What do your AI agents really cost?

The vendor invoice shows what you pay for models and platforms. It does not show the people reviewing agent output or the engineers keeping agents running. This calculator adds both, so you can see the full cost of your agent portfolio.

The numbers below are an example. Replace them with yours — nothing you type leaves your browser.

Currency

Count every agent that runs on real work, including ones built inside SaaS tools.

USD

Tokens, API calls and usage-based fees, as they appear on the invoices.

USD

Agent platforms, copilots and SaaS add-ons paid per seat or per month.

Time people spend checking, correcting or approving agent output.

USD

Loaded cost per hour (salary, benefits, overhead) of the people reviewing.

Integration fixes, prompt changes, monitoring and incident handling.

USD

Loaded cost per hour of the people maintaining agents.

Your agent portfolio

Real monthly cost

$11,935

Per year: $143,220Per agent, per month: $995
  • On the invoice (models, APIs, licenses)$5,500 · 46%
  • Human review$2,835 · 24%
  • Maintenance$3,600 · 30%

$6,435 per month — 54% of the real cost — appears on no invoice.

For every 1 on the invoice, you spend 2.2 in total.

Three questions to take to your team

  1. Who owns the part of this cost that appears on no invoice?
  2. Which agents would still pay back if we counted review and maintenance time?
  3. What would we switch off first if this number had to fall by 30%?

Next: who owns this number?

The Board Questions turn this cost into five questions for your team: inventory, ownership, cost, outcome and review.

Ask your team these 5 questions

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How the calculation works

  • On the invoice = model and API spend + platform and licenses.
  • Human review = agents × review minutes per day ÷ 60 × 21 working days × hourly cost of reviewers.
  • Maintenance = agents × maintenance hours per month × hourly cost of engineering.
  • Real monthly cost = on the invoice + human review + maintenance.

What it leaves out

  • It does not estimate value. A high cost can be fully justified; the point is to know the number before deciding.
  • It excludes one-off build costs, risk exposure and the cost of incidents.
  • It uses averages. Real agents vary widely — the agent register is where the per-agent truth lives.

Frequently asked questions

How much do AI agents cost per month?

More than the invoice shows. Besides model, API and platform fees, every agent consumes human time: people reviewing its output and engineers maintaining it. In many portfolios that time is a large share of the total.

What are the hidden costs of AI agents?

Mainly human review of agent output and ongoing maintenance: integration fixes, prompt changes, monitoring and incident handling. Neither appears on a vendor invoice.

How should a CFO account for AI agent costs?

At the portfolio level, by agent and business unit: running costs plus the human time each agent consumes, compared with the outcome it is meant to move and reviewed on a fixed date.

Is my data stored?

No. The calculation runs in your browser. If you copy the link with your numbers, the numbers travel in the link itself.