# What determines the price of an AI solution? URL: https://goudbeek.com/en/notes/ai-solution-pricing Language: en Last updated: 2026-09-24 Provider: Goudbeek — Almere, the Netherlands — samgoudbeek2007@gmail.com > What does an AI solution cost? Which factors set the price, why there is no price list, and which questions to ask any supplier before you sign. 24 September 2026 6 min read [Sam Goudbeek](https://goudbeek.com/en/about) Costs Why there is no price list for AI solutions, which factors decide what one costs, and which questions to ask any supplier before you sign a quote. The price of an AI solution depends on its scope: the task, how many systems it connects to, how much human review you want, which data sources it uses, how heavily the AI model is used, and who hosts and maintains it. At Goudbeek in Almere, you therefore get one fixed price after a short intake. Below we walk through those factors using recognisable examples. They apply to most [AI solutions for business](https://goudbeek.com/en/solutions), and they help you read a quote more critically. ## Why is there no price list for AI solutions? An AI solution is not an off-the-shelf product. Picture a webshop whose chatbot only answers delivery questions. Another webshop wants its chatbot to look up order status, create a return and hand an angry customer over to a colleague. Both are called a chatbot, but the work is very different. A price list would be an average of things that have little in common. Anyone who names a figure without knowing your work charges too much for the simple case or too little for the hard one. In the second case, the difference comes back later as extra work. What can be pinned down are the factors behind the price. ## How much does the task itself matter? The task is the starting point. Summarising something or preparing a draft is simpler than making a decision, and making a decision is simpler than acting on its own in other systems. The more steps the system takes by itself, the more there is to build and test. Imagine an installation company that receives fault reports by email. A system that summarises each report for the planner is easy to scope. An [AI agent that takes steps on its own](https://goudbeek.com/en/solutions/agents), proposing a technician, emailing the customer a time slot and creating the work order, is a different project with far more exceptions. Sometimes mapping the work shows that the task does not need AI at all. A better form or a simple rule solves the same problem, and then that is the better choice. ## Why do connections to your systems weigh so heavily? An AI solution that is not connected to anything delivers little. The value sits in the connections: to your mailbox, CRM, webshop, planning software or bookkeeping. Each connection has to be built, tested and documented, and each one is a place where something can break. So the number of systems counts, but so does their condition. A package with a well-documented API is a different story from older software where data only comes out through a manual export. For every quote, ask which connections are included and which are not. ## What does human review cost? Every AI solution raises the question of what the system may do on its own and what waits for a person. Reading, searching and drafting do little harm if they go wrong. Sending, paying, deleting and changing records do. Building in review is work: a screen to approve suggestions, a queue for doubtful cases, a log. Working without review is work too, because it calls for stricter testing and more safety nets. So it is not a dial that only pushes the price one way. Imagine an accounting firm that wants its [purchase invoices read automatically](https://goudbeek.com/en/solutions/documents). A sensible start is for the software to fill in the fields while a colleague checks whatever looks off. That is manageable to build, and real use soon shows what the system is good at. ## What role do your data sources play? An AI solution is only as good as the material it works from. If your product information, terms and work instructions live in one place and are up to date, that is a small part of the job. If they are spread across folders, mailboxes and old PDFs, with several versions of the same price list, time goes into sorting them out first. Access matters too. The system should only see the sources the task needs, not the entire shared drive. Where personal data is involved, extra agreements follow about what the system may see and where the data stays. For what the GDPR requires in practice, see the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens). ## What does the AI model itself cost? The language models behind an AI solution are usually billed per use. The more often the system calls a model and the more text it sends each time, the higher that bill. Those costs follow your volume and sit apart from the build. A webshop with a busy December will see that in its model costs. A good setup keeps this in check: use the model only where it adds something, pick a lighter model for simple tasks, and send only the text that matters. So ask for an estimate at your volume. ## What do hosting and maintenance cost? An AI solution has to run somewhere, and someone has to keep an eye on it. Maintenance means monitoring that everything works, applying updates and adjusting when a connected system or a model changes. That work does not stop on launch day. Hosting and maintenance do fit a fixed monthly amount. At Goudbeek, [managed hosting and maintenance](https://goudbeek.com/en/hosting) costs from €39 per month. You can also run the system in your own environment, but then monitoring, updates and upkeep are yours to handle. ## How do you get a fixed price up front? A fixed price is only possible once the scope is written down. A short intake is enough for that: what the system has to do, which systems it talks to, which sources it uses and what waits for a person. That conversation produces one amount for the build. That way you know what you will pay and the builder knows what has to be finished. If what you want changes along the way, a new agreement follows, not an open bill that quietly keeps running. ## Why start small with a prototype? The cheapest way to avoid an expensive mistake is to start small. A working prototype on one real piece of work, with your own data, shows whether the idea holds up before you invest further. For the accounting firm, that might be one type of document, such as purchase invoices, before bank statements are added. For the webshop, perhaps only the question 'where is my order?'