Answered by Falk Gottlob · Reviewed · 1 min read
On the model bill, often yes. On the full cost, it depends on two things the headline number tends to leave out: the engineers, and who checks the resolution rate. Vercel's COO, Jeanne DeWitt Grosser, as Jason Lemkin reported on November 6, 2026, runs a support agent on 93% of case volume for $300 a month in infrastructure and about $12,000 a month in tokens, about $150K a year, with three engineers. Twelve months of those costs is $147,600, so the engineers are outside the figure. At the $1.75 per resolved ticket I charged, that bill equals about 1,600 resolutions a week, and Vercel handles thousands, so tokens favor the build. But a vendor priced per resolution puts the definition on an invoice the customer can dispute. Mine held for 98% of cases and the other 2% became more than 200 contested cases a week. An in-house agent has no invoice, so write one each quarter: cases under three definitions, tokens and infrastructure, engineer time, and one vendor quote on the zero-touch count.
Tokens usually favor the build. The full comparison turns on the engineers and on who audits the resolution rate once there is no invoice to dispute.
Vercel's numbers as Jason Lemkin reported them, the arithmetic behind the $147,600, and the four-line page are in Vercel Runs 'Our Internal Sierra' for $150K a Year. Write the Invoice Nobody Sends.. The three definitions of resolved, and my 200 contested cases a week, are from One Support Agent, Three Resolution Rates.