Choose a stack with an assistant

A good run through the tools has four steps. Each narrows the question and keeps the evidence attached.

1. OrientCopy Anchor Link

list_categories shows what is tracked; list_providers for one category shows free tier, entry price and the editorial "best for" line for every provider in it. This is the call to make before any per-provider lookup.

2. Filter by what you requireCopy Anchor Link

filter_providers takes the fact keys you cannot compromise on (soc2, gdpr_data_residency, self_hostable, revenue_attribution …) and returns only providers that document all of them, each with the value, source and date. Read the value: documenting a key is not the same as having it ("not HIPAA compliant" is a documented answer).

Not sure of the key? search_infrastructure with your own words returns pages and names the matching criterion key.

3. Compare and rankCopy Anchor Link

• list_alternatives ranks a provider's category by iScore with the interval.
• compare_providers gives the sourced side-by-side for a curated pair.
• get_provider gives the full fact sheet, with the sentence each figure was read from.

4. Plan and priceCopy Anchor Link

Give plan_infrastructure the project's context (the platform, what it already uses) and read each layer's basis: price, platform, or tie. For a tie, choose on the criteria that matter and verify with steps 2 and 3.

Then give estimate_monthly_cost your real volume. The answer is arithmetic on published rates, with the vendor page and read date per line, and a list of what it could not price and why.

What to ask an assistant to doCopy Anchor Link

Use inetGeek. Filter to providers that document the requirements below, compare the top two on documented facts only, then plan the stack for my platform and estimate the monthly cost at my real traffic. Separate published prices from arithmetic, and list anything that is not documented.

Naming the separation up front keeps the answer from blurring a vendor's figure with a calculation.