diff --git a/litellm/cost_calculator.py b/litellm/cost_calculator.py
index a40a8e1389c..e06a887456f 100644
--- a/litellm/cost_calculator.py
+++ b/litellm/cost_calculator.py
@@ -799,6 +799,36 @@ def _select_model_name_for_cost_calc(
     return return_model
 
 
+def _prices_only_via_capability_rule(model: str | None, custom_llm_provider: str | None) -> bool:
+    """Return True when ``model`` has no exact cost-map entry under any of its
+    name variants and resolves only through a capability generalization rule.
+
+    Rule-derived entries describe capabilities but carry no pricing, so
+    ``get_model_info`` synthesizes them with input/output cost 0. If the cost
+    ladder accepted such a candidate as a successful pricing lookup, the
+    request would be billed $0 even though a later candidate (e.g. the
+    deployment's real model name, when the response carries a router
+    model-group alias stamped on streaming chunks) has exact pricing. The
+    ladder therefore tries exactly-priced candidates first and rule-derived
+    ones last.
+    """
+    if model is None:
+        return False
+    from litellm.utils import (
+        _get_model_info_from_generalization,
+        _get_potential_model_names,
+    )
+
+    return (
+        _get_model_info_from_generalization(
+            model=model,
+            potential_model_names=_get_potential_model_names(model=model, custom_llm_provider=custom_llm_provider),
+            custom_llm_provider=custom_llm_provider,
+        )
+        is not None
+    )
+
+
 @lru_cache(maxsize=DEFAULT_MAX_LRU_CACHE_SIZE)
 def _model_contains_known_llm_provider(model: str) -> bool:
     """
@@ -1218,12 +1248,16 @@ def completion_cost(
             router_model_id=router_model_id,
         )
 
-        potential_model_names = [
+        _candidate_model_names = (
             selected_model,
             _get_response_model(completion_response),
-        ]
-        if model is not None:
-            potential_model_names.append(model)
+        ) + ((model,) if model is not None else ())
+        potential_model_names = sorted(
+            _candidate_model_names,
+            key=lambda candidate: _prices_only_via_capability_rule(
+                model=candidate, custom_llm_provider=custom_llm_provider
+            ),
+        )
 
         for idx, model in enumerate(potential_model_names):
             try:
diff --git a/tests/test_litellm/test_cost_calculator.py b/tests/test_litellm/test_cost_calculator.py
index 9636db4f4cd..8e92627fd1f 100644
--- a/tests/test_litellm/test_cost_calculator.py
+++ b/tests/test_litellm/test_cost_calculator.py
@@ -3479,3 +3479,60 @@ def test_batch_cost_calculator_cache_creation_falls_back_to_input_rate():
     )
 
     assert prompt_cost == pytest.approx((1000 * 3e-6 + 8000 * 3e-7 + 2000 * 3e-6) / 2)
+
+
+def test_streaming_alias_response_model_loses_to_exactly_priced_candidate(monkeypatch):
+    """A router model-group alias (e.g. ``anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6-defaultcaching``)
+    is stamped onto streaming chunks by the proxy, so the reassembled response
+    carries the alias as its model name. The alias has no cost-map entry but
+    prefix-matches a Claude capability generalization rule, whose synthesized
+    entry prices at $0. The cost ladder must prefer the exactly priced
+    deployment model over the rule-derived alias instead of billing $0.
+    Regression test for streaming requests on Claude-named alias groups being
+    logged with zero spend since the fallback-generalizations feature.
+    """
+    from litellm.litellm_core_utils.fallback_generalizations import (
+        match_capability_generalizations,
+    )
+
+    monkeypatch.setenv("LITELLM_LOCAL_MODEL_COST_MAP", "True")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(litellm, "model_cost", litellm.get_model_cost_map(url=""))
+
+    alias = "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6-defaultcaching"
+    assert alias not in litellm.model_cost
+    assert match_capability_generalizations("claude-sonnet-4-6-defaultcaching") is not None
+
+    usage = Usage(prompt_tokens=100, completion_tokens=10)
+    alias_cost = completion_cost(
+        completion_response=ModelResponse(usage=usage, model=alias),
+        model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
+        custom_llm_provider="anthropic",
+    )
+    real_cost = completion_cost(
+        completion_response=ModelResponse(usage=usage, model="claude-sonnet-4-6"),
+        model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
+        custom_llm_provider="anthropic",
+    )
+
+    assert real_cost > 0
+    assert alias_cost == real_cost
+
+
+def test_capability_rule_still_prices_model_with_no_exactly_priced_candidate(monkeypatch):
+    """When every ladder candidate is unmapped and only a capability rule
+    matches, the rule-derived entry must still resolve (at its synthesized $0)
+    rather than raising, preserving the fallback-generalizations behavior for
+    genuinely unknown models.
+    """
+    monkeypatch.setenv("LITELLM_LOCAL_MODEL_COST_MAP", "True")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(litellm, "model_cost", litellm.get_model_cost_map(url=""))
+
+    alias = "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6-defaultcaching"
+    usage = Usage(prompt_tokens=100, completion_tokens=10)
+    cost = completion_cost(
+        completion_response=ModelResponse(usage=usage, model="claude-sonnet-4-6-defaultcaching"),
+        model=alias,
+        custom_llm_provider="anthropic",
+    )
+
+    assert cost == 0.0