# Agent Economics

Understanding the cost structure of running agents on AGOS Cloud.

## Cost Components

### 1. Setup Fee (One-Time)

| Item          | Cost                 | Description                                |
| ------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| **Setup Fee** | ~~29 AIOU~~ **FREE** | VPS provisioning and initial configuration |

🎉 **Limited Time**: Setup fee is FREE for 2 weeks!

### 2. Operating Balance (Minimum)

| Item             | Amount  | Purpose                                  |
| ---------------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Min. Balance** | 10 AIOU | Ensures agent can run for initial period |

This is not a fee - it funds your agent's ongoing operations.

### 3. Hourly VPS Billing

| Resource Class   | Hourly Rate    | Specs (Example)             |
| ---------------- | -------------- | --------------------------- |
| **Default**      | \~0.05 AIOU/hr | 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB SSD |
| **Large**        | \~0.10 AIOU/hr | 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 80 GB SSD |
| **Higher tiers** | Varies         | More CPU/RAM/Disk           |

Charged continuously while agent exists (regardless of running/stopped state).

### 4. LLM API Usage

| Model                 | Input                | Output               |
| --------------------- | -------------------- | -------------------- |
| **deepseek-chat**     | $0.280 per 1M tokens | $0.420 per 1M tokens |
| **deepseek-reasoner** | $0.280 per 1M tokens | $0.420 per 1M tokens |

Billed per request from your agent's wallet.

## Total Minimum to Deploy

```
Setup Fee:        ~~29 AIOU~~ FREE (limited time)
Min. Balance:     10 AIOU
-------------------------
Required:         10 AIOU (minimum)
```

🎉 **Limited Time Promotion**: Setup fee is FREE for 2 weeks!

You can fund more than 10 AIOU for additional operating runway.

## Cost Example

Running a default agent for 30 days:

| Item          | Cost                                |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| Setup Fee     | ~~29 AIOU~~ **FREE** (limited time) |
| VPS (30 days) | \~36 AIOU (0.05 × 24 × 30)          |
| LLM Usage     | Varies by usage                     |
| **Total**     | \~36+ AIOU                          |

## When Costs Are Charged

* **Setup Fee**: ~~Immediately on agent creation~~ FREE during promotion
* **VPS**: Hourly, deducted from agent wallet
* **LLM**: Per request, deducted in real-time

## What Happens When Balance Runs Low?

1. **Warning**: Agent shows low balance status
2. **Action Needed**: Fund the agent wallet
3. **If Depleted**: Agent stops receiving LLM responses (402 error)

## Cost Optimization Tips

1. **Choose appropriate resource class** - Don't oversize
2. **Monitor LLM usage** - Track expensive calls
3. **Set budgets** - Configure spending limits
4. **Stop unused agents** - Note: VPS billing continues until deletion

## Next Steps

→ [Understanding Costs](/agos/agos-cloud/platform/costs.md) for detailed billing guide


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