[amelius]

The 555 is already overkill if you want a simple oscillator with fixed parameters. You can build one with two transistors.

[lisper]

Transistors are essentially free nowadays. Packaging and assembly are the cost drivers.

[agumonkey]

I was wondering this, even the leads seem enormous and wasteful compared to the actual device.

[lisper]

Compare:

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Diodes-Incorporated/ZXT...

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Microchip-Technology/PI...

Notice that the discrete transistors actually cost more than the microcontroller.

[DonHopkins]

Wow, it's like the two extreme endpoints of "Powers of Ten".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0

Those two transistors had better be hella good to justify the price difference.

[nine_k]

Those transistors can drive 60V and 1A; hardly any controller can do such things. You might expect some special controller pins to drive e.g. 100 mA at 5V; more often, something like 20 mA at 3.3V.

[agumonkey]

Very telling