{# Platform Economics — Askama page, NOT a docengine markdown surface.

   This page carries live disclosure (paying-creator counts pulled from
   the DB at request time) which docengine's static markdown pipeline
   can't express. It shadows the catch-all /docs/{slug} route so the
   URL stays at /docs/about/economics for backwards-compatibility with
   inbound links.

   Prose mirrors the previous economics.md content (deleted in the same
   commit). To edit prose, edit this file. To edit the cost-allocation
   model or the runway figure, edit docs/business/assumptions.toml. #}
{% extends "base.html" %}

{% block title %}Platform Economics - Makenot.work{% endblock %}

{% block head %}{% endblock %}

{% block content %}
    {% include "partials/site_header.html" %}

    <article class="doc-container">
        <nav class="doc-breadcrumb">
            <a href="/docs">Docs</a> / <span>About</span>
            <div class="docs-search-container docs-search-inline">
                <input type="text" class="docs-search-input" placeholder="Search docs..." autocomplete="off" />
                <div class="docs-search-results hidden"></div>
            </div>
        </nav>

        <h1 class="doc-title">Platform Economics</h1>

        <div class="doc-body">
            <p><em>As of {{ runway_config.last_updated_iso }}.</em></p>

            <p>What you pay, what it covers, the position we're operating from, and what we commit to.</p>

            <hr>

            <h2>What You Pay</h2>
            <p>See <a href="/docs/pricing">Pricing</a> for the current tier prices, the founding-creator rate, and the provisional standard rate.</p>

            <hr>

            <h2>What It Covers</h2>
            <p>Your subscription funds three things, at a high level:</p>

            <p><strong>Cost to deliver.</strong> The infrastructure that hosts your content (application servers, database, object storage, bandwidth) and the payment processing fee Stripe charges on each transaction.</p>

            <p><strong>Platform overhead.</strong> Ongoing development, day-to-day operations, legal and compliance work, and reserves held against unexpected costs so a bad month doesn't force a price increase or a shutdown.</p>

            <p><strong>Returned to creators.</strong> Surplus beyond what cost-to-deliver and platform overhead require is earmarked to come back to you as earn-back credit. We've committed to launching that program no later than 2027-01-01.</p>

            <p>See the full breakdown on the <a href="/pricing#cost-allocation">pricing page</a> — every tier fee broken into Stripe processing, storage, human support time, product engineering, reserves, and earn-back surplus.</p>

            <p>No surplus goes to investors, shareholders, dividends, executive bonuses, paid acquisition, or marketing spend. We have none of those things.</p>

            <hr>

            <h2>Where We Are</h2>
            <p>Numbers refresh at the close of every two-month sprint, alongside the <a href="/changelog">changelog</a> recap. The paying-creator count is read live from the database at the time you load this page.</p>

            <ul>
                <li>Paying creators today: <strong>{{ paying_creators }}</strong></li>
                {% if trialing_or_grace > 0 %}
                <li>In trial or 30-day cancellation grace: <strong>{{ trialing_or_grace }}</strong></li>
                {% endif %}
                <li>Break-even at the assumed tier mix: approximately <strong>22.5</strong> paying creators at the standard rate, <strong>46.8</strong> at the founding rate. (Derivation in the build's <code>assumptions.toml</code>.)</li>
                {% if runway_config.is_published() %}
                <li>Cash runway at current burn: <strong>{{ runway_config.quarters }}</strong> quarter{% if runway_config.quarters != 1 %}s{% endif %}.</li>
                {% endif %}
            </ul>

            <p>Reserve capacity (twelve months of fixed costs plus a legal reserve and a single-incident shock reserve) is approximately <strong>$62k</strong>, derived from the build's assumptions. Reserves shrink before prices change; a single bad month doesn't move the headline rate.</p>

            <hr>

            <h2>What We Commit To</h2>
            <p>The binding commitments live in <a href="/docs/guarantees">What We Guarantee</a>. The short version:</p>
            <ul>
                <li>No surprise raises. Prices only change under conditions stated in writing.</li>
                <li>At least 90 days notice on any change.</li>
                <li>Existing creators are grandfathered at their current rate for at least 12 months when standard rates rise.</li>
                <li>When our cost structure permits, the direction is downward. Cost-favorable changes apply retroactively to active subscriptions.</li>
            </ul>

            <hr>

            <h2>What We Won't Do</h2>
            <ul>
                <li><strong>Percentage cuts.</strong> We will not skim a percentage of what fans pay you.</li>
                <li><strong>Per-transaction fees on top of Stripe.</strong> The only deduction is Stripe's processing fee, which goes to Stripe.</li>
                <li><strong>Surge pricing.</strong> Tier prices do not move based on demand, time of day, or who you are.</li>
                <li><strong>Quiet plan-gating.</strong> Features won't migrate between tiers without notice and grandfathering.</li>
                <li><strong>Paid acquisition or marketing.</strong> We don't fund growth by spending your subscription on ads.</li>
            </ul>

            <hr>

            <h2>See Also</h2>
            <ul>
                <li><a href="/docs/pricing">Pricing</a>: Current rates, founding-creator rate, standard rate</li>
                <li><a href="/docs/guarantees">What We Guarantee</a>: Binding commitments in writing</li>
                <li><a href="/docs/how-we-work">How We Work</a>: Business model and operating principles</li>
            </ul>
        </div>
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        <a href="/">Makenot<span class="dot">.</span>work</a>
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