55 / 168 · 01 Agent Skills for Browser Automation · Token Budget Analysis: Real Numbers← prev⊞ allnext →☰ Read as one page
8.5Side-by-Side Summary
| Metric | MCP | CLI Skill | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical task (measured) | ~114,000 tokens | ~27,000 tokens | ~4x cheaper |
| Share of a 200K window | ~57% | ~13% | far more headroom |
| Who controls what enters context | The protocol | The agent | the actual win |
| Cost at $15/M input tokens | ~$1.71/task | ~$0.41/task | ~4x cheaper |
| Long sessions | schema tax compounds every turn | flat per-command cost | up to ~10x |