AI Infrastructure Economics
Guides for build-vs-buy AI decisions.
Direct-answer pages for LLM cost, self-hosting break-even, GPU ROI, and private RAG infrastructure decisions.
AI optimization
What Is AI Optimization? The Four Layers That Cut an AI Bill
AI optimization explained as four layers — model routing, workflow discipline, serving-stack engineering, and infrastructure placement — with the measured savings each layer produced in our published work.
Read guideAI audit
The AI Audit Checklist: Where AI Bills Actually Leak
A practical AI audit checklist from real audits: the questions that find spend leaks in agent loops, retries, routing, serving, and infrastructure — before you buy more capacity.
Read guideopenai api pricing
LLM API Pricing August 2026: OpenAI vs Claude vs Gemini
OpenAI, Claude, and Gemini API token prices verified August 2026 — including the long-context and promotional rates the headline price sheet leaves out.
Read guideself-hosted LLM cost
Self-Hosted LLM vs API Cost: When Each Wins
Compare self-hosted LLM cost vs managed API cost: what it costs to host a private LLM, how to estimate LLM inference TCO, and where the break-even sits.
Read guideLLM break-even point
LLM Break-Even Point: API, Hybrid, or Self-Hosted
When does self-hosting LLM inference become cheaper than the API? Estimate total cost of ownership (TCO) and the break-even month for API, hybrid, and self-hosted.
Read guideL40S vs H100 ROI
L40S vs H100 ROI for LLM Inference
Compare L40S vs H100 ROI for LLM inference across throughput, memory, utilization, capex, and workload fit.
Read guideedge self-hosted RAG vs OpenAI API
Edge RAG vs OpenAI API: When Private Retrieval Wins
Compare edge or self-hosted RAG vs OpenAI API workflows for privacy, latency, cost, throughput, and operational control.
Read guideGPU requirements for hosting an LLM
GPU Requirements for Hosting LLMs: Edge to HPC
GPU and hardware requirements for hosting LLMs on-prem: VRAM by model size, edge devices like Jetson Orin Nano, L40S and H100 servers, and HPC clusters.
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