diff --git a/code_tests/unit_tests/test_agents_and_tools/test_source_archive/test_backends.py b/code_tests/unit_tests/test_agents_and_tools/test_source_archive/test_backends.py
index 3adcf9be..53f0a6ac 100644
--- a/code_tests/unit_tests/test_agents_and_tools/test_source_archive/test_backends.py
+++ b/code_tests/unit_tests/test_agents_and_tools/test_source_archive/test_backends.py
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ def test_default_chain_cloakbrowser_is_primary(monkeypatch):
     with build_default_fetcher(config) as fetcher:
         names = [b.name for b in fetcher._tiered.backends]
     # Note: exactly one browser tier (cloakbrowser), not vanilla + cloak.
-    assert names == ["cloakbrowser", "pdf", "hyperbrowser", "firecrawl"]
+    assert names == ["cloakbrowser", "pdf", "firecrawl", "hyperbrowser"]
 
 
 def test_default_chain_falls_back_to_playwright_and_skips_unkeyed(monkeypatch):
diff --git a/forecasting_tools/agents_and_tools/source_archive/README.md b/forecasting_tools/agents_and_tools/source_archive/README.md
index 9c815175..b9eee9f5 100644
--- a/forecasting_tools/agents_and_tools/source_archive/README.md
+++ b/forecasting_tools/agents_and_tools/source_archive/README.md
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ query).
 | `config.py` | Environment-driven `ArchiveConfig` |
 | `models.py` | `CaptureResult`, `StoredCapture`, `CitationRecord` |
 | `ingest/` | Build a manifest: URL extraction from text + traced bot runs |
-| `fetchers/` | Playwright (primary) + CloakBrowser / Hyperbrowser / Firecrawl / PDF backups, tiered orchestrator |
+| `fetchers/` | Playwright (primary) + CloakBrowser / PDF / Firecrawl / Hyperbrowser backups, tiered orchestrator |
 | `benchmark.py` | Backend bake-off: reliability + cost per backend over a manifest |
 | `quality.py` | Reject 404s, block pages, and thin content before archiving |
 | `storage/` | `BlobStore` interface with S3 and local backends |
diff --git a/forecasting_tools/agents_and_tools/source_archive/fetchers/__init__.py b/forecasting_tools/agents_and_tools/source_archive/fetchers/__init__.py
index b136ea66..e41b581d 100644
--- a/forecasting_tools/agents_and_tools/source_archive/fetchers/__init__.py
+++ b/forecasting_tools/agents_and_tools/source_archive/fetchers/__init__.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 Most callers want :func:`build_default_fetcher`, which wires the recommended
 cost-ordered tiered setup: self-hosted Playwright primary, then CloakBrowser,
-PDF, Hyperbrowser, and Firecrawl backups.
+PDF, Firecrawl, and Hyperbrowser backups.
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -69,10 +69,10 @@ def build_default_fetcher(config: ArchiveConfig | None = None) -> PlaywrightFetc
        single process, so cloak *replaces* vanilla rather than stacking with it.
     2. **PdfFetcher** (local, free; Firecrawl OCR fallback) — captures PDFs,
        which the browsers can't render.
-    3. **Hyperbrowser** (managed) — consolidated anti-bot fallback. Added when
-       ``HYPERBROWSER_API_KEY`` is set.
-    4. **Firecrawl** (managed) — cheapest stealth + native-PDF safety net. Added
-       when ``FIRECRAWL_API_KEY`` is set.
+    3. **Firecrawl** (managed) — cheapest stealth + native-PDF safety net
+       (~$0.0042/page stealth). Added when ``FIRECRAWL_API_KEY`` is set.
+    4. **Hyperbrowser** (managed) — anti-bot fallback of last resort (~$0.01/page
+       with proxy, plus bandwidth). Added when ``HYPERBROWSER_API_KEY`` is set.
 
     The returned object is a :class:`PlaywrightFetcher` subclass so the single
     browser's lifecycle is managed by ``with``.
@@ -111,10 +111,10 @@ def __enter__(self) -> "_ManagedTieredFetcher":
         # key is present). Cheap to keep in the chain unconditionally.
         backends.append(PdfFetcher(self.config))
 
-        if self.config.hyperbrowser_api_key:
-            backends.append(HyperbrowserFetcher(self.config))
         if self.config.firecrawl_api_key:
             backends.append(FirecrawlFetcher(self.config))
+        if self.config.hyperbrowser_api_key:
+            backends.append(HyperbrowserFetcher(self.config))
 
         self._tiered = TieredFetcher(*backends)
         return self