diff --git a/src/infra/session-cost-usage.test.ts b/src/infra/session-cost-usage.test.ts
index f94db87144b..934d18f463c 100644
--- a/src/infra/session-cost-usage.test.ts
+++ b/src/infra/session-cost-usage.test.ts
@@ -194,13 +194,14 @@ describe("session cost usage", () => {
     });
   });
 
-  it("preserves an operator-configured zero-cost model as a complete $0, not missing", async () => {
-    const root = await makeSessionCostRoot("cost-intentional-free");
+  it("counts token usage for a configured all-zero model as missing because pricing is still unknown", async () => {
+    const root = await makeSessionCostRoot("cost-configured-zero-unknown");
     const sessionsDir = path.join(root, "agents", "main", "sessions");
     await fs.mkdir(sessionsDir, { recursive: true });
 
-    // Same shape of turn, but here the operator deliberately priced the model at 0
-    // (e.g. a local/self-hosted free model). That intentional $0 must be respected.
+    // Same shape of turn, with a configured all-zero cost block. After config defaults,
+    // omitted cost and explicit all-zero cost are indistinguishable, so a zero-rate
+    // token-burning turn is still safer to report as missing than as complete $0 spend.
     const entry = {
       type: "message",
       timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
@@ -225,8 +226,8 @@ describe("session cost usage", () => {
       "utf-8",
     );
 
-    // The operator explicitly configured this model's price as 0 — an intentional
-    // "free" price that must be preserved as complete $0 cost data.
+    // This mirrors normalized config where a model declaration without pricing has
+    // already received default zero rates.
     const config = {
       models: {
         providers: {
@@ -247,8 +248,7 @@ describe("session cost usage", () => {
       const summary = await loadCostUsageSummary({ days: 30, config });
       expect(summary.totals.totalTokens).toBe(23287);
       expect(summary.totals.totalCost).toBe(0);
-      // Operator-configured $0 is intentional and complete — not a missing entry.
-      expect(summary.totals.missingCostEntries).toBe(0);
+      expect(summary.totals.missingCostEntries).toBe(1);
     });
   });
 
diff --git a/src/infra/session-cost-usage.ts b/src/infra/session-cost-usage.ts
index 4e820a9cf24..c12c89fbaaf 100644
--- a/src/infra/session-cost-usage.ts
+++ b/src/infra/session-cost-usage.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 import { countToolResults, extractToolCallNames } from "../utils/transcript-tools.js";
 import {
   estimateUsageCost,
-  resolveConfiguredModelCost,
   resolveModelCostConfig,
   resolveModelCostConfigFingerprint,
 } from "../utils/usage-format.js";
@@ -1122,23 +1121,16 @@ async function scanTranscriptFile(params: {
         entry.costBreakdown = undefined;
       } else if (
         !isModelPricingKnown(cost) &&
-        resolveConfiguredModelCost({
-          provider: entry.provider,
-          model: entry.model,
-          config: params.config,
-        }) === undefined &&
         (entry.costTotal === undefined || entry.costTotal === 0) &&
         computeUsageTokenTotals(entry.usage).totalTokens > 0
       ) {
-        // Pricing for this model is unknown: it has no positive per-token rate, the
-        // operator did not explicitly configure its price (so an all-zero value is a
-        // catalog default, not an intentional "free" price), and there is no trustworthy
-        // recorded cost — the transport either recorded nothing or a fabricated $0
-        // derived from an all-zero catalog entry. Surface this token-burning turn as a
-        // missing-cost entry instead of recording a confident $0, so budget and spike
-        // safeguards that read totalCost are not left blind to it. A turn with a real
-        // positive recorded cost, or a model the operator deliberately priced at 0, is
-        // preserved by the guards above.
+        // Pricing for this model is unknown: it has no positive per-token rate and no
+        // trustworthy recorded cost. The transport either recorded nothing or a
+        // fabricated $0 derived from an all-zero/default catalog entry. Surface this
+        // token-burning turn as a missing-cost entry instead of recording a confident
+        // $0, so budget and spike safeguards that read totalCost are not left blind to
+        // it. A turn carrying a real positive recorded cost is preserved by the guard
+        // above.
         entry.costTotal = undefined;
         entry.costBreakdown = undefined;
       } else if (entry.costTotal === undefined) {
diff --git a/src/utils/usage-format.ts b/src/utils/usage-format.ts
index feb4f95914f..a63748fd4d9 100644
--- a/src/utils/usage-format.ts
+++ b/src/utils/usage-format.ts
@@ -298,22 +298,6 @@ export function resolveModelCostConfigFingerprint(config?: OpenClawConfig): stri
   });
 }
 
-// Returns model pricing ONLY when the operator explicitly configured it under
-// `models.providers` in their OpenClaw config. Unlike resolveModelCostConfig this
-// ignores the generated model catalog (models.json) and the gateway pricing cache, so
-// callers can tell an intentional operator-set price (e.g. a deliberately free local
-// model priced at 0) apart from a price the catalog merely defaulted to zero.
-export function resolveConfiguredModelCost(params: {
-  provider?: string;
-  model?: string;
-  config?: OpenClawConfig;
-}): ModelCostConfig | undefined {
-  return (
-    findConfiguredProviderCost({ ...params, allowPluginNormalization: false }) ??
-    findConfiguredProviderCost(params)
-  );
-}
-
 export function resolveModelCostConfig(params: {
   provider?: string;
   model?: string;