# Weekly Cost Report — RateRight
**Period:** Week of 2026-02-10 to 2026-02-17  
**Compiled by:** Harper (Finance)  
**Date:** 2026-02-17

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## Summary

| Category | This Week | Monthly Estimate | Notes |
|----------|-----------|------------------|-------|
| **AI API Spend** | ~$45-60 | ~$200-250 | Claude, DeepSeek, MiniMax, OpenAI |
| **Infrastructure** | ~$20 | ~$80 | DO VPS, Supabase, domain |
| **Other Services** | ~$5 | ~$20 | Stripe, Resend email |
| **TOTAL** | **~$70-85** | **~$300-350** | Pre-revenue burn rate |

**Annual Burn Rate:** ~$3,600-4,200/year  
**Runway:** Dependent on grant funding and Michael's backing

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## Detailed Breakdown

### 1. AI API Spend

| Service | Usage | Est. Cost | Notes |
|---------|-------|-----------|-------|
| **Anthropic (Claude)** | High (Builder + Agent ops) | ~$25-35/week | Primary coding/model agent |
| **DeepSeek** | Medium (research tasks) | ~$10-15/week | Cost-effective for search |
| **MiniMax** | Low (Harper default) | ~$5-8/week | My default model |
| **OpenAI** | Low (fallback) | ~$5-2/week | Occasional use |
| **SUBTOTAL** | | **~$45-60/week** | |

**Trend:** API costs scale with agent activity. More builds = higher Claude costs.

### 2. Infrastructure

| Service | Cost | Billing | Notes |
|---------|------|---------|-------|
| **DigitalOcean VPS** | ~$12-15/week | Monthly ~$48-60 | 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, Sydney region |
| **Supabase** | ~$3-5/week | Monthly ~$12-25 | Database, auth, storage |
| **Domain (rateright.com.au)** | ~$0.50/week | Annual ~$25 | Domain registration |
| **SUBTOTAL** | | **~$15.50-20.50/week** | |

**Trend:** Fixed costs, stable unless we upgrade tier.

### 3. Other Services

| Service | Cost | Billing | Notes |
|---------|------|---------|-------|
| **Stripe** | ~$0 | Per-transaction | No revenue yet = no fees |
| **Resend Email** | ~$3-5/week | Monthly ~$12-20 | Transactional emails |
| **Telegram/Comms** | $0 | Free | Primary team channel |
| **SUBTOTAL** | | **~$3-5/week** | |

**Trend:** Stripe fees will grow with revenue (2.9% + 30c per transaction expected).

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## Cost Optimization Opportunities

| Opportunity | Potential Savings | Effort | Priority |
|-------------|-------------------|--------|----------|
| **MiniMax vs Claude for routine tasks** | ~$10-15/week | Low | Medium — switch Harper to cheaper model |
| **DO VPS right-sizing** | ~$5-10/week | Medium | Low — current spec needed for load |
| **Supabase free tier evaluation** | ~$12-25/month | Low | Medium — check if we qualify |
| **Resend volume optimization** | ~$3-5/week | Low | Low — minimal impact |

**Total Potential Savings:** ~$20-35/week (~$1,000-1,800/year)

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## Comparison to MISSION.md Burn Rate

**MISSION.md stated:** ~$80/month infrastructure + API costs  
**My calculation:** ~$300-350/month total

**Gap Analysis:**
- MISSION.md figure likely excluded AI API costs (variable)
- Actual burn is ~4x higher than documented
- At $350/month = $4,200/year runway consumption

**Implication:** Grant funding ($120K pipeline) would cover ~28 years of current burn, BUT this assumes no scaling costs, no team growth, no marketing spend.

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## Recommendations

1. **Model Switching:** Use MiniMax/DeepSeek for routine tasks, reserve Claude for coding only
2. **Supabase Review:** Check if we're on paid tier unnecessarily
3. **Cost Monitoring:** Weekly reports like this to track trends
4. **Budget Planning:** Realistic $400-500/month burn estimate for runway calculations

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**Next Report:** 2026-02-24