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Unit EconomicsCost ModelingAnthropicAI Agent Skill

unit-economics

Calculates unit economics for an AI feature: cost per use, margin, and break-even point.

anthropics/financial-services
889 stars
889 installs
Updated: 2026-07-02

Install Options

Install into Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or Antigravity with:

$ npx skills add anthropics/financial-services@unit-economics

Real Work Situation Solved

Answer the compute/API cost question on the spot, no engineer needed

Leadership asks "how much will this AI feature cost per month" mid-meeting - what do you estimate with?

5-Step Action Framework

  1. 1Estimate monthly API calls: active users × how often each one uses the feature.
  2. 2Estimate average tokens per call (input + output) - round numbers are fine, you don't need exact precision.
  3. 3Multiply calls × tokens × the model's token price to get the base cost.
  4. 4Add a buffer (typically 20-30%) for retried failed calls or traffic spikes.
  5. 5Compare the estimate against a known budget threshold - if it's over, say so directly instead of just handing over a number.
Before

"I'm not sure, let me check with engineering."

After

"10,000 active users × 5 calls/month × 1,500 tokens/call × $0.002/1K tokens ≈ $150/month, plus a 25% buffer ≈ $190/month - within the approved $500 budget."

Related Course Lesson

AI Product ManagementLesson 14

Go to Lesson

SKILL.md Source Instructions

SKILL.md • Read-only preview
# Unit Economics Skill

Break total cost down to cost-per-interaction, compare against revenue or budget per user, and flag when a feature's unit economics don't hold up at scale.