{
 "id": "13.2",
 "title": "Unit economics",
 "department": "Finance",
 "department_slug": "finance",
 "direction": null,
 "branded": false,
 "status": "draft",
 "owner": "Param",
 "last_verified": "Mon Oct 26",
 "holds": "Cost per read, per brand per month, per make, per final; margin",
 "urls": {
  "html": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/finance/unit-economics",
  "markdown": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/finance/unit-economics.md",
  "json": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/finance/unit-economics.json"
 },
 "other_directions": [],
 "tldr": {
  "headline": "Costs per piece against proposed prices, margin still a range",
  "points": [
   {
    "icon": "chart",
    "text": "A Play's own call costs a median $0.18 on Pro and $0.83 on Opus."
   },
   {
    "icon": "money",
    "text": "Single pieces earn roughly 50% to 96% gross margin on paper."
   },
   {
    "icon": "warn",
    "text": "No brand's full month is measured, so v1 margin runs from 81% to below zero."
   },
   {
    "icon": "box",
    "text": "A Studio make on Arata cost $0.10 to $3.02 a take."
   },
   {
    "icon": "heart",
    "text": "Never cut a Play to save cost; make the Play cheaper."
   }
  ],
  "stat": {
   "value": "6",
   "label": "est. dollars per live read"
  },
  "decide": "Which cost do we plan on until a month is measured: $45 a brand?",
  "mood": "building"
 },
 "sources": [
  "brew origin/main a559de6: drafts-bg.js:142, rewrite-pot.js:19-24, public/demo-picker.html:201, docs/handover/product/08-demo-guide.md:8, live-watch.js:22-23, social-feed.js:274, ai.js:8, gemini-client.js:16",
  "brew working tree docs/pricing.md:20-35, untracked",
  "handbook content/ai-and-models/cost-per-brand.md Today and Numbers",
  "memory: brew-model-compare-2026-10-20, brew-lean-pipeline, brew-jam-v2, brew-sloosh-finals, brew-gemini-provider, treg-tool-catalog, keep-all-moves"
 ],
 "open_questions": [
  "**What is a Sloosh credit in dollars?** Proposal: Param adds the Pro plan's price and credit count to vendors and bills, and finals are reported in dollars from then on.",
  "**Which number do we plan on until a month is measured?** Proposal: plan on $45 a brand a month, the v4 brain estimate, as a cautious middle; replace it with the measured figure in December."
 ],
 "parts": {
  "Answer": "What one read, one brand a month, one make and one final cost Brew, against what the pricing proposal would charge; single pieces are measured, a brand's month is not, so margin per brand is a range until a real month is counted.",
  "Today": "### Cost per unit\n\n| Unit | Cost | Measured or estimated | Source |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| A live read | about $6 | Estimate in the demo guide | [src: brew/docs/handover/product/08-demo-guide.md:8] |\n| A full demo build, read plus every Play | about $80 | Staff note | [src: brew/public/demo-picker.html:201] |\n| A Play's own call | median $0.18 on Pro, $0.83 on Opus, about $0.10 on Flash | Measured on Arata and Cozy | [src: memory brew-model-compare-2026-10-20] [src: brew/rewrite-pot.js:18-19] |\n| A Play run with search, check and fix | about 1.5 times its own call | Code constant | [src: brew/rewrite-pot.js:23-24] |\n| A Play before the lean pipeline | $1.51 | Measured, 15 Oct | [src: memory brew-lean-pipeline] |\n| A draft picture | $0.04 | Code default | [src: brew/drafts-bg.js:142] |\n| A draft video | $0.90 | Code default | [src: brew/drafts-bg.js:142] |\n| A draft voice clip | $0.01 | Code default | [src: brew/drafts-bg.js:142] |\n| A Studio make on Arata, 23 Oct | product shot $0.10, preset $0.10, Kling 5 s $0.40, Seedance UGC 10 s $3.02 | Measured | [src: memory