The short version: it depends, because projects span an enormous range. Pulling a few rows from a spreadsheet on a schedule is trivial. A large system that rebuilds how an entire operation handles its data is not. So the more useful question than "what does it cost" is "what does it return": a project that gives back ten hours a week, or removes a costly recurring error, pays for itself many times over. This page is about what moves a project along that range, and how to judge whether yours is worth doing.
What drives the price
Because the range is so wide, the price really comes down to a handful of factors. The more of these a project involves, the more it costs to build and run well:
- Complexity: a single clear task is cheaper than a multi-step workflow with lots of branches.
- Integrations: the more systems it has to talk to, the more work it is to wire up reliably.
- Data quality: clean, accessible data is quick; messy or scattered data takes longer to tame.
- Volume and edge cases: handling the rare exceptions safely is often where the real work is.
What about ongoing costs?
Some automations have them, some do not, and they range as widely as the projects do. When they exist, they usually take one of two forms: the running cost of the tools an automation depends on, such as software subscriptions or the AI usage (tokens) it consumes as it works, and, for a more complex system that has to be watched and maintained, a monthly maintenance cost. We tell you which of these apply to your project up front, so there are no surprises.
How we price it
Per scoped outcome, agreed before we start. You will know what you are getting and what it costs, with no open-ended hourly meter. If a project is not worth the money, the honest answer is to not do it, and we will say so.
How to know whether it is worth it
Do the simple math. Estimate the hours a process eats each week and what those hours cost you, then add the value of the things that slip when it is rushed, missed leads, late follow-ups, errors. If the yearly cost of the problem clearly exceeds the price of fixing it, it is worth doing. Most worthwhile automations pay for themselves within months, then keep paying.
Compared to the alternatives
Automation is usually far cheaper than hiring another person to do the same repetitive work, and unlike a new hire it runs nights and weekends without burning out. It is also cheaper than the slow, invisible cost of leaving the problem alone.
Related reading: AI business process automation for small and mid-sized businesses and what business processes you can automate with AI.