How much does AI automation cost and how to calculate ROI

"How much does AI cost?" has no single answer, but it has a clear structure. Here is what makes up the price and how to calculate whether it pays off.

What the price consists of

1. Analysis and process design. Mapping, choosing the process, measuring the current state.

2. Development and integrations. Connecting email, ERP, CRM and databases; logic, controls and an exception-handling interface.

3. AI models (monthly). Billed per token. For a typical automation, tens to hundreds of euros a month. Estimate with the LLM API cost calculator.

4. Hosting and maintenance. Server, monitoring, updates and tuning.

Indicative ranges

• Pilot for one process: usually €2,500 to €8,000.
• Automation of several connected processes: €8,000 to €25,000.
• AI assistant over a large document base: from around €5,000 for smaller ones, more for large systems.

How to calculate ROI

1. Hours per month = people × hours per week × 4.33.
2. Hours saved = hours per month × share AI takes over.
3. Monthly savings = hours saved × fully loaded hourly cost, minus monthly AI cost.
4. Payback = implementation cost ÷ monthly savings.

Example

Five employees spend 8 hours a week entering and checking documents. Loaded hourly cost €12. AI takes over 60%.

• hours per month: 5 × 8 × 4.33 = about 173,
• saved: about 104 hours,
• savings: about €1,250 a month, minus €150 for AI, leaves about €1,100,
• with a €6,000 implementation, payback is about 5.5 months.

Run the numbers for your company with the AI ROI calculator.

Hidden gains

Faster customer replies, fewer errors, happier employees and growth without new hires are often worth more than the hours saved.

For a concrete estimate send an inquiry or see AI automation.