Docs/chiron/Cost levers
Cost levers
A single Deep Research task costs real money, so the cost controls are front and centre. Estimates are for the budget gate — not billing.
Tiers & estimates
Estimates are the midpoints of Google's published per-tier envelopes, converted at a fixed planning rate. They are pre-run planning figures — real pricing and attribution belong to stint.
| Tier | Planning estimate | Searches |
|---|---|---|
deep-research | ≈ £1.58 (£0.79–£2.37) | ~80 |
deep-research-max | ≈ £3.95 (£2.37–£5.53) | ~160 |
The budget gate
--budget <gbp> blocks the run client-side, before any interaction is created, when the tier's estimate exceeds the cap. The gate sits ahead of the plan phase too, because plan rounds also spend. A blocked run exits with code 4.