. What the prototype shows also makes the next step easier to budget. ## Which costs are one-off and which come back? One-off costs usually cover mapping the work, the build, the connections, testing and going live. That is the amount in the quote. Recurring costs are hosting and maintenance, model use, and adjustments when your work or systems change. So compare quotes on total cost over the system's working life, not just on the build price. ## What should you ask any supplier? What exactly is included in the price, and what is not: connections, testing, documentation, handover? What is one-off, what comes back every month, and how do model costs move with your volume? What may the system do on its own, what waits for a person, and is that written down? Who owns the code, the content and the domain? Can we start small, with one prototype on our own data? And who adapts it when a model or a connected system changes? ## How does Goudbeek approach the price of an AI solution? We start with the work, not the technology. First we map how it runs today, then we choose the simplest thing that works. Sometimes that is a [custom AI solution](https://goudbeek.com/en/solutions); sometimes it is a connection, a form or a [dashboard](https://goudbeek.com/en/solutions/dashboards). After a short intake you get one fixed price on paper: what will be built, what it runs on, what the system may see and do, and what waits for a person. Work starts only once you have said yes. The first thing you then see is a working prototype on your own data. After that it goes live on managed hosting from €39 per month, and we adjust it based on real use. The code, content and domain stay yours. See which [AI solutions we build for businesses](https://goudbeek.com/en/solutions), read [how our quotes work](https://goudbeek.com/en/pricing) or [tell us what you want to automate](https://goudbeek.com/en/contact). You will hear back within one working day. ## Sources 1. [Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens www.autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl](https://www.autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/) ## Frequently asked questions ### What does an AI solution cost for a small business? There is no honest standard figure for an AI solution for a small business. The price depends on the task, the number of connections to your systems, how much human review you want, the state of your data sources and how much the AI model is used. Anyone naming a figure without knowing your work is guessing. After a short intake you do get one fixed price. At Goudbeek, only hosting has a set starting price: from €39 per month. ### Why do I only get a price after an intake? You only get a price after an intake because the price follows from the scope, and the scope is only clear once it is settled what the system must do, which systems it talks to, which sources it uses and what waits for a person. A short intake puts that on the table. Afterwards everything is written down with one amount for the build, so you are not left with an open bill. ### Which costs of an AI solution come back every month? The recurring costs of an AI solution are hosting and maintenance, use of the AI model, and adjustments when your work or systems change. Model use is billed per use and follows your volume. At Goudbeek, [managed hosting](https://goudbeek.com/en/hosting) costs from €39 per month and keeps the system running, monitored and up to date. So compare quotes on total cost, not only on the build price. ### How do I keep the cost of an AI solution down? You keep the cost of an AI solution down by starting small, with one prototype on one real piece of work and your own data. Choose the simplest thing that works: sometimes a form or a connection solves it without AI. Limit connections to what the task needs, keep your sources up to date and use the model only where it genuinely adds something. That way you do not pay for what you do not use. ### Is the cost of the AI model included in the fixed price? At Goudbeek, the cost of the AI model is not included in the fixed price. The model is billed on usage and moves with your volume, so it is separate from the build and the hosting. The quote states what you can expect in your case. Ask any supplier whether model costs are included, ask for an estimate based on your number of requests and documents, and ask what happens when that number grows. ### Can an AI solution run in our own environment? Yes, an AI solution can run in your own environment. You then pay no hosting to the builder, but you take on monitoring, updates and maintenance yourself. In practice that is exactly the part that keeps a system working when a model or a connected system changes. So weigh whether you have that knowledge and time in-house before you decide. About the author: Sam Goudbeek Sam Goudbeek is the founder of Goudbeek in Almere, which improves business processes with AI and software. [More about Sam and Goudbeek](https://goudbeek.com/en/about) ## Further reading Where this article meets the work. - [AI solutions for businesses](https://goudbeek.com/en/solutions): Agents, chatbots, document processing and dashboards, on your own data. - [Request a quote](https://goudbeek.com/en/pricing): A fixed price, agreed up front after a short intake. 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