What AI Automation Costs Each Month, Worked Out for Three Team Sizes
Quick verdict: on the prices we checked on 1 October 2026, a solo operator can run an AI assistant plus an automation platform for about $29 to $50 a month. A 5-person team lands near $120 to $155 a month. A 20-person business lands near $470 to $605 a month. The subscription is rarely the largest cost. Setup time, review time, and usage overages are.
This guide is part of our AI Automation for Small Business series.
The Two Things You Are Paying For
Almost every small-business AI stack has the same two paid layers.
- An AI assistant that people use directly: Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini.
- An automation platform that connects your apps and runs AI steps without anyone pressing a button: Zapier, Make, or n8n.
Our starter stack guide covers what each layer does. This guide covers what each layer costs.
Automation Platform Prices
| Platform and plan | Price | What is included | Billing unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zapier Free | $0 | 100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps only, 1 user | Task: each successful action step |
| Zapier Professional | From $19.99/month billed annually, $29.99 billed monthly | 750 tasks at the entry tier, multi-step Zaps, premium apps, 1 user | Task |
| Zapier Team | From $69/month billed annually, $103.50 billed monthly | 2,000 tasks at the entry tier, up to 25 users, shared workflows | Task |
| Make Free | $0 | 1,000 credits a month, 2 active scenarios, 15-minute minimum interval | Credit: each module action |
| Make Core | $9/month, about 15% less billed annually | 10,000 credits at the entry tier, unlimited active scenarios | Credit |
| Make Pro | $16/month, about 15% less billed annually | 10,000 credits at the entry tier, priority execution | Credit |
| Make Teams | $29/month, about 15% less billed annually | 10,000 credits at the entry tier, team features | Credit |
| n8n Cloud Starter | €20/month billed annually | 2,500 workflow executions, unlimited steps | Execution: one full workflow run |
| n8n Cloud Pro | €50/month billed annually | 10,000 workflow executions | Execution |
| n8n Community Edition | Free software, you pay for the server | Self-hosted, no execution cap from n8n | None |
Sources: Zapier pricing, Make pricing, n8n pricing.
Why the billing unit matters more than the sticker price
The three platforms count usage differently, so the cheapest plan is not always the cheapest bill.
- Zapier charges per successful action step. A 6-step Zap that runs 100 times uses about 500 tasks.
- Make charges per module action. The same workflow uses a similar number of credits, but you get 10,000 for $9.
- n8n charges per whole workflow run, however many steps it has. A 20-step workflow costs the same one execution as a 2-step one.
Long workflows that run often are cheapest on n8n. Short workflows that run rarely are cheap everywhere.
AI Assistant Prices
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Free | $0 | Up to 5 projects, lower usage limits |
| Claude Pro | $20/month, or $200 a year | Individual plan, no project sharing |
| Claude Team, standard seat | $25 per seat per month, or $20 billed annually | Shared projects and admin controls |
| Claude Team, premium seat | $125 per seat per month, or $100 billed annually | About 5 times the usage of a standard seat |
Source: Claude pricing. ChatGPT and Gemini sell comparable individual and team plans at broadly similar price points. Check OpenAI’s pricing page and Google’s subscriptions page for current figures. For help choosing, see ChatGPT vs Claude.
Budget 1: Solo Operator
| Item | Lean option | Comfortable option |
|---|---|---|
| AI assistant | Claude Pro, $20 | Claude Pro, $20 |
| Automation | Make Core, $9 | Zapier Professional, $29.99 billed monthly |
| Monthly total | $29 | $49.99 |
If you only need one or two simple automations, both Zapier and Make have free tiers that cover testing. Start there and upgrade when a workflow needs more than two steps or runs out of usage.
Budget 2: Five-Person Team
| Item | Billed monthly | Billed annually (per month) |
|---|---|---|
| AI assistant: 5 Claude Team standard seats | $125 | $100 |
| Automation: Zapier Professional, one builder | $29.99 | $19.99 |
| Monthly total | $154.99 | $119.99 |
At this size one person usually builds and maintains the automations, so a single-user automation plan is enough. Not everyone needs a paid assistant seat on day one either. Start with the people who write, research, or handle clients most.
Budget 3: Twenty-Person Business
| Item | Billed monthly | Billed annually (per month) |
|---|---|---|
| AI assistant: 20 Claude Team standard seats | $500 | $400 |
| Automation: Zapier Team, up to 25 users | $103.50 | $69 |
| Monthly total | $603.50 | $469 |
At 20 people the assistant seats are most of the bill. The honest question is how many of the 20 will use the assistant weekly. Buying 12 seats and adding more on request is usually cheaper than buying 20 and discovering 8 go unused.
The Costs That Are Not on the Pricing Page
Setup time
A first workflow takes hours, not minutes: mapping the manual process, building, testing with real data, and fixing what breaks. Count those hours at the builder’s hourly cost.
Review time
Any workflow that drafts something for a client needs a person to read it. If review takes one minute per item and the workflow handles 200 items a month, that is more than three hours of someone’s time each month.
Overages and tier jumps
All three platforms sell usage in tiers. A workflow that grows from 700 to 800 tasks a month can push you to the next Zapier tier. Check usage monthly so the jump is a decision and not a surprise.
Add-ons
Zapier bills its Agents and Chatbots products separately from tasks. Meeting recorders, transcription tools, and design tools each add a per-seat fee. List every subscription in one place.
Maintenance
Connections expire, apps rename fields, and prompts drift. Budget a short monthly check for each live workflow.
A Simple Way to Decide Whether It Pays
- Pick one workflow and time it by hand five times.
- Multiply the average by how many times it happens in a month.
- Multiply by the hourly cost of the person doing it. That is the monthly manual cost.
- Build the automation and time the automated version five times, including review.
- Add the subscription cost for that workflow’s share of usage.
- Keep the automation only if the second number is clearly lower than the first.
FAQ
Can a small business start for free?
Yes, for testing. Zapier’s free plan includes 100 tasks a month on two-step Zaps, Make’s includes 1,000 credits and two active scenarios, and Claude has a free tier. Most real workflows outgrow these quickly.
Is annual billing worth it?
Only after a workflow has run for a month or two and proved its value. Annual discounts are real, but so is paying for a year of a tool you stop using in week six.
Is self-hosting n8n really free?
The software is free. The server, backups, updates, and the time of whoever maintains it are not.
Which costs more, the assistant or the automation platform?
For teams of five or more, the assistant seats, because they are priced per person. Automation platforms are priced by usage.
Final Recommendation
Budget for one assistant plan and one automation platform, start on monthly billing, and measure one workflow before adding a second. The subscription is the visible cost. Setup, review, and maintenance time decide whether the automation pays.
