div className="model-pane">
+              <div className="field-row-2">
+                <label className="field">
+                  <span>Type</span>
+                  <Select
+                    ariaLabel="Type"
+                    value={identity.type}
+                    options={LLM_TYPES.map((t) => ({ value: t, label: t }))}
+                    onChange={(v) => updateIdentity({ type: v as LlmType })}
+                  />
+                </label>
+                <label className="field">
+                  <span>Model name</span>
+                  <input
+                    className="mono"
+                    placeholder="gpt-4o"
+                    value={identity.name}
+                    onChange={(e) => updateIdentity({ name: e.target.value })}
+                  />
+                </label>
+              </div>
+
+              <label className="field">
+                <span>
+                  Label <span className="field-optional">defaults to the model name</span>
+                </span>
+                <input placeholder="GPT-4o" value={identity.label} onChange={(e) => updateIdentity({ label: e.target.value })} />
+              </label>
+
+              <label className="field-check">
+                <input
+                  type="checkbox"
+                  checked={pricingMode === 'UNMETERED'}
+                  onChange={(e) => setPricingMode(e.target.checked ? 'UNMETERED' : 'METERED')}
+                />
+                <span>Self-hosted — no per-token cost (UNMETERED)</span>
+              </label>
+
+              <SettingsLlmModelDialectFields
+                type={identity.type}
+                dialect={dialect}
+                onDialectChange={updateDialect}
+                extraParams={extraParams}
+                onExtraParamsChange={setExtraParams}
               />
-            </label>
-            <label className="field">
-              <span>Model name</span>
-              <input
-                className="mono"
-                placeholder="gpt-4o"
-                value={identity.name}
-                onChange={(e) => updateIdentity({ name: e.target.value })}
-              />
-            </label>
+            </div>
+
+            <section className="model-prices" aria-label="Prices">
+              <div className="model-prices-title">Prices · $ per 1M tokens</div>
+              {pricingMode === 'METERED'
+                ? <ModelRateFields rates={rates} onChange={setRate} notBilled={notBilled} onNotBilled={assert} />
+                : <small className="field-hint">Self-hosted: this model has no per-token price.</small>}
+            </section>
           </div>
 
-          <label className="field">
-            <span>
-              Label <span className="field-optional">defaults to the model name</span>
-            </span>
-            <input placeholder="GPT-4o" value={identity.label} onChange={(e) => updateIdentity({ label: e.target.value })} />
-          </label>
-
-          <label className="field-check">
-            <input
-              type="checkbox"
-              checked={pricingMode === 'UNMETERED'}
-              onChange={(e) => setPricingMode(e.target.checked ? 'UNMETERED' : 'METERED')}
-            />
-            <span>Self-hosted — no per-token cost (UNMETERED)</span>
-          </label>
-
-          {pricingMode === 'METERED' && <ModelRateFields rates={rates} onChange={setRate}
-            notBilled={notBilled} onNotBilled={assert} />}
-
-          <SettingsLlmModelDialectFields
-            type={identity.type}
-            dialect={dialect}
-            onDialectChange={updateDialect}
-            extraParams={extraParams}
-            onExtraParamsChange={setExtraParams}
-          />
-
           {error && <div className="modal-msg modal-error">{error}</div>}
 
           <div className="modal-actions">
diff --git a/spire-ui/src/components/SettingsLlmModelRateFields.tsx b/spire-ui/src/components/SettingsLlmModelRateFields.tsx
index cba2c376..1f8f194b 100644
--- a/spire-ui/src/components/SettingsLlmModelRateFields.tsx
+++ b/spire-ui/src/components/SettingsLlmModelRateFields.tsx
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { useId } from 'react';
 import type { LlmModelView, PricingMode } from '../api';
 import { dollarsToMillicentsPerMillion, millicentsPerMillionToDollars } from '../money';
 import { MANDATORY_RATE_TYPES, RATE_TYPES, TOKEN_TYPE_LABEL, type RateType } from '../llmPricing';
@@ -85,24 +86,28 @@ interface RateFieldProps {
 }
 
