Cost per unit of service is a performance metric measuring how much it costs to deliver a defined unit of service—for example, cost per kilometre of road maintained, cost per transit rider, or cost per tonne of waste collected. These metrics help assess efficiency, enable comparison between service providers or time periods, and inform decisions about service delivery methods. Lower cost per unit may indicate efficiency, though quality must also be considered. Tracking costs per unit over time reveals whether services are becoming more or less efficient. Benchmarking against other municipalities provides context, though differences in circumstances affect fair comparison.