brew-jam-v2] |\n| A Sloosh final | image 2.01 credits, reel 45.071 credits | Measured | [src: memory brew-sloosh-finals] |\n| An AI answers check | about $0.50 a run | Code note | [src: brew/live-watch.js:22-23] |\n| Listening and ideas | listening about $0.30 a run, ideas about $1 a run, $3 a brand a day cap | Code estimates | [src: brew/social-feed.js:274] |\n| Outside data a month | about $10 of treg a brand | Estimate | [src: memory treg-tool-catalog] |\n\nModel list prices are in the code: Opus $4 and $20 per million tokens in and out, Sonnet $2 and $10, Flash $0.5 and $3, 3.1 Pro $2 and $12 [src: brew/ai.js:8] [src: brew/gemini-client.js:16]. Vertex is paid by Google credits today [src: memory brew-gemini-provider].\n\n### Cost per brand a month\n\n- Not measured for any brand [src: content/ai-and-models/cost-per-brand.md Open]\n- Proposed ceiling from the caps: about $180 before drafts [src: content/ai-and-models/cost-per-brand.md Numbers]\n- The pricing proposal's estimate: about $15 brain cost in v1 [src: brew working tree docs/pricing.md:23]\n\n### Against the proposed prices\n\n| Item | Price | Our cost | Gross margin, on paper | Source |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Post ready image | $0.75 | about $0.03 to $0.06 | about 92% to 96% | [src: brew working tree docs/pricing.md:28] |\n| Carousel | $2 | about $0.12 to $0.30 | about 85% to 94% | [src: brew working tree docs/pricing.md:29] |\n| Ad ready video | $4 | about $0.55 to $1.30 | about 68% to 86% | [src: brew working tree docs/pricing.md:30] |\n| Full rewrite | $6 | about $1.80 to $3.00 | about 50% to 70% | [src: brew working tree docs/pricing.md:32] |\n| v1 plan | $79 | about $15 estimated, up to about $180 allowed | from about 81% down to below zero | [src: brew working tree docs/pricing.md:20-23] [src: content/ai-and-models/cost-per-brand.md Numbers] |\n\nMargins are our arithmetic on the proposal's figures, before payment fees and tax.",
  "Tomorrow": "| Item | Version | Tag |\n|---|---|---|\n| Every Play kept; each made cheaper | v1 | Stays [src: memory keep-all-moves] |\n| One measured cost line per brand per month | v1 | New |\n| A monthly ceiling per brand tied to its plan | v2 | New |\n| Wallet ledger with cost and price per piece | v1, after pricing | New |\n| Posting, results and ad runs add their own cost lines | v2 to v4 | New |",
  "How we do it": "1. Read a brand's outside data spend for a month from its spend file, as shown in [cost per brand](/ai-and-models/cost-per-brand).\n2. Add the AI tags for that brand from the meter.\n3. Divide by the plan price; anything above a third is a flag for Param.\n4. Never cut a Play to save cost; cut the cost of the Play.",
  "Numbers": "| Metric | Definition | Where measured | Status |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Cost per read | Dollars from paste to a finished read | AI tags `reader-<slug>` plus treg | Proposed; about $6 estimated |\n| Cost per brand a month | All AI and outside data for one brand | Spend files plus AI tags | Proposed, not measured |\n| Cost per make | Dollars per Studio take | Studio quotes | Measured, $0.10 to $3.02 |\n| Cost per final | Sloosh credits per final, converted to dollars | Sloosh quotes | Measured in credits only |\n| Plan margin | Plan price less cost per brand a month | Both above | Proposed |",
  "Open": "1. **What is a Sloosh credit in dollars?** Proposal: Param adds the Pro plan's price and credit count to vendors and bills, and finals are reported in dollars from then on.\n2. **Which number do we plan on until a month is measured?** Proposal: plan on $45 a brand a month, the v4 brain estimate, as a cautious middle; replace it with the measured figure in December."
 }
}