 /** One rate input, mapped over {@link RATE_TYPES} rather than hand-written per dimension — the label,
- *  the optional/mandatory marker and the placeholder all already come from shared, tested tables. */
+ *  the optional/mandatory marker and the placeholder all already come from shared, tested tables. The
+ *  row shows only the type's name and a star when it is required; the input's own name still says the
+ *  whole thing ("Input rate $ / 1M tokens, required"), which a screen reader and the tests both read. */
 function RateField({ type, value, onChange, notBilled, onNotBilled }: RateFieldProps) {
-  const optional = !MANDATORY_RATE_TYPES.includes(type);
+  const id = useId();
+  const mandatory = MANDATORY_RATE_TYPES.includes(type);
   return (
-    <div className="rate-field">
-      <label className="field">
-        <span className="rate-label">
-          {TOKEN_TYPE_LABEL[type]} rate $ / 1M tokens {optional && <span className="field-optional">optional</span>}
-        </span>
-        <input
-          className="mono"
-          inputMode="decimal"
-          placeholder={RATE_PLACEHOLDER[type]}
-          value={notBilled ? '' : value}
-          disabled={notBilled}
-          onChange={(e) => onChange(e.target.value)}
-        />
+    <div className="price-item">
+      <label className="price-name" htmlFor={id}>
+        {TOKEN_TYPE_LABEL[type]}
+        {mandatory && <span className="price-required" aria-hidden="true"> *</span>}
       </label>
+      <input
+        id={id}
+        className="mono price-input"
+        aria-label={`${TOKEN_TYPE_LABEL[type]} rate $ / 1M tokens, ${mandatory ? 'required' : 'optional'}`}
+        inputMode="decimal"
+        placeholder={RATE_PLACEHOLDER[type]}
+        value={notBilled ? '' : value}
+        disabled={notBilled}
+        onChange={(e) => onChange(e.target.value)}
+      />
       {/* An assertion, not a zero: the operator says this vendor charges nothing for this type. A run
           that reports a type with neither a rate nor this box stops the item with an unknown cost. */}
       {(
@@ -132,17 +137,16 @@ interface ModelRateFieldsProps {
 export default function ModelRateFields({ rates, onChange, notBilled, onNotBilled }: ModelRateFieldsProps) {
   return (
     <>
-      <div className="rate-grid">
+      <div className="price-list">
         {RATE_TYPES.map((type) => (
           <RateField key={type} type={type} value={rates[type]} onChange={(v) => onChange(type, v)}
             notBilled={!!notBilled[type]} onNotBilled={(v) => onNotBilled(type, v)} />
         ))}
       </div>
       <small className="field-hint">
-        Enter the provider's current published price per 1M tokens for each dimension it bills — used to
-        cost each run. A dimension left blank means nobody has said what it costs, and a run that reports
-        it stops with an unknown cost. Tick "the vendor does not bill this" to say so on purpose; input
-        and output need one or the other before the model can be saved.
+        Enter the provider's current published price. <span className="price-required">*</span> needs a
+        rate or "not billed". A rate left blank means nobody has said what it costs, and a run that
+        reports it stops with an unknown cost.
       </small>
     </>
   );
diff --git a/spire-ui/src/index.css b/spire-ui/src/index.css
index 04805c01..ca1dfe9b 100644
--- a/spire-ui/src/index.css
+++ b/spire-ui/src/index.css
@@ -1147,14 +1147,32 @@
     border: 1px solid var(--border); border-radius: 6px; padding: 7px 9px; word-break: break-all;
   }
   .field-optional { color: var(--text-3); font-weight: 400; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: 0; font-size: 11px; }
-  /* The price fields line up across both columns whether or not a label wraps for its "optional" marker:
-     each field spans three rows of the grid (label, input, check box) as a subgrid, so the two labels of a
-     row share one track and sit at its bottom. The label element is display: contents so its text and its
-     input can each take a row; it still labels the input. */
-  .rate-grid { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; gap: 10px; }
-  .rate-field { display: grid; grid-row: span 3; grid-template-rows: subgrid; row-gap: 6px; }
-  .rate-field > label.field { display: contents; }
-  .rate-label { align-self: end; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: baseline; column-gap: 6px; }
+  /* The model dialog in two panes: the model and its API settings on the left, the prices in their own
+     pane on the right (operator's choice of three mockups, 2026-09-27). One column was too tall for a
+     laptop window, and a price input half the dialog wide was far wider than any rate. */
+  .modal.model-dialog { max-width: 880px; }
+  .model-panes { display: grid; grid-template-columns: minmax(0, 1fr) 300px; gap: 18px; align-items: start; }
+  .model-pane { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 14px; min-width: 0; }
+  .model-prices {
+    display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 12px; padding: 14px;
+    background: var(--panel-2); border: 1px solid var(--border); border-radius: 10px;
+  }
+  .model-prices-title { font-size: 12.5px; font-weight: 600; color: var(--text-2); }
+  .price-list { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 10px; }
+  .price-item { display: grid; grid-template-columns: minmax(0, 1fr) 110px; align-items: center; column-gap: 10px; row-gap: 4px; }
+  .price-item > .field-check { grid-column: 1 / -1; font-size: 12px; color: var(--text-2); }
+  .price-name { font-size: 13px; color: var(--text); }
+  .price-required { color: var(--warn); font-family: var(--font-mono); }
+  .price-input {
+    background: var(--panel); border: 1px solid var(--border); border-radius: 8px; padding: 7px 10px;
+    color: var(--text); font-size: 13px; outline: none; width: 100%; text-align: right;
+    font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+  }
+  .price-input:focus { border-color: var(--iris); }
+  .price-input:disabled { opacity: 0.5; }
+  @media (max-width: 760px) {
+    .model-panes { grid-template-columns: 1fr; }
+  }
   .field-row-2 { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; gap: 10px; }
   .field-row-12 { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 2fr; gap: 10px; align-items: start; }
 
