What AI automation
actually costs
Nobody in this category publishes a number. That is a tell, and it wastes your time on discovery calls whose only purpose is working out what you will pay. Here is mine, up front, along with what moves it.
A single process, automated end to end.
- ›One process mapped and automated start to finish
- ›Connections to the systems it needs to touch
- ›Error handling that fails loudly instead of silently
- ›Documentation and handover
- ›30 days of fixes after launch at no charge
- Quote request to drafted quote
- Order confirmation to CRM record
- A voice agent that answers and books
- Inbox triage with drafted replies
Several connected workflows, or a real application.
- ›Everything in one workflow, several times over
- ›A database designed for your actual operation
- ›A custom internal tool or client-facing portal
- ›Reporting that maintains itself
- ›Roles and permissions where they matter
- ›60 days of fixes after launch at no charge
- The load-bearing spreadsheet replaced properly
- A client portal fed by your live data
- Sales reporting nobody has to update
- Intake through delivery, connected
The whole operation, built in phases.
- ›A documented company knowledge base underneath everything
- ›Multiple connected systems and agents
- ›Client-facing and internal surfaces
- ›Reporting across the whole operation
- ›Phased delivery, so value lands before it is finished
- A full second brain plus the tools that read it
- End to end operations for a growing team
- Replacing three subscriptions with one owned system
What actually moves the number
It is not the size of your company. A twelve person operation with clean data and one clear process is a cheaper project than a three person one running on four years of improvised spreadsheets.
Each additional system is a new set of edge cases, not a linear addition. Two systems is straightforward. Five is a genuinely different project.
The most common surprise on any project. Duplicate records, three spellings of the same client, dates stored as text. Market rates for cleanup run $500 to $5,000 and I will always show you this before quoting rather than after.
If it does, connecting is routine. If it does not, the work becomes reading the documents it already publishes, which is doable and is more build time.
One operator needs no permissions system. A team of fifteen with different access levels is a real piece of the build.
Healthcare, finance and anything handling protected data carries requirements that add real work. Not a reason to avoid it, just a reason the number moves.
A documented, consistent process is fast to automate. A process that changes depending on who runs it has to be settled first, and that is a conversation before it is a build.
Compared with the alternatives
Including the ones where hiring me is the wrong answer. If you read one thing on this page, read the row about no-code tools, because it applies to more of you than not.
| Option | Cost | Right when | Wrong when |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY with no-code tools | $50 to $300/mo, no build cost | One well-defined automation between two popular apps. Genuinely the right answer more often than people in my line of work admit. | Heavy branching logic, messy data, a platform with no API, or a workflow you cannot afford to have fail quietly. |
| A monthly agency retainer | $997 to $5,000+/mo, ongoing | Continuous change, a large surface, or a team that wants someone permanently on call. | You keep paying after the work is delivered, and the incentive is for the engagement to continue rather than conclude. |
| Hiring in-house | $90,000+/yr, fully loaded | Ongoing product development where the work genuinely never ends. | A handful of internal tools. You will underuse them, and one engineer alone has no one to check their work. |
| Fixed project, what I do | $1,500 to $12,000+, one time | A defined problem with a definable end. You own the result and the engagement concludes. | Genuinely continuous product work, or needing an engineer available on an hour of notice. |
When you should not hire me
A product already does it. If an off the shelf tool covers your need at a sane price, buy it. I will name it on the call and there will be no invoice. A large share of these conversations end this way and it is the correct outcome.
The process is not settled. If the work changes depending on who does it and has never been written down, automating it makes the inconsistency faster. Write it down first, roughly is fine. That is free and it is the actual bottleneck.
Under $1,500 of value. If the thing being automated does not cost you at least a few hours a month, the build will not pay you back in any reasonable window. I would rather say so than take the money.
You need a team. Enterprise compliance, multi entity financial consolidation, an engineer available on an hour of notice, or 24/7 coverage. I am one person who ships. That is an advantage up to a point and a hard ceiling past it, and pretending otherwise would waste months of your time.
Pricing questions
How much does AI automation cost for a small business?
One automated workflow normally costs $1,500 to $4,000 to build with a run cost under $50 a month. A connected system of several workflows, or a custom internal tool, runs $4,000 to $12,000. Broader market figures put a single workflow at $2,500 to $8,000 and managed agency retainers at $997 to $5,000 a month on top. I charge a fixed project price rather than a retainer, and pass infrastructure costs through at cost.
Why do most agencies not publish their prices?
Because pricing per client lets them charge what each one will bear, and because a monthly retainer is worth more than a finished project. Both are legitimate business models and neither is in your interest when you are trying to work out whether to make the call. Publishing the number costs me some negotiating room and saves us both a discovery call that was never going to go anywhere.
What is the run cost actually paying for?
Hosting, the database, and model usage where AI is involved. That is it, and it is passed through at cost rather than marked up. For scale: my entire operating stack, every system on this site, runs under $300 a month all in, and AI usage is the large majority of that. Most single client builds sit in the tens of dollars.
Do you charge a retainer or monthly fee?
No. Fixed price for the project, and the engagement ends when the work is delivered. If you later want something else built, that is a new project with its own number. Some clients want ongoing support and that can be arranged, but it is opt in rather than the default.
What if the project turns out bigger than quoted?
The quote holds. That risk is mine, which is why I insist on seeing the real data before quoting rather than pricing from a description. If the scope genuinely changes because you want something different from what we agreed, that is a separate conversation with its own number, and it will never arrive as a surprise line on an invoice.
Is there a payment schedule?
Half to start, half on delivery, for most projects. Larger staged work bills by phase so you are never far ahead of what has actually been delivered.
What is the cheapest useful thing you can build?
Around $1,500, and it should be a single high-frequency workflow rather than something broad. If your budget is below that, the honest answer is usually a no-code tool plus an afternoon of setup, and I would rather point you at that than take a project I do not think will pay you back.
Do you offer free consultations?
Yes, and it is a real conversation rather than a sales call with a different name. If the answer is a product you can buy, I will name the product. The diagnostic at /start gets you most of the way there in about a minute without talking to anyone at all.
Find your band in a minute
The diagnostic asks three questions and returns the specific band for your situation, plus what I would build first. No email needed to see it.