Compare published Australian AI automation prices, ongoing costs and alternatives. Then see how the task, supported tool access and human approval steps shape a fixed-price quote.
Short answer
Australian automation providers that publish prices list $1,500–$5,000 for one workflow build, $3,500–$15,000 to connect several systems and $10,000–$50,000+ for AI agents and larger builds. HYPHN says simple automations can start from a few hundred dollars.
Running costs: one provider, AutoCognition, lists $50–$800 a month.
Subscription instead: AI Automation Agency charges $110, $220 or $330 a week per automation, including GST, with no build fee on eligible standard builds.
Do it yourself: Zapier and Make have free plans.
Hire instead: the adult minimum for Level 1 admin staff under the Clerks award is $26.97 an hour plus 12% super from 1 July 2026; the right award depends on the role.
My work: a fixed-price quote in writing before work starts, based on your project brief or a free 15-minute build review.
I build custom automation, so every figure links to its source.
Published prices at a glance
Published prices from named Australian providers, checked 23 September 2026 — not what every business pays. GST treatment varies and is often not stated.
Type of work
Published range
Note
Sources named
One workflow build
$1,500–$5,000
One-off build. HYPHN’s $1,500–$5,000 is for its more complex builds; it says simple automations can start from a few hundred dollars.
Automation is one option. Compare it with doing the work yourself in a DIY tool, hiring admin help or using an offshore assistant. Prices checked 23 September 2026.
DIY tools
You set up and look after the workflow yourself. Entry prices as each vendor prints them:
ZapierFree plan: 100 tasks a month. Professional: US$19.99 a month billed yearly, or US$29.99 monthly, for 750 tasks.A task is each successful action step.
MakeFree plan: 1,000 credits a month. Make Plan: $9 a month billed yearly for 5,000 credits (currency code not shown).A credit is each module action in a scenario.
n8n CloudStarter: 20€ a month billed yearly, or 24€ monthly, for 2,500 workflow executions.An execution is one full run of a workflow, however many steps.
Minimum pay for entry-level admin staff under the Clerks – Private Sector Award, from 1 July 2026. The award that applies depends on the role, and many roles pay more.
Level 1$26.97 an hour, or $1,024.70 a week
Level 2$29.45 an hour, or $1