actual cost

American  

noun

1. the cost of a product based on incurred costs of material and labor required in its production.

---

Example Sentences

Work to replace water pipes in Osaka, a city of 2.8 million residents, has hit a snag as the actual cost exceeded the planned budget, according to local media.

From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026

It dramatically drove up the resolution cost of the S&L crisis from an estimated $25 billion had the problem been addressed in 1983 to an actual cost of $160 billion by the 1990s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026

The cost-of-living adjustment can’t keep up with the actual cost of living, as retirees’ costs climb.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 9, 2025

Universities across the UK say this amount has not increased by very much for more than a decade and claim that it also falls short of the actual cost of educating students.

From BBC • Sep. 24, 2025

The actual cost, including the organ, was more than five times the estimate.

From Historic Shrines of America Being the Story of One Hundred and Twenty Historic Buildings and the Pioneers Who Made Them Notable by Faris, John T. (John Thomson)