What drives the price
Two projects that both "use AI" can differ in price by ten times. These are the things that move it, roughly in order of how much they matter:
| Driver | Cheaper end | Pricier end |
|---|---|---|
| How many workflows | One process, end to end | Several teams and processes |
| Connections to other systems | None, or one with a good API | Several, including older systems |
| Who uses it | Your team only | Your customers too, with accounts and roles |
| Your data | Clean, in one place | Scattered, needs cleanup or moving |
| AI work | One assistant doing one job | Several agents working together |
| Where it runs | A web app | Web plus iOS and Android apps |
| Rules you must follow | Ordinary business data | Health, finance or other regulated data |
The cheapest line of code is the one you don't write. Cutting a project to the one workflow that pays back first usually saves more than any discount.
What you keep paying after launch
- Hosting and services: the servers, database and email the tool runs on.
- Maintenance: fixes, updates and keeping up with AI models, which change every few months. Without it, tools quietly stop working.
- AI usage: every question asked or document read costs a small amount. It grows with use, so ask for it to be itemized rather than bundled.
Hourly, fixed price or subscription?
| Model | How it works | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | You pay for time spent | The final bill is unknown until the end |
| Fixed price | One price for an agreed scope | Changes to scope need a new agreement |
| Software subscription | Monthly fee per user for an existing product | You adapt to the product; you don't own it |
| Engineering subscription | A set number of engineering days a week, every month | A minimum term; you need to keep priorities clear |
Emvizion's prices
We publish ours so you can compare. Our main plans are a subscription: you pick how many days a week a team works on your software, in two-week sprints, and you own what we build.
| Plan | What it is | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | A website or small tool, built and looked after | $1,000/month |
| Workflow | One engineering day a week | $5,000/month |
| Build | Three engineering days a week | $13,000/month |
| Platform | A dedicated team, five days a week | $20,500/month |
Workflow, Build and Platform have a 3-month minimum, then 30 days' notice, and each includes monthly tool and AI credits. Usage over the credit is billed at cost plus 5%, itemized. You can also try a two-week sprint for $2,500, or get a fixed-price MVP from $15,000. See all plans and prices.
How to budget for your first project
- Put a yearly cost on the problem: hours spent × cost of an hour. Our Time-Savings Calculator does this.
- Write the one workflow you want fixed, in plain words, and who uses it.
- List the systems it has to read from or write to.
- Decide what must be in version one and what can wait.
- Add the yearly running cost to the build price before comparing options.
Try the AI Time-Savings Calculator to put a number on step 1.
Questions
- How much does custom AI software cost?
- It depends mostly on how many workflows, systems and users it touches. At Emvizion, a website or small tool is $1,000 a month (Essentials), a fixed-price MVP starts at $15,000, and ongoing engineering is $5,000 to $20,500 a month depending on how many days a week we work on it.
- Why are some quotes so much higher than others?
- Usually the scope is different: more workflows, more connections to other systems, customer-facing accounts, mobile apps or regulated data. Ask each vendor to list exactly what's included.
- What does it cost after launch?
- Hosting, upkeep and AI usage. At Emvizion, keeping a tool hosted, fixed and updated is $1,000 a month on Essentials, or it's covered while you're on an engineering plan. AI usage over your monthly credit is billed at cost plus 5%, itemized.