Free tool - AI automation cost
AI Automation Cost Calculator
Pick what you would automate and get a build band, a monthly running cost and a payback range, computed from Digiton's published 2026 price list rather than a guess.
1. How big is the business?
Team size is a proxy for how many systems the automation has to touch.
2. What sector?
Regulated sectors add review cycles rather than build hours, so this does not move the estimate. It tells us what to prepare before the call.
3. What would you automate? Pick every one that applies.
Each maps to a published Digiton price band. Nothing is estimated until you pick at least one.
4. Your numbers
Every band comes from what AI automation actually costs in 2026, Digiton's published price list. The team-size multipliers (0.85x to 1.8x) are our scoping assumption for integration surface, and they stay inside the 3x spread that study records between briefs that sound identical.
How this calculator works out your number
The build bands are not invented for this tool. They are the price list Digiton publishes for Portugal in 2026, and each option you tick maps to one line on it. A single workflow automation runs 1,500 to 4,000 euros. A production AI agent runs 4,000 to 12,000. A RAG knowledge system lands between 6,000 and 20,000, a chatbot or voice agent between 3,000 and 10,000, and AI search work is a retainer at 1,000 to 3,000 a month rather than a build. Tick three goals and you get the sum of three bands, not a rounded guess.
Team size then multiplies the build, between 0.85x for a company under ten people and 1.8x above 250. That multiplier is the one number here we set ourselves rather than publish, and the reason is integration surface. The cost study records that two chatbot briefs that sound identical on a call can end up three times apart in price once someone counts the systems they have to touch. A four-person firm has one inbox and a spreadsheet. A 400-person firm has an ERP, an SSO policy, and a security review. Same brief, different job.
What actually moves the price
Six drivers explain most of the spread, and only two of them are about the build itself.
| Driver | What it moves | Published effect |
|---|---|---|
| Complexity | Build cost | Simple agents 3,000 to 12,000 euros, complex systems 60,000 to 250,000 or more |
| Integrations and edge cases | Build cost | The same brief can price 3x apart |
| Model choice | Running cost | Swings monthly spend by 5x to 20x |
| Monitoring | Running cost | Cuts running costs 30 to 60 percent |
| Maintenance | Annual cost | 10 to 20 percent of build cost per year |
| Data volume and retrieval quality | RAG build cost | 6,000 to 20,000 euros |
Model choice is the quiet one. Point a frontier model at a high-volume classification task and the monthly bill moves by a factor of five to twenty against a small model doing the same work at the same accuracy. Monitoring pulls it back, cutting running costs 30 to 60 percent without hurting output. Neither shows up in a build quote, which is why the second bill surprises people.
Why the running cost decides the project
The build is one hit. Running costs compound, and they are what kills projects in year two. A single-task agent consumes 300 to 800 euros a month once live. A multi-step agent runs 800 to 2,000. A RAG system sits at 1,000 to 3,000, and a multi-agent platform starts at 3,000 and passes 10,000. That covers model usage, hosting, monitoring and maintenance. The slider for items per week in the tool above moves you inside that published band, never outside it, because volume is what determines whether you sit at the floor or the ceiling.
Maintenance is the line every buyer forgets. Budget 10 to 20 percent of the build cost per year, every year. No owner and no budget for that line means the agent rots, quietly, until someone notices the outputs stopped being trustworthy three months ago.
Reading the payback number honestly
Payback here uses the same formula as the ROI guide: ROI equals net benefit minus total cost, divided by total cost, times 100. Hours saved are priced at loaded cost, meaning salary plus overhead, usually 1.25 to 1.4 times base pay. The calculator shows a range because the build shows a range, with the fast end pairing the bottom of the build band with the bottom of the running band.
Digiton's published band for a well-scoped automation is 3 to 9 months. The guideline for a smaller company is firmer: under 12 months or do not sign. If the tool puts you past that, the answer is usually not a cheaper vendor. It is a narrower first project. Cut to the single highest-volume workflow, ship that, and let the measured saving fund the next one.
One caution the tool cannot apply for you. A baseline needs two to four weeks of stable data before deployment, and the same metrics tracked for 60 to 90 days after. If the process changes every month there is nothing to measure against, and no way to prove the agent earned its keep. Where a vertical product already covers the workflow, subscribe instead. Parci costs 29, 149 or 499 euros a month, so the top tier totals 5,988 euros a year against 60,000 to build something comparable. That arithmetic does not need a calculator.
What to do with the estimate
Take the band to an AI readiness audit, which runs 0 to 500 euros and is often free. An audit tells you which side of these numbers your workflow actually lands on before you commit to a build. If you want the savings side modelled in more detail, the AI automation ROI calculator takes a build cost and works forward from it. This page is where that build cost comes from.
Frequently asked questions
How much does AI automation cost in 2026?
At Digiton's published Portugal rates, a single workflow automation costs 1,500 to 4,000 euros, a production AI agent 4,000 to 12,000 euros, a RAG knowledge system 6,000 to 20,000 euros, and a platform or MVP build 10,000 to 40,000 euros or more. Running costs add roughly 200 to 5,000 euros a month depending on the system class.
Is this AI automation cost calculator accurate?
It is accurate to Digiton's published price bands, which is what it computes from. It is an estimate, not a quote. The bands are wide because integrations and edge cases can move the same brief 3x, so treat the output as the range to budget against and use a scoped audit to land on one number.
What are the monthly running costs of AI automation?
A single-task agent runs 300 to 800 euros a month, a multi-step agent 800 to 2,000, a RAG knowledge system 1,000 to 3,000, and a multi-agent platform 3,000 to 10,000 or more. That covers model API usage, hosting, monitoring and maintenance. Model choice alone can swing the bill 5x to 20x, and good monitoring cuts running costs 30 to 60 percent.
How long does AI automation take to pay for itself?
Single-workflow agents typically pay back in three to six months and multi-agent platforms take nine to eighteen. Digiton's published band for a well-scoped automation is 3 to 9 months, and the guideline for a small business is to require payback under 12 months before signing.
Do I have to give my email to see the results?
No. The full estimate, the payback range and the year-one ROI all appear on the page as soon as you pick a goal. The email form is optional and only sends the itemised breakdown, which explains what pushes each figure to the top or bottom of its band.
What is not included in this estimate?
Annual maintenance is shown separately at 10 to 20 percent of build cost. Not included: your own team's time during discovery and testing, any licence you already pay for, and change management. Regulated sectors such as health and finance add review cycles rather than build hours, which is why the sector field does not move the number.
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