diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 32d9963..1b5c45d 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2213,6 +2213,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "pinocchio-system",
  "pinocchio-token",
  "proptest",
+ "serde_json",
  "settlement-client",
  "settlement-interface",
  "solana-address-lookup-table-interface",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 49c8d68..a62c4c3 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ pinocchio = "0.11.1"
 pinocchio-system = "0.6"
 pinocchio-token = "0.6"
 proptest = "1"
+serde_json = "1"
 settlement-client = { path = "client" }
 settlement-interface = { path = "interface" }
 solana-account-view = "2"
diff --git a/programs/settlement/Cargo.toml b/programs/settlement/Cargo.toml
index c22a7fd..812ce39 100644
--- a/programs/settlement/Cargo.toml
+++ b/programs/settlement/Cargo.toml
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ arrayref.workspace = true
 litesvm.workspace = true
 litesvm-token.workspace = true
 proptest.workspace = true
+serde_json.workspace = true
 settlement-client.workspace = true
 settlement-interface = { workspace = true, features = ["test-fixtures"] }
 solana-address-lookup-table-interface = { workspace = true, features = ["bincode"] }
diff --git a/programs/settlement/tests/common/benchmark.rs b/programs/settlement/tests/common/benchmark.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fb6a633
--- /dev/null
+++ b/programs/settlement/tests/common/benchmark.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,220 @@
+//! Compute-unit benchmarking helpers for the settlement integration tests.
+//!
+//! More benchmarking utilities land here in a follow-up PR.
+
+use litesvm::{types::TransactionResult, LiteSVM};
+use solana_sdk::{pubkey::Pubkey, transaction::VersionedTransaction};
+use std::{
+    collections::{BTreeMap, HashMap},
+    fs,
+    io::ErrorKind,
+    path::Path,
+    thread,
+    time::Duration,
+};
+
+/// Where `send_transaction_metered` accumulates its measurements: a JSON
+/// object mapping each label passed at the call site to the CU it consumed.
+const CU_REPORT_PATH: &str = concat!(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"), "/../../target/cu-report.json");
+
+/// Wraps svm.send_transaction and captures the compute units consumed by
+/// `program_id`'s own execution. The measured usage is recorded to a JSON
+/// file at the key specified by `label`.
+///
+/// Only CUs are captured--not rent allocation/deallocation.
+#[allow(
+    clippy::result_large_err,
+    reason = "mirrors litesvm::LiteSVM::send_transaction's own return type, which we don't control"
+)]
+pub fn send_transaction_metered(
+    svm: &mut LiteSVM,
+    tx: impl Into<VersionedTransaction>,
+    label: &str,
+    program_id: &Pubkey,
+) -> TransactionResult {
+    let result = svm.send_transaction(tx);
+    let logs = match &result {
+        Ok(meta) => &meta.logs,
+        Err(failed) => &failed.meta.logs,
+    };
+    let compute_units_consumed = compute_units_by_program(logs)
+        .get(program_id)
+        .copied()
+        .unwrap_or(0);
+
+    record_compute_units(CU_REPORT_PATH, label, compute_units_consumed);
+
+    result
+}
+
+/// Parse the runtime's own program-invocation trace out of a transaction's text
+/// `logs` — lines of the form:
+/// ```text
+/// Program <id> invoke [<depth>]
+/// Program <id> consumed <n> of <m> compute units
+/// Program <id> success  (or: Program <id> failed: <err>)
+/// ```
+/// — and return each program's *own* CU cost, excluding any CPI it makes.
+fn compute_units_by_program(logs: &[String]) -> HashMap<Pubkey, u64> {
+    struct Frame<'a> {
+        program_id: &'a str,
+        consumed: u64,
+        children_consumed: u64,
+    }
+
+    let mut stack: Vec<Frame> = Vec::new();
+    let mut self_cu: HashMap<Pubkey, u64> = HashMap::new();
+
+    for log in logs {
+        match log.split(' ').collect::<Vec<_>>().as_slice() {
+            // start of a program invocation frame
+            ["Program", program_id, "invoke", _depth] => {
+                stack.push(Frame {
+                    program_id,
+                    consumed: 0,
+                    children_consumed: 0,
+                });
+            }
+            //  record of the current program frame CU cost
+            ["Program", _program_id, "consumed", n, "of", _budget, "compute", "units"] => {
+                let consumed: u64 = n.parse().expect("consumed CU count should parse");
+                if let Some(frame) = stack.last_mut() {
+                    frame.consumed = consumed;
+                }
+            }
+            // end of a program invocation frame
+            ["Program", program_id, "success"] | ["Program", program_id, "failed:", ..] => {
+                let Some(frame) = stack.pop() else {
+                    continue;
+                };
+                debug_assert_eq!(frame.program_id, *program_id);
+                let own_consumed = frame.consumed.saturating_sub(frame.children_consumed);
+                let existing = self_cu
+                    .entry(
+                        program_id
+                            .parse::<Pubkey>()
+                            .expect("failed to parse program ID from transaction trace"),
+                    )
+                    .or_default();
+                *existing = existing.saturating_add(own_consumed);
+                if let Some(parent) = stack.last_mut() {
+                    parent.children_consumed =
+                        parent.children_consumed.saturating_add(frame.consumed);
+                }
+            }
+            _ => {} // an invocation-shaped line we don't need (e.g. a precompile)
+        }
+    }
+
+    self_cu
+}
+
+/// Merge `(label, compute_units_consumed)` into a shared CU report.
