ComponentWhy it is unattributedcalls$ / run
Model · 17%Signal inference (GPT-4.1)For each ticker batch, the model receives current news context plus the signal schema and produces a structured JSON signal object.tokens in: 38,000 · tokens out: 4,200Visible on the invoice.15$0.11
Prompt · 19%Signal schema, ticker metadata, and examplesA 4,200-token prompt encoding signal categories, confidence thresholds, and sector-specific few-shot examples is sent on every ticker-batch call.tokens in: 63,000 · tokens out: 0Visible on the invoice.15$0.13
Orchestration · 4%Ticker batching, routing, and aggregation callsA router agent groups tickers into batches, dispatches to signal agents, and an aggregator merges outputs. Each produces a separate billed call.tokens in: 9,500 · tokens out: 1,100Batching and aggregation calls are attributed to 'orchestration infrastructure' in the platform, not to this workflow's cost center.18$0.028
Retrieval · 10%News and filing vector lookups per tickerEach ticker triggers an independent vector query for the last 24 hours of news and any recent filings. Queries are not batched; 150 tickers produce 150 round trips.tokens in: 28,000 · tokens out: 0Vector DB query costs are on the Pinecone or Weaviate invoice; no join to the LLM workflow P&L has been built.150$0.067
History · 41%Prior signal state re-injectionThe last 3 signal outputs per ticker are prepended on every run so the model can detect trend changes. Across 150 tickers this accumulates 90k+ tokens per run.tokens in: 112,000 · tokens out: 0Signal state history is maintained by the application layer as a 'context window' feature; none of the LLM vendor dashboards show it as a distinct cost component.15$0.27
Connectors · 8%Salesforce, Domo, Slack, and Zapier connectorsEvery run writes signal objects to Salesforce, refreshes the Domo dashboard, posts to Slack, and triggers downstream Zaps. Because signals are produced per ticker batch, the write-back and normalization calls fan out across the 150-name universe on each run.tokens in: 8,000 · tokens out: 900Salesforce and Domo writes bill to their platform contracts and each Zapier task to the Zapier plan; the connector volume scales with ticker count but is never charged to the signal workflow.14$0.050
Portfolio signal generation on 150 tickers costs $0.65/run; run it 12x/day for a year and 64% of the $15.6k annual bill is invisible history re-injection and Salesforce/Domo/Zapier connector fan-out across ticker batches.