Free tool

AI Automation ROI Calculator

Estimate what automating your repetitive work is worth: hours saved, monthly and annual savings, payback period and first-year ROI. Free, no signup.

How do you calculate the ROI of AI automation? Multiply the weekly hours spent on repetitive tasks by the share that is automatable and your loaded hourly cost to get recurring savings, divide the one-time build cost by monthly savings for payback, and take annual savings minus build cost over build cost for first-year ROI. Most well-scoped first automations pay back within 1 to 4 months.

Team hours per week on manual, repetitive tasks Average loaded cost per hour (EUR) Share of those tasks that are automatable (%) One-time build cost (EUR)

-hours saved / month

-saved / month

-saved / year

-payback period

-first-year ROI

Estimate only. Real figures depend on your workflows. Book a discovery audit for a costed plan.

How to read the result

The calculator multiplies the hours your team spends on repetitive work by the share that is automatable, then by your loaded hourly cost, to estimate recurring savings. Payback is the one-time build cost divided by monthly savings; first-year ROI is annual savings minus build cost, over build cost.

What actually drives the number

High-volume, rule-based tasks (data entry, reporting, triage, scheduling, follow-ups) automate best and pay back fastest.
Loaded cost per hour should include salary plus overhead, not just the wage.
A realistic automatable share for a first project is 40 to 70 percent of a defined workflow, not a whole role.
Most well-scoped first automations pay back within 1 to 4 months.

Turn the estimate into a plan

Digiton builds workflow automation and AI agents that target exactly these tasks. A discovery audit ranks your workflows by payback and tells you which one to build first.

Frequently asked questions

How much does AI automation save a business?

It depends on how many hours go to repetitive work and your loaded hourly cost. As a rule of thumb, automating 40 to 70 percent of a defined manual workflow for a team spending 40 hours a week on it saves several thousand euros a month. Use the calculator above for your own numbers.

What is a good ROI for AI automation?

A well-scoped first automation typically returns its build cost within 1 to 4 months and delivers a first-year ROI of several hundred percent, because the savings recur every month while the build cost is one-time.

How long until an AI automation pays for itself?

Payback equals the one-time build cost divided by the monthly savings. For most SMB workflows that is 1 to 4 months; high-volume, rule-based tasks pay back fastest.

Which tasks have the best automation ROI?

High-volume, rule-based, repetitive tasks: data entry, reporting, lead triage, appointment scheduling, follow-up messages, document processing and customer-service first responses. Judgement-heavy or low-frequency tasks pay back slower.

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