Author here. This really boils down to an ROI question.

On one hand, a $50 cash outlay for a validated MVP that's in the hands of users within 48 hours seems like an incredibly good deal from a business perspective.

On the other, my engineering brain is asking if 90% of the same result could be achieved for $10 (a Copilot sub) and just a few more hours of effort.

I'm especially interested to hear from others who build side projects or MVPs: *How do you evaluate the cost of these 'pay-per-generation' AI tools versus traditional flat-rate subscriptions in your budget?*