+/// It reads the file, modifies with the newly reported value, and
+/// then overwrites.
+///
+/// Since tests run in parallel, a lock file is used to mutex
+/// and prevent race conditions.
+fn record_compute_units(file_path: &str, label: &str, compute_units_consumed: u64) {
+    let path = Path::new(file_path);
+    let lock_path = path.with_extension("json.lock");
+
+    let lock = loop {
+        match fs::OpenOptions::new()
+            .create_new(true)
+            .write(true)
+            .open(&lock_path)
+        {
+            Ok(file) => break file,
+            Err(e) if e.kind() == ErrorKind::AlreadyExists => {
+                thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(5));
+            }
+            Err(e) => panic!("failed to acquire CU report lock at {lock_path:?}: {e}"),
+        }
+    };
+
+    let mut report: BTreeMap<String, u64> = fs::read_to_string(path)
+        .ok()
+        .and_then(|contents| serde_json::from_str(&contents).ok())
+        .unwrap_or_default();
+    report.insert(label.to_string(), compute_units_consumed);
+
+    fs::write(
+        path,
+        serde_json::to_string_pretty(&report).expect("CU report should serialize"),
+    )
+    .expect("CU report should be writable");
+
+    drop(lock);
+    fs::remove_file(&lock_path).expect("CU report lock should be removable");
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    /// `meta.logs` captured verbatim from a real run of `create_buffer.rs`'s
+    /// `happy_path_creates_initialized_buffer_token_account`
+    #[test]
+    fn excludes_a_cpi_callee_that_logs_its_own_consumed_line() {
+        let logs = [
+            "Program 11157t3sqMV725NVRLrVQbAu98Jjfk1uCKehJnXXQs invoke [1]",
+            "Program 11111111111111111111111111111111 invoke [2]",
+            "Program 11111111111111111111111111111111 success",
+            "Program TokenkegQfeZyiNwAJbNbGKPFXCWuBvf9Ss623VQ5DA invoke [2]",
+            "Program TokenkegQfeZyiNwAJbNbGKPFXCWuBvf9Ss623VQ5DA consumed 235 of 189927 compute units",
+            "Program TokenkegQfeZyiNwAJbNbGKPFXCWuBvf9Ss623VQ5DA success",
+            "Program 11157t3sqMV725NVRLrVQbAu98Jjfk1uCKehJnXXQs consumed 10322 of 200000 compute units",
+            "Program 11157t3sqMV725NVRLrVQbAu98Jjfk1uCKehJnXXQs success",
+        ]
+        .map(String::from);
+
+        let settlement: Pubkey = "11157t3sqMV725NVRLrVQbAu98Jjfk1uCKehJnXXQs"
+            .parse()
+            .expect("test fixture id should parse");
+        let system_program: Pubkey = "11111111111111111111111111111111"
+            .parse()
+            .expect("test fixture id should parse");
+        let token_program: Pubkey = "TokenkegQfeZyiNwAJbNbGKPFXCWuBvf9Ss623VQ5DA"
+            .parse()
+            .expect("test fixture id should parse");
+
+        let cu = compute_units_by_program(&logs);
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            cu.get(&token_program),
+            Some(&235),
+            "token program's own cost should be its logged 'consumed' figure"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            cu.get(&system_program),
+            Some(&0),
+            "native builtins never log a 'consumed' line, so their own cost can't be recovered"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            cu.get(&settlement),
+            Some(&10087),
+            "settlement's own cost should exclude only the CPI callee whose cost was logged (10322 - 235)"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// `err.meta.logs` captured verbatim from a real run of
+    /// `create_buffer.rs`'s `rejects_no_buffers`.
+    #[test]
+    fn attributes_cu_up_to_a_failed_invocation() {
+        let logs = [
+            "Program 11157t3sqMV725NVRLrVQbAu98Jjfk1uCKehJnXXQs invoke [1]",
+            "Program 11157t3sqMV725NVRLrVQbAu98Jjfk1uCKehJnXXQs consumed 126 of 200000 compute units",
+            "Program 11157t3sqMV725NVRLrVQbAu98Jjfk1uCKehJnXXQs failed: insufficient account keys for instruction",
+        ]
+        .map(String::from);
+
+        let settlement: Pubkey = "11157t3sqMV725NVRLrVQbAu98Jjfk1uCKehJnXXQs"
+            .parse()
+            .expect("test fixture id should parse");
+
+        let cu = compute_units_by_program(&logs);
+
+        assert_eq!(cu.get(&settlement), Some(&126));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/programs/settlement/tests/common/mod.rs b/programs/settlement/tests/common/mod.rs
index 79fa5dd..58d5aa0 100644
--- a/programs/settlement/tests/common/mod.rs
+++ b/programs/settlement/tests/common/mod.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
     reason = "integration tests compile as separate crates, so items only used by a subset of the test binaries look dead to the others"
 )]
 
+pub mod benchmark;
 pub mod buffer;
 pub mod lookup_table;
 pub mod order;