JoeN:
$1.36 in the quantities he is talking about if this makes it to production. Atmel prices their product pretty darn reasonable if you ask me.
Yep. The ATmega is probably cheaper then the MAX7219.
I bought a dozen ATtiny84s from Farnell las week for 94 cents each (Eurocents). They want 10 Euros for a single MAX7219.