@@ -1398,7 +1416,7 @@
   .chip-x button:hover { color: var(--crit); }
 
   @media (max-width: 560px) {
-    .field-row-2, .field-row-12, .field-row-13, .rate-grid { grid-template-columns: 1fr; }
+    .field-row-2, .field-row-12, .field-row-13 { grid-template-columns: 1fr; }
   }
 
   /* Settings → Prompts: list of prompt kinds, each a link into its detail/edit page */
diff --git a/spire-ui/src/llmDialogs.contract.test.ts b/spire-ui/src/llmDialogs.contract.test.ts
index 5af5972b..6478ca95 100644
--- a/spire-ui/src/llmDialogs.contract.test.ts
+++ b/spire-ui/src/llmDialogs.contract.test.ts
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@ import { join } from 'node:path';
 
 /**
  * The LLM dialogs are taller than a laptop window: the model dialog ran off screen with its buttons half
- * hidden, and its price inputs sat at different heights (feedback, 2026-09-27). Layout cannot be measured
- * in jsdom, so this holds the two rules that fix it and the markup that uses them.
+ * hidden, and its price inputs sat at different heights (feedback, 2026-09-27). The operator then chose a
+ * two-pane model dialog with narrow price inputs. Layout cannot be measured in jsdom, so this holds the
+ * rules and the markup that uses them.
  */
 const SRC = join(__dirname);
 const read = (file: string) => readFileSync(join(SRC, file), 'utf8');
@@ -16,19 +17,19 @@ it('caps a tall dialog at the window and keeps its buttons in view', () => {
   expect(css).toMatch(/\.modal\.tall \{[^}]*max-height: calc\(100vh - 40px\)/);
   expect(css).toMatch(/\.modal\.tall > \.modal-body \{[^}]*overflow-y: auto/);
   expect(css).toMatch(/\.modal\.tall \.modal-actions \{[^}]*position: sticky/);
-  expect(read('components/SettingsLlmModelForm.tsx')).toContain('className="modal tall"');
+  expect(read('components/SettingsLlmModelForm.tsx')).toContain('className="modal tall model-dialog"');
   expect(read('components/SettingsLlmProviders.tsx')).toContain('className="modal tall"');
 });
 
-it('lets the two price labels of a row share one height so the inputs line up', () => {
+it('puts the model and its prices side by side, with narrow price inputs', () => {
   const css = read('index.css');
-  expect(css).toMatch(/\.rate-field \{[^}]*grid-row: span 3;[^}]*grid-template-rows: subgrid/);
-  expect(css).toMatch(/\.rate-field > label\.field \{[^}]*display: contents/);
-  expect(css).toMatch(/\.rate-label \{[^}]*align-self: end/);
-  // On a narrow screen the price fields stack in one column, like the other field rows (review of PR #180).
-  expect(css).toMatch(/@media \(max-width: 560px\) \{\s*[^}]*\.rate-grid \{ grid-template-columns: 1fr; \}/);
-  const fields = read('components/SettingsLlmModelRateFields.tsx');
-  expect(fields).toContain('<div className="rate-grid">');
-  expect(fields).toContain('<div className="rate-field">');
-  expect(fields).toContain('<span className="rate-label">');
+  expect(css).toMatch(/\.modal\.model-dialog \{ max-width: 880px; \}/);
+  expect(css).toMatch(/\.model-panes \{[^}]*grid-template-columns: minmax\(0, 1fr\) 300px/);
+  expect(css).toMatch(/\.price-item \{[^}]*grid-template-columns: minmax\(0, 1fr\) 110px/);
+  // On a narrow screen the prices pane moves under the model.
+  expect(css).toMatch(/@media \(max-width: 760px\) \{\s*\.model-panes \{ grid-template-columns: 1fr; \}/);
+  const form = read('components/SettingsLlmModelForm.tsx');
+  expect(form).toContain('<div className="model-panes">');
+  expect(form).toContain('<section className="model-prices" aria-label="Prices">');
+  expect(read('components/SettingsLlmModelRateFields.tsx')).toContain('<div className="price-item">');
 });