Full Answer
Hidden costs fall into four categories. Infrastructure: cloud hosting ($90-300/month), logging and monitoring ($100+/month if misconfigured), and CDN or edge worker fees. Developer time: setup, debugging, platform API changes, and consent mode updates. Operational: tag audits, data quality monitoring, and compliance documentation. Opportunity cost: revenue lost during setup, migration downtime, and untracked conversions during gaps. Gartner found companies focusing only on subscription price see actual costs rise 15-20% from these invisible expenses.
