Unit economics

# Unit economics

This maintained index routes to the smallest topical leaf. Update the leaf that owns the claim; do not rebuild a parallel summary here.

- [Overview](unit-economics/overview.md)
- [0. The model (run it)](unit-economics/01-0-the-model-run-it.md)
- [TL;DR](unit-economics/02-tl-dr.md)
- [1. Services & real 2026 costs (mapped to env vars)](unit-economics/03-1-services-real-2026-costs-mapped-to-env-vars.md)
- [2. Model routing & per-token prices (what the code actually does)](unit-economics/04-2-model-routing-per-token-prices-what-the-code-actually-does.md)
- [3. Per-action COGS — the heart of token-based pricing](unit-economics/05-3-per-action-cogs-the-heart-of-token-based-pricing.md)
- [3b. How a research cycle actually spends — the Firecrawl fan-out](unit-economics/06-3b-how-a-research-cycle-actually-spends-the-firecrawl-fan-out.md)
- [3c. Onboarding — the one-time cost of building a Constellation](unit-economics/07-3c-onboarding-the-one-time-cost-of-building-a-constellation.md)
- [3d. Recurring — the Program stages, and what the shipped estimate omits](unit-economics/08-3d-recurring-the-program-stages-and-what-the-shipped-estimate-omits.md)
- [3e. Real portfolios are lopsided — and that changes the answer](unit-economics/09-3e-real-portfolios-are-lopsided-and-that-changes-the-answer.md)
- [4. The three cost layers](unit-economics/10-4-the-three-cost-layers.md)
- [5. Why a *pure* flat fee breaks (and what fixes it)](unit-economics/11-5-why-a-pure-flat-fee-breaks-and-what-fixes-it.md)
- [6. The pricing model — flat fee + usage-based above an allowance](unit-economics/12-6-the-pricing-model-flat-fee-usage-based-above-an-allowance.md)
- [7. Hosted exposure — the one open liability](unit-economics/13-7-hosted-exposure-the-one-open-liability.md)
- [8. Risks & open questions](unit-economics/14-8-risks-open-questions.md)
- [9. The simulation as the cost unit](unit-economics/15-9-the-simulation-as-the-cost-unit.md)

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