Single-system AI automations, lead routing, follow-up sequences, reporting, cost roughly $1,500 to $6,500 each at fair 2026 market prices. Foundation work like CRM cleanup runs $1,500 to $3,000 per system. Ongoing maintenance runs $300 to $800 a month per system. Most pricing guides stop at the engagement level, what an agency or consultant charges for a month or a project. This page prices the work item by item instead, because that is how you compare quotes.
If what you actually want is the engagement-level view, models, retainers, hourly, we wrote that guide separately: how much an AI automation agency costs.
The three layers every quote should separate
A trustworthy automation quote has three visibly separate layers. When a proposal blends them into one number, you cannot tell what you are paying for, and that is usually the point.
Layer 1: the foundation. Cleanup of the data and process the automation will stand on. Deduplication, field consolidation, stage definitions, a documented process. Market guides mostly ignore this layer, which is exactly why so many automations get quietly abandoned: they were built on records nobody trusted. Fair prices run $1,500 to $3,000 per system as fixed-scope items.
Layer 2: the build. The named automation itself. Simple single-workflow builds are quoted at $1,500 to $4,000 across the market, with multi-step and mid-tier integration work above that (Digital Agency Network, AI agency pricing guide, January 2026). The honest structure is one named system, one fixed price, and an explicit uplift when the automation must touch a second system of record, because cross-system work is real integration effort.
Layer 3: keeping it alive. Every automation carries a running cost after launch, because the tools underneath it change on their own schedule and nobody tells you when. Per-system monitoring and upkeep runs $300 to $800 a month at market rates. A quote with no maintenance line is a quote for a system with a planned lifespan nobody mentioned.
Side by side
The three layers a trustworthy quote keeps separate
| Layer 1: the foundation | Layer 2: the build | Layer 3: keeping it alive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Cleanup of the data and process the automation will stand on: deduplication, field consolidation, stage definitions, a documented process | The named automation itself, one system at a time | Monitoring and upkeep after launch, because the tools underneath change on their own schedule |
| Fair 2026 price | $1,500 to $3,000 per system as fixed-scope items | $1,500 to $4,000 for simple single-workflow builds, with multi-step and integration work above that | $300 to $800 a month per system |
| The tell in a bad quote | Ignored, so the automation gets built on records nobody trusted and is quietly abandoned | Blended into one number with the other two layers, so you cannot tell what you are paying for, and that is usually the point | No maintenance line, which means a planned lifespan nobody mentioned |
Layer 1: the foundation
- What it is
- Cleanup of the data and process the automation will stand on: deduplication, field consolidation, stage definitions, a documented process
- Fair 2026 price
- $1,500 to $3,000 per system as fixed-scope items
- The tell in a bad quote
- Ignored, so the automation gets built on records nobody trusted and is quietly abandoned
Layer 2: the build
- What it is
- The named automation itself, one system at a time
- Fair 2026 price
- $1,500 to $4,000 for simple single-workflow builds, with multi-step and integration work above that
- The tell in a bad quote
- Blended into one number with the other two layers, so you cannot tell what you are paying for, and that is usually the point
Layer 3: keeping it alive
- What it is
- Monitoring and upkeep after launch, because the tools underneath change on their own schedule
- Fair 2026 price
- $300 to $800 a month per system
- The tell in a bad quote
- No maintenance line, which means a planned lifespan nobody mentioned
What the common items cost
Market bands, at small and mid-sized B2B scope, read off the published agency rate cards and marketplace listings in the two guides cited below. These are what the market charges, not what we have measured a result to be worth. Where a range is wide, the drivers are how many systems the automation touches and the state of the data underneath it.
- Lead capture and routing: $2,000 to $5,000. Higher when routing rules span multiple tools or territories.
- Follow-up and nurture sequences: $2,000 to $5,000 for a system your team owns, not a template installed into your account. Template installs are why $75 to $520 project listings exist on marketplaces (Fiverr, AI automation cost guide, August 2026); they come with no integration work, no data cleanup, and no adoption help.
- CRM cleanup and field consolidation:$1,500 to $3,000 as a fixed foundation item. Beware of it hidden inside a build quote as unpriced “prep.”
- Reporting and pipeline visibility: $2,500 to $6,500 depending on how many sources feed it.
- Quote, proposal, and document automation: $2,500 to $6,500.
- Custom agent work: $7,500 to $25,000 and up across the market. Most businesses buying at this tier actually needed two or three of the items above first. Be suspicious of a custom-AI price attached to an assembled-workflow scope.
The benchmarks
The two numbers every automation quote should carry
$1,500 to $4,000
is what simple single-workflow builds are quoted at across the market, with multi-step and mid-tier integration work above that.
Source · Digital Agency Network, January 2026
$300 to $800
a month per system for monitoring and upkeep at market rates. A quote with no maintenance line is a quote for a system with a planned lifespan nobody mentioned.
Source · 2026 market rates, this guide
Our prices, published
Everything above is market evidence. Here is what we charge, so you have at least one full rate card to compare any quote against:
- AI Revenue Scan: free, self-serve, about five minutes.
- AI Revenue Audit: $2,500. Reads your actual systems and returns a prioritized automation map with a fixed price on every recommended item. 100 percent credits toward your first build or your first Partner month within 90 days.
- Cleanup Services: $1,500 to $3,000 fixed per named item. The foundation layer, priced in the open instead of hidden in a build quote.
- Revenue Automation Builds: $2,500 to $6,500 per named system, with the added-system uplift stated explicitly rather than discovered in the invoice.
- Care Plan: $300 to $500 a month per system for monitoring and upkeep.
- AI Revenue Partner: $2,500 a month. Partner Plus: $8,000 a month.
- AI Team Training: $5,500.
The reason the audit comes first is the same reason layer 1 exists: pricing an automation without reading the data it will stand on is guessing, and both directions of the guess cost you. If you want fixed prices on your actual systems instead of market bands, that is a 30-minute conversation: book a call.