AI Automation Pricing: What a Build Actually Costs
How AgentsOX prices AI automation: a one-time project fee for the build, an optional monthly fee for hosting and upkeep, and a small pilot first so you see it working before committing. Honest ranges, no per-seat licenses.
The short answer
AgentsOX prices per project, not per seat. A focused first build - one chatbot, one enquiry bot, or one automated workflow - usually lands between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars as a one-time project. A larger build that connects several systems runs into the low to mid four figures. Hosting and upkeep, if you want us to keep running it, is a modest monthly fee on top. Almost every engagement starts with a small pilot, so you see the automation working on your real work before committing to more.
What This Should Fix
Know the realistic range before you talk to anyone
A focused first build - one chatbot, one enquiry bot, or one automated workflow - typically comes in between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars, one time. Bigger builds that tie several systems together and carry decision logic tend to land in the low to mid four figures. If a quote sits far outside those ranges, ask what makes your case different.
Pay for a build, not a subscription tier
Most of our work is a fixed project price: we scope the build together, agree the number, and you pay for a working system. If you want us to host and maintain it, that is a modest monthly fee on top - not a second salary, and not a per-seat license that grows every time you hire. The build price includes the build itself, testing on your real work, and the launch.
Start with a pilot so the first check stays small
Almost every engagement starts with a pilot: one clear task, tightly scoped, often in the low hundreds to low thousands of dollars. You watch it handle real enquiries or real admin before deciding whether to extend it. If it does not earn its keep, you stop there and the cost stays small.
Practical, Bounded, and Easy to Hand Off
Three things move the price of an automation: how many systems it connects to, how much content or data it has to handle, and whether it needs a custom screen or dashboard on top. One workflow touching one inbox costs less than a build that talks to your CRM, your calendar, and WhatsApp at once. That is why we quote after one call about your specific task, not from a rate card. What you pay for is the working system: the build, testing on real work, and - if you want it - hosting, monitoring, and updates when your content changes.
Frequently asked questions
- Why do you not publish fixed prices?
- Because the price tracks the size of the problem, not a product tier. Two chatbots can differ by a factor of ten depending on how much content they cover and what they connect to. Publishing one number would either overcharge the small builds or undercharge the big ones. So we publish honest ranges here and give you a fixed quote after one call about your specific task.
- What does a pilot cost?
- A pilot is one clear task, tightly scoped - priced as a one-time build that starts in the low hundreds and tops out around the low thousands. It is a real working system, not a demo: an enquiry bot answering on your site, or one workflow running end to end. The point is that you judge the value on real work before any larger commitment.
- Are there monthly fees?
- Only if we host and maintain the system for you, and most clients ask us to. The monthly fee is modest and covers hosting, monitoring, and small changes like updated prices or a new answer. There is no per-seat pricing and no fee that grows with your team. If you would rather run it on your own infrastructure, we hand it over.
- What if it does not work for us?
- That is what the pilot is for. We scope the first build against one real pain point with a clear job to do, so within weeks you can see whether it does that job. If it does not, you stop at the pilot - a small one-time cost, not a year of contract. No automation we build locks you in.
- Do you charge hourly or fixed?
- Fixed, almost always. A defined build gets a fixed project price, so you know the number before we start. Ongoing hosting and upkeep is a flat monthly fee. The exception is workshops, which are priced per session. We avoid hourly billing because it makes the bill open-ended, and open-ended is exactly what a small business does not want.