Are you considering your first AI solution but have no idea whether it will cost you €500 or €50,000? You're not alone — the price range is enormous and marketing promises often obscure reality. In this article we'll show you indicative prices by type of AI solution, what really affects the price, how to avoid overpaying and, above all, how to calculate the return even before signing the contract.
Contents
What does the price of an AI solution depend on?
How much does an AI solution cost by type?
What are the hidden and operating costs?
How to calculate the return on investment?
How to avoid overpaying?
How to start in 4 steps?
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Summary
What does the price of an AI solution depend on?
The price of an AI solution is not a fixed table — it's the sum of several factors. Before you start comparing offers, understand what makes up the price:
Task complexity — a simple FAQ answer costs a fraction of what an AI agent that decides and executes actions across multiple systems does.
Integrations — connecting to your CRM, ERP, e-shop or invoicing system significantly increases the difficulty.
Quality and volume of data — if your data is neatly in one system, preparation is cheaper. Scattered data in Excel files means more work.
Degree of personalization — an off-the-shelf "boxed" solution versus a solution tailored to your processes.
Security and compliance — GDPR, sensitive data and internal rules add to the price.
Scope of deployment — a pilot for one department vs. a company-wide solution.
A simple rule applies: the more your system has to decide and act (not just answer), the higher the investment. You can read more about how companies deploy intelligent assistants in the article how to introduce AI agents in a company.
How much does an AI solution cost by type?
So that you have a realistic idea, here are indicative ranges for the Slovak market. These are estimates — the specific price is always determined by the scope of your brief.
Type of solution | What it can do | One-off price | Monthly operation |
|---|---|---|---|
FAQ chatbot | Answers to frequent questions on the website | €500 – €2,500 | €20 – €100 |
AI chatbot connected to data (RAG) | Answers from your documents and products | €2,500 – €8,000 | €80 – €300 |
Process automation | Processing invoices, e-mails, reports | €3,000 – €12,000 | €100 – €400 |
AI agent | Decides and acts across systems | €8,000 – €30,000 | €300 – €1,200 |
Custom, tailored AI solution | Complex company-wide deployment | €25,000 + | from €800 |
For orientation:
A FAQ chatbot is the cheapest entry — good for relieving customer support.
A solution with RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) draws answers from your own documents, so it answers exactly according to your data rather than "making things up".
Process automation pays off where you have a recurring routine — this is precisely where the return tends to be fastest.
If you want to see what automation looks like in practice, take a look at the AI and process automation services.
What are the hidden and operating costs?
The one-off development price is only part of the story. Factor into the budget also:
API costs — using language models (e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic) is charged by volume. For a small company, in the order of tens of euros a month; for large volumes, hundreds to thousands.
Hosting and infrastructure — server, database, monitoring.
Maintenance and updates — both the models and your processes change, and the solution needs tuning.
Team training — even the best tool is useless if people don't know how to use it.
Ongoing improvement — the first version is never the last.
A good supplier will list these items transparently up front. If you see only one big number without a breakdown, ask for detail.
How to calculate the return on investment?
This is the most important question. Don't buy AI because it's "trendy", but because it saves you money or brings in revenue. You calculate the return (ROI) simply:
Find out how many hours a month your team spends on the task you want to automate.
Multiply it by the hourly rate of the given employee (including contributions).
Estimate what % of that AI will take over — realistically 40 – 80%.
Compare the saving with the costs of development and operation.
Example: support handles 200 repeated inquiries a month, each taking 8 minutes = ~27 hours. At a rate of €12/h that is €320 a month. If the chatbot takes over 60%, you save ~€190 a month, i.e. €2,280 a year. With an investment of €3,000, it pays off within 16 months — and that's without counting faster responses and more satisfied customers.
Don't feel like calculating by hand? Use the AI savings calculator — enter three numbers and immediately see the annual saving. You'll also find inspiration on where else you can save in the article on how digitalization saves dozens of hours a month.
How to avoid overpaying?
Many suppliers ride the AI wave and price "AI" like a fashionable accessory. How to protect yourself:
Start with a small pilot. Don't spend €30,000 at the start. Verify one process for €3,000 – €5,000 and scale according to results.
Ask for a price breakdown — development, integrations, operation, maintenance separately.
Don't buy technology, buy a result. What matters is how many hours/euros you save, not which model runs in the background.
Avoid vendor lock-in — the solution should be portable and have documented code.
Verify the supplier's references and real projects — take a look, for example, at the CODEUPP projects.
Ask about API costs up front — this is the most common "surprise" in the invoice.
Red flag: if a supplier promises "AI that will solve everything" without asking about your processes and data, be careful.
How to start in 4 steps?
Map the routine. Write down the tasks the team repeats daily — e-mails, retyping data, answering customers, reports.
Pick one process with the highest saving. The ideal candidate is frequent, repetitive and with clear rules.
Calculate the return using the calculator or the simple computation above.
Deploy a pilot and measure. After 4 – 8 weeks, evaluate the saving and decide on expansion.
This approach protects you from a needless investment and gives you hard numbers even before you spend a larger budget.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
How much does the cheapest meaningful AI project cost? Realistically, a good pilot — for example a chatbot connected to your data or automation of one process — fits within €3,000 – €5,000. For less you can build a FAQ bot, but with limited capabilities.
How long does it take to deploy an AI solution? A simple chatbot 2 – 4 weeks, process automation 4 – 8 weeks, a complex AI agent with integrations several months. We recommend starting with a smaller scope and scaling gradually.
Is AI worth it even for a small company? Yes, if you have a recurring routine. A small company often feels the saving even more strongly, because one person handles more roles. The key is to choose a process with a clear return.
Summary
The price of an AI solution ranges from hundreds of euros for a simple chatbot up to tens of thousands for a custom tailored solution. What's decisive is not the number itself, but the ratio of costs to savings. Start with a small pilot, ask for a transparent breakdown, calculate the return and scale according to results — that's how you avoid both overpaying and disappointment.
Want to know how much a specific AI solution would cost and save your company in particular? Schedule a free consultation with the CODEUPP team — we'll get back to you within 24 hours and propose a solution with a clear return.
