What will an AI agent actually cost to run?
Cost per completed task
$2.77Workbench
Price a completed case, not a token invoice.
Cost per completed task
$2.77Monthly operating cost
$5,534What to change first
Design, not the modelReview is the cost. Narrow the control points or complete the packet so a person can decide in minutes.
How I see it
Price the completed task, including the human who still has to show up
Token price is the least interesting line. Integration, retries, review, and failure handling usually decide whether the agent is cheaper than the current path.
Enter how often the agent would run, how many steps and model calls a completed case takes, how often a person reviews, and the monthly cost to host and watch the system.
The result is cost per completed task, a monthly operating view, and which driver is doing the damage. If review cost dominates, the workflow is still a copilot. If model cost dominates, the design has too many steps or retries.
Economic model
Cost per completed case(model + tools + retries + human review + failure + infra) ÷ completed cases
Compare that number to the current human path. If it only wins at perfect volume, redesign before you build.
When this is the wrong next step
Do not use this tool to decorate a decision.
- You do not have a unit of work, only a desire for an agent.
- Nobody will estimate review time.
- The comparison is model invoices against zero current cost.
A useful next step
Bring the numbers into a conversation.
The tool is a first cut. If the result is material, we guide the implementation and stay hands-on through operations — or tell you when a simpler answer is better.
Discuss an AI opportunity