The bands, from the market
Prices for this work are published more often than people think, because freelancers and agencies list them. Reading across the listings in August 2026:
| Shape of the work | What the market charges | Who quotes it |
|---|---|---|
| A single automation, no AI step | $400 to $1,200 | Freelancers and small n8n or Make shops |
| A single workflow with an AI step | $1,000 to $3,000 | The same shops, and most small consultancies |
| A system of several workflows | $3,000 to $15,000 | Consultancies and agencies |
| A custom agent, built for one business | $10,000 to $50,000 and up | Agencies |
| A per-workflow build at a specialist agency | $7,500 to $20,000 | The larger AI agencies |
| A discovery engagement before any build | From $2,500 | Agencies |
| A monthly retainer | $1,500 to $8,000 | Everyone |
Sources: the 2026 agency pricing guides at lets-viz.com and hummingagent.ai, buldrr.com's n8n agency survey, and the live Fiverr and Upwork listings for automation work, where the floor is $40 to $150 for a single connection nobody would call consulting.
What moves the number
Four things, in order of how much they matter.
- How many systems the work touches. One inbox and one CRM is a workflow. Inbox, CRM, accounting, calendar and a document store is a system, and every extra connection adds design time, not just wiring time.
- Whether there is a judgment step. A rule ("if the invoice is thirty days late, send the reminder") is cheap. A decision ("read this contract against our playbook and flag what to push back on") is where the cost is, because it has to be built, tested against real documents, and given guardrails.
- Who owns it afterward. Handing over a system your own team can run, with an operating guide, costs more up front than a black box and far less over a year.
- How much discovery has been done. A business that arrives knowing which weekly task hurts most is a shorter project than one that needs the diagnosis first. This is why the audit exists.
What the number should never be
An hourly meter. The market's worst outcomes are open-ended hourly engagements that discover the scope as they go. A fixed number, known before a line of code, is the only honest way to price work whose whole point is to save you time.
Our three numbers
We keep it to three, on one page: $9,000 for a project, $4,000 a month for ninety days of us in the room, or $3,000 a month for a year on retainer. They are on the guide page with what each one buys. The first conversation is free and ends with a real estimate, and anything bought on the marketplace credits toward the project.