Unit economics answers one question: does one acquired person make you money. If the answer is no, volume only accelerates the loss — which is the only reason to do this maths before scaling rather than after.
What goes into cost
- Accounts. Not the purchase price but the price divided by lifespan. A $2 account that lives two weeks costs you $4 a month.
- Proxies. Monthly, one per account.
- Software. Divided across everything that passed through it.
- AI requests. Pennies each, a visible sum monthly — the breakdown.
- Your time. The line most often skipped. Give yourself a rate, or you are costing a hobby rather than a business.
The formula
Add up the monthly cost, divide by conversions that month, compare with the payout. The difference is your margin per unit. Multiply by volume last, not first — the urge to compute «what if a thousand» before knowing the per-unit margin kills more setups than bad offers do.
Three mistakes
Counting your best day. Take a two-week average.
Forgetting hold. Money arrives in two weeks; accounts must be paid for now.
Ignoring account attrition. The most expensive forgotten line.