Best AI for SMBs

What AI costs a small business in 2026

AI is sold per seat, per task, per credit and per company. The price that matters is the one that matches how your business will actually use it.

By The editors · Updated · 3 min read

The owner of a small design studio reviews a printed list of monthly software subscriptions beside a bank statement and a calculator.
The subscription list shows what AI would replace as well as what it would add.
Contents
  1. Four pricing models
  2. What drives the bill up
  3. A worked example: a 15-person services firm
  4. Setting a budget
  5. Questions buyers ask
  6. Sources

Most AI prices for small businesses are published, which makes them easier to compare than consulting rates. The difficulty is that they are published in different units, so a tool that looks cheap per month can cost more per job done.

Four pricing models

ModelHow it worksExamples, as published
Per seatA monthly fee for each personClaude Team $20 annual or $25 monthly a standard seat⁠1; Copilot Business $21 a user⁠2
Bundled in a suiteAI included in the office planGemini in Google Workspace, from €6.80 a user on Business Starter⁠3
Per task or creditA fee that rises with usageZapier from $19.99 a month for 750 tasks⁠4; Lindy from $29.99 a month for 3,000 credits per active user⁠5
Per company, plus usageOne plan for the business, AI usage on topOpenLazarus from $100 a month plus $150 hosting for teams under 30⁠6; 5.5% fee on AI credits⁠7

What drives the bill up

  • Usage beyond the allowance. Zapier bills overage at 2.5 times the base rate on monthly plans and 1.25 times on annual plans, or pauses usage, depending on settings⁠4. Lindy sells top-ups at $10 per 1,000 credits⁠5.
  • Heavier seats. Claude's premium seat costs $100 a month on annual billing for five times the standard usage⁠1.
  • Features on higher tiers. Gemini Business Starter excludes Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Chat and Drive⁠3; Claude's audit logs and SCIM sit on Enterprise⁠1.
  • The base software. Copilot Business is sold alongside Microsoft 365 Business plans; from 1 July 2026 the Business Standard and Copilot bundle is $35 a user a month⁠2.
  • Set-up time. Automations and agents have to be designed, tested and maintained by someone, whether staff or a paid engineer. OpenLazarus prices developer support from $4,500 a month⁠7.

Annual billing lowers most of these prices, often by 20% to 33%, but commits the business for a year. A month on monthly billing is a cheap way to test fit first.

A worked example: a 15-person services firm

Consider a firm of 15 people that wants a writing assistant for everyone and wants to stop missing calls. Using published list prices:

OptionCalculationPer year
Assistant for all, Claude Team15 × $20 × 12⁠1$3,600
Assistant for all, Copilot Business15 × $21 × 12, plus the Microsoft 365 plan⁠2$3,780 plus suite
Calls and admin, Lindy for 3 users3 × $29.99 × 12, entry credits⁠5$1,080
Calls, books and follow-up, OpenLazarus($100 + $150) × 12, before AI credits⁠6$3,000

The assistant lines and the operational lines answer different needs, and many businesses buy one of each. The comparison that matters for the operational line is against the cost of the work it removes: missed calls, late invoices, hours of supplier email.

Setting a budget

  1. Price the assistant per person, and decide who actually needs one.
  2. Price the process tool against one job, using its unit: tasks, credits or a company plan.
  3. Add the base software and any higher tier the features require.
  4. Start monthly for the first month to test, then move to annual once the tool has earned its place.
  5. Review after 90 days against the number you set out to move.

The adoption numbers suggest patience is reasonable: the Census Bureau found that only about one in five US businesses used AI in spring 2026⁠8. For the ranked tools, see our main guide; for how to roll one out, see the first 30 days.

Questions buyers ask

How much does AI cost per employee?

General assistants and office-suite AI cost roughly $20 to $25 a user a month at published prices, such as Claude Team at $20 to $25 and Microsoft 365 Copilot Business at $21. Gemini is included in Google Workspace business plans, from €6.80 a user a month on Business Starter.

Is AI cheaper than hiring someone?

It depends on the job. An assistant costs a few hundred dollars a year per person but does not take a job off anyone's desk on its own. Tools that run a process, such as answering calls or chasing invoices, cost more to set up and should be judged by the hours and errors they remove, measured over a month.

What are the hidden costs of AI tools?

Usage beyond included allowances, such as tasks, credits or sessions; overage multipliers on monthly plans; features that sit on higher tiers; the base software some AI plans require; and the time someone spends setting up and maintaining automations.

Sources

  1. Claude pricing: Team and Enterprise plans. Anthropic. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  2. Lock in current pricing on Microsoft 365 Copilot Business bundles. Microsoft Tech Community, 17 Mar 2026. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  3. Google Workspace plans and pricing. Google. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  4. Zapier plans and pricing. Zapier. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  5. Lindy pricing. Lindy. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  6. Design your company’s operating system. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  7. Pricing. OpenLazarus. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.
  8. Large firms with at least 20 employees biggest AI users. US Census Bureau, 26 May 2026. Accessed 8 Nov 2026.

Updated 8 Nov 2026: First published.

Further reading