How much does it cost to build an AI agent?
An AI agent that handles one task and connects to one or two of your systems starts from $7,000; with three or more systems it starts from $13,000.
An AI agent reads a request, decides the next step and acts in your tools: it updates a record, drafts a reply or routes a ticket. The more systems it works across, the more connections there are to build and test, so the price rises with each one.
Agents that touch money or customer data run with a person approving the important steps. That review step is part of the build.
AI development cost at a glance
Starting prices for the AI work we build most often.
| What | Price |
|---|
| AI search over your documents | From $2,500 |
|---|
| AI feature inside your product | From $4,000 |
|---|
| Chatbot on your own documents | From $4,000 |
|---|
| Document extraction | From $5,000 |
|---|
| AI agent, 1 or 2 connected systems | From $7,000 |
|---|
| AI agent, 3 or more connected systems | From $13,000 |
|---|
| AI tool for a team | From $11,000 |
|---|
| App maintenance, hosting and updates | From $500 a month |
|---|
Each price is for one focused job. Combining several, such as a chatbot that also books appointments, is priced in the calculator.
How much does it cost to develop an AI app?
An AI app is an app plus an AI feature: from $20,000 for a mobile app on iOS and Android plus from $4,000 for the AI feature, or from $11,000 for a web-based AI tool for a team.
Most AI apps don't need a model of their own. They call a proven model, such as OpenAI's or Anthropic's, and add your data, your rules and your screens.
Training a model on your own data is a bigger project, priced in a detailed estimate.
How much does chatbot development cost?
A private AI chatbot that answers staff or customer questions from your own documents starts from $4,000, with a link to the source file for every answer.
That covers the most common job: answers from manuals, policies, product sheets or a help center. A chatbot that also takes actions, such as booking a visit or updating your CRM, is an AI agent and starts from $7,000.
What drives AI development cost?
Four things: the systems the AI connects to, the screens people use, how many kinds of users it serves, and regulated data such as HIPAA, which adds 20%.
- Systems: one or two connected systems add $3,000, three or more add $9,000.
- Screens: up to 5 screens keep the base price, 6 to 15 multiply it by 1.5, and 16 or more by 2.2.
- Users: two or three kinds of users multiply the price by 1.3, four or more by 1.6.
- Regulated data: HIPAA or similar rules add 20%.
The state of your documents and data matters too. Clean, current documents make a better chatbot for the same price.
What does an AI agent cost per month?
The AI model is billed by its provider per use, usually on your own account, and maintenance and updates start from $500 a month.
Model usage depends on how many requests the agent handles and how long each one is. Running it on your own account means you see every charge.
How to lower AI development cost
- Start with one task the agent does well, and add tasks once it proves itself.
- Connect one or two systems at launch: they add $3,000, while three or more add $9,000.
- Use a proven AI model instead of training your own.
- Clean up the documents a chatbot answers from before the build starts.
- Keep a person approving the important steps, so the first version doesn't need to handle every exception on its own.
What to have ready before you ask for a quote
- The task, described as the steps a person takes today.
- The systems the agent reads from and writes to.
- Who approves its work, and which steps need approval.
- The documents or data it uses, and where they live.
- Whether any of that data is regulated, such as health or financial records.
How we price AI projects
Each project type has a starting price. Two or three kinds of users multiply it by 1.3, four or more by 1.6. A first version with 6 to 15 screens multiplies it by 1.5, and 16 or more screens by 2.2. Connecting one or two systems adds $3,000, three or more adds $9,000. Payments add $3,000, moving data from an old system adds $4,000, and regulated data such as HIPAA adds 20%. The top of the range is twice the bottom.
Prices updated October 2026.
