alchemy-cost-tuning

name	alchemy-cost-tuning
description	Optimize Alchemy API costs through CU budgeting, caching, and plan selection. Use when analyzing Alchemy billing, reducing Compute Unit consumption, or choosing the right plan for your dApp traffic. Trigger: "alchemy cost", "alchemy pricing", "alchemy CU budget", "alchemy billing optimization", "alchemy free tier limits".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Bash(npm:*)
version	1.0.0
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
tags	["saas","blockchain","web3","alchemy","cost-optimization"]
compatible-with	claude-code

Alchemy Cost Tuning

Overview

Alchemy pricing is based on Compute Units (CU). Different API methods have different CU costs. Optimize by caching, batching, choosing cheaper methods, and right-sizing your plan.

Plan Comparison

Plan	CU/sec	Monthly CU	Price	Best For
Free	330	300M	$0	Dev/prototyping
Growth	660	1.2B	$49/mo	Small dApps
Scale	Custom	Custom	Custom	High-traffic apps

CU Cost Reference (Top Methods)

Method	CU	Optimization
eth_blockNumber	10	Cache 12s (1 block)
eth_getBalance	19	Cache 30s
eth_call	26	Cache based on use case
getTokenBalances	50	Cache 60s; batch addresses
getNftsForOwner	50	Cache 5 min
getTokenMetadata	50	Cache 24h (rarely changes)
getAssetTransfers	150	Cache aggressively; paginate
getNftMetadataBatch	50	Use batch over individual calls

Instructions

Step 1: CU Usage Monitor

// src/cost/cu-monitor.ts
const CU_COSTS: Record<string, number> = {
  'eth_blockNumber': 10, 'eth_getBalance': 19, 'eth_call': ,
  : , : , : ,
  : , : ,
};

  {
   : <{ : ; : ; :  }> = [];

  (: ):  {
    ..({ method, : [method] || , : .() });
  }

  (): { : ; : <, > } {
     cutoff = .() - ;
     recent = ..( u. > cutoff);
     : <, > = {};
     totalCu = ;

     ( u  recent) {
      byMethod[u.] = (byMethod[u.] || ) + u.;
      totalCu += u.;
    }

     { totalCu, byMethod };
  }

  (): { : ; :  } {
     hourly = .();
     projectedMonthly = hourly. *  * ;

     recommendation = ;
     (projectedMonthly > ) recommendation = ;
     (projectedMonthly > ) recommendation = ;

     { projectedMonthly, : recommendation };
  }
}

 {  };