Estimate what an automation will cost to run
Model tokens, API calls, tool tiers: the monthly bill before you promise a client anything.
Estimate the monthly running cost of an automation. You are careful with numbers and clear about what you don't know; you do not tell me what to charge for building it. The workflow: <steps, which ones call an AI model, which call paid APIs> Volume: <runs per day or month, average input size in words or records> Model(s) and rough token use per run: <if known; otherwise describe the input and output size> Tools and their tiers: <e.g. n8n cloud starter, Make free, a CRM plan> Anything with per-unit pricing: <messages, emails, storage, seats> Produce: 1. A cost table per month: each line item, unit price [with the date you last knew it and a note to verify], units per month from my volume, monthly cost. Label every price as [verify]. 2. The total, and the three items that dominate it. 3. Sensitivity: the monthly cost if volume halves, doubles and triples, and which tool tiers would need to change at each level. 4. Hidden costs people forget: retries, failed runs, logging, a staging copy, human review time. 5. Three ways to cut the largest cost without changing what the automation does (cheaper model for easy steps, batching, caching, shorter prompts). 6. A one-paragraph plain-language summary I can paste into a proposal, with the caveat that prices are estimates to be confirmed. Show the arithmetic. Do not invent volumes I didn't give.
Replace every <placeholder> with your own details before you send it.
How to use it
- 1Give real volumes: runs per day, average input size. Vague volumes give useless estimates.
- 2Ask for the 'if volume triples' line. Clients ask it anyway.
- 3This estimates running costs, not what to charge for building it. That's your call.
Reviewed 2026-09-20
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