diff --git a/aibridge/intercept/responses/streaming.go b/aibridge/intercept/responses/streaming.go
index 492783f4de72b..572de64b432b2 100644
--- a/aibridge/intercept/responses/streaming.go
+++ b/aibridge/intercept/responses/streaming.go
@@ -241,6 +241,14 @@ func (i *StreamingResponsesInterceptor) ProcessRequest(w http.ResponseWriter, r
 			return err
 		}
 
+		// Record token usage for every iteration, whether or not tools are
+		// injected. Usage is reported by upstream independently of the MCP
+		// proxy, so gating this on the proxy drops usage entirely for
+		// deployments that run without one.
+		if completedResponse != nil {
+			i.recordTokenUsage(ctx, completedResponse)
+		}
+
 		if i.mcpProxy != nil && completedResponse != nil {
 			pending := i.getPendingInjectedToolCalls(completedResponse)
 			shouldLoop, innerLoopErr = i.handleInnerAgenticLoop(ctx, pending, completedResponse)
@@ -248,9 +256,6 @@ func (i *StreamingResponsesInterceptor) ProcessRequest(w http.ResponseWriter, r
 				i.sendCustomErr(ctx, w, http.StatusInternalServerError, innerLoopErr)
 				shouldLoop = false
 			}
-
-			// Record token usage for each inner loop iteration
-			i.recordTokenUsage(ctx, completedResponse)
 		}
 
 		i.recordModelThoughts(ctx, completedResponse)
diff --git a/aibridge/internal/integrationtest/bridge_internal_test.go b/aibridge/internal/integrationtest/bridge_internal_test.go
index 77a7566f05e09..60756131c9bc6 100644
--- a/aibridge/internal/integrationtest/bridge_internal_test.go
+++ b/aibridge/internal/integrationtest/bridge_internal_test.go
@@ -2486,3 +2486,65 @@ func extractSigV4Field(authHeader, prefix string) string {
 	}
 	return strings.TrimSpace(val)
 }
+
+// TestTokenUsageRecordedWithoutMCPProxier asserts that an interception records
+// token usage when no MCP server proxier is configured. Upstream reports usage
+// independently of tool injection, and coderd/aibridged tolerates a nil
+// proxier when proxier construction fails, so usage must not depend on one.
+func TestTokenUsageRecordedWithoutMCPProxier(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	cases := []struct {
+		name                                      string
+		fixture                                   []byte
+		path                                      string
+		expectedInputTokens, expectedOutputTokens int64
+	}{
+		{
+			name:                 "openai responses",
+			fixture:              fixtures.OaiResponsesStreamingSimple,
+			path:                 pathOpenAIResponses,
+			expectedInputTokens:  11,
+			expectedOutputTokens: 18,
+		},
+		{
+			name:                 "anthropic messages",
+			fixture:              fixtures.AntSimple,
+			path:                 pathAnthropicMessages,
+			expectedInputTokens:  18,
+			expectedOutputTokens: 241,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(t.Context(), testutil.WaitLong)
+			t.Cleanup(cancel)
+
+			fix := fixtures.Parse(t, tc.fixture)
+			upstream := testutil.NewMockUpstream(ctx, t, testutil.NewFixtureResponse(fix))
+
+			bridgeServer := newBridgeTestServer(ctx, t, upstream.URL, func(c *bridgeConfig) {
+				c.noMCPProxy = true
+			})
+
+			inputBefore := bridgeServer.Recorder.TotalInputTokens()
+			outputBefore := bridgeServer.Recorder.TotalOutputTokens()
+
+			reqBody, err := sjson.SetBytes(fix.Request(), "stream", true)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			resp, err := bridgeServer.makeRequest(t, http.MethodPost, tc.path, reqBody)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			defer resp.Body.Close()
+			require.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, resp.StatusCode)
+			_, err = io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+
+			require.NotEmpty(t, bridgeServer.Recorder.RecordedTokenUsages(), "token usage must be recorded without an MCP proxier")
+			assert.EqualValues(t, tc.expectedInputTokens, bridgeServer.Recorder.TotalInputTokens()-inputBefore, "input tokens miscalculated")
+			assert.EqualValues(t, tc.expectedOutputTokens, bridgeServer.Recorder.TotalOutputTokens()-outputBefore, "output tokens miscalculated")
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/aibridge/internal/integrationtest/setupbridge.go b/aibridge/internal/integrationtest/setupbridge.go
index efa94074295be..fdad3610e7a58 100644
--- a/aibridge/internal/integrationtest/setupbridge.go
+++ b/aibridge/internal/integrationtest/setupbridge.go
@@ -50,9 +50,12 @@ type bridgeConfig struct {
 	metrics          *metrics.Metrics
 	tracer           trace.Tracer
 	mcpProxy         mcp.ServerProxier
-	userID           string
-	metadata         recorder.Metadata
-	logger           slog.Logger
+	// noMCPProxy leaves the proxier nil instead of falling back to
+	// NoopMCPManager, which is non-nil and reports zero tools.
+	noMCPProxy bool
+	userID     string
+	metadata   recorder.Metadata
+	logger     slog.Logger
 }
 
 // bridgeTestServer wraps an httptest.Server running a RequestBridge.
@@ -150,7 +153,7 @@ func newBridgeTestServer(
 		cfg.tracer = defaultTracer
 	}
 	cfg.logger = newLogger(t)
-	if cfg.mcpProxy == nil {
+	if cfg.mcpProxy == nil && !cfg.noMCPProxy {
 		cfg.mcpProxy = newNoopMCPManager()
 	}