Engineering strategy

Cost vs speed visualizer

Planning scenarios, not guarantees: use model intelligence where it removes critical-path reasoning and preserve expensive capacity for hard work.

Working model	Approx cost	Throughput	Plumbing	Warehouse	HQ	Full build
Current workflow	~R400/mo	1.0×	23 Oct 2026	4–18 Dec 2026	Aug–Sep 2027	Q3 2029
Plus + smart Astra	~R400/mo	1.7–2.1×	mid–late Oct	mid–late Nov	Jun–Jul 2027	Q4 2028
Plus + selective credits	~R1.15k–2.0k/mo	2.0–2.7×	mid Oct	early–late Nov	May–Jun 2027	Q2–Q3 2028
Pro $100	~R1.64k+/mo	2.3–2.8×	early–mid Oct	late Oct–mid Nov	~May 2027	Q2–Q3 2028
Pro $100 + credits	~R2.45k–3.3k/mo	2.7–3.4×	early Oct	late Oct–early Nov	~Apr 2027	Q1–Q2 2028
Pro $200 class	~R3.28k+/mo	3.0–3.7×	early Oct	late Oct–early Nov	Mar–Apr 2027	Q1–Q2 2028
Parallel team / Business	team-dependent	3.5–4.5×	early Oct	Oct–Nov	Q1–Q2 2027	Q1 2028
Enterprise + parallel engineering	custom	~4–6× eng.	early Oct	Oct	Q1 2027	Q4 2027–Q1 2028

Smart routing

Don't use maximum reasoning everywhere

Low / Medium
default engineering

→

High
auth / migration / architecture

→

Extra High
rare blockers

Use Sol/Terra-style lower-cost work for proven patterns, UI, fixtures, docs and mechanical repetition. When agentic capacity is exhausted, fall back to Chat → local execution → evidence review.

Quota preservation

Protect the last 30%

Above 30%: meaningful Astra engineering. Below 30%: increasingly reserve it for critical-path architecture, security and difficult debugging rather than routine implementation.

Best early value

Plus + smart routing is already a large jump from the manual handoff loop. Upgrade only when quota waiting repeatedly blocks a ready engineering gate.

Paid-credit crossover

If recurring Plus overage approaches the next plan's subscription difference, the higher plan becomes more rational than buying the same overage every month.

Diminishing returns

Eventually UAT, security review, client validation, integrations and founder decisions become the bottleneck—not model tokens.