Key takeaways
- Fixed scope, a one-time setup fee and a flat monthly cost: no hourly billing and no surprise invoices.
- Every proposal lists deliverables, timeline and total cost up front, including what is not included.
- AI pricing across the market is shifting from per-seat to usage and outcome-based models. We think fixed scope plus a flat monthly keeps budgeting simple and keeps us focused on results.
- Estimate ROI before you buy: hours saved times the value of an hour, compared with setup and monthly cost.
The problem with hourly billing
Hourly billing rewards the wrong thing. The longer a project takes, the more the provider earns, and the buyer carries all the uncertainty. You can’t budget for it, and every change request becomes a negotiation.
Automation is especially ill-suited to it, because the value comes from the result (hours saved, errors avoided), not from the hours spent building. So we price the scope of the result, not the clock.
How our pricing works
- ScopeWe define exactly what is being automated, which systems it touches and what “done” looks like. Anything outside that is listed as out of scope.
- A one-time setup feeA fixed price to design, build, test and launch what is in the scope.
- A flat monthly costA predictable monthly amount covers running and supporting it. Prefer no monthly fee? You can own it outright instead.
We agree the numbers before work starts: no hourly billing and no surprises. If you later want to add something outside the agreed scope, we quote it separately before any work begins.
What is in every proposal
- Deliverables: what you will receive, in plain language
- Timeline: key milestones and the expected launch window
- Total cost: the setup fee and the monthly amount
- Exclusions: what is deliberately not included
- Third-party costs: software subscriptions and model or API usage that you pay a provider for
- Ownership terms: who holds the code, prompts and accounts
- Success measures: how we will both know it is working
This aligns incentives and makes budgeting easy. We win when your automation delivers value.
How AI pricing is changing in 2026
If you have shopped for AI tools recently you will have noticed that pricing is in flux. Classic per-seat licensing fits poorly when software does work on its own, so vendors are experimenting with usage-based, hybrid and outcome-based models. HubSpot, for example, moved two of its Breeze AI agents to outcome-based pricing in April 2026, charging for results rather than access (MarTech).
Outcome-based pricing is attractive because it ties cost to results, but it only works when the outcome can be defined and measured cleanly, like a resolved ticket or a qualified lead. For custom automation of your own processes, we think agreeing the scope and a success measure up front, then charging a fixed setup fee and a flat monthly cost, gives you the budget certainty of a subscription while keeping the focus on the result.
Pricing models compared
| Model | How it works | Strength | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | Pay for time spent | Flexible for unclear work | Unpredictable total and a weak incentive to be efficient |
| Per seat or per task | Pay per user or per run | Easy to understand | Costs climb with volume even when value does not |
| Outcome-based | Pay per result delivered | Cost tied to value | Needs a precise, measurable definition of “outcome” |
| Fixed scope + flat monthly | An agreed price for a defined scope, then a flat running cost | Predictable and easy to budget | Needs a clear scope up front, which is what the audit is for |
How to estimate ROI before you buy
You don’t need a financial model to sanity-check an automation. Work through three numbers:
- Value per monthHours saved per month × the cost of an hour of that person’s time, plus the cost of errors you expect to avoid.
- Cost per monthThe flat monthly cost, plus third-party subscriptions and usage.
- Payback periodSetup fee ÷ (value per month − cost per month). That tells you how many months until the project has paid for itself.
Be skeptical in both directions
If the payback period is very long, the process may not be worth automating yet. If it looks unrealistically short, double-check your hours estimate. A good audit pressure-tests both.
Hidden costs to ask about, from anyone
- Per-task or per-run fees that scale with volume
- Model and API usage charges
- Hosting and infrastructure
- Charges for support, monitoring and fixes
- Change requests outside the original scope
- Exit costs: can you take the code and data with you?
See our pricing page for current options, and use the free audit to put a number on each opportunity before you spend anything.
Frequently asked questions
How much does automation cost?
It depends on the scope: the systems involved, how much logic the workflow contains and whether it includes AI components. After a free audit we give you a fixed price for the setup and a flat monthly cost, agreed before any work starts.
Do you charge by the hour?
No. We price by scope and outcomes, so you know the total cost up front.
What happens if I want to change the scope?
Anything outside the agreed scope is quoted separately before work begins, so you decide whether it is worth it.
Are software and AI usage costs included?
Third-party costs, such as software subscriptions and model or API usage, are listed in the proposal so you can see the full picture and nothing arrives as a surprise.
Can I avoid the monthly fee?
Yes. You can choose to own the automation outright, taking the code, prompts and credentials along with 30 days of free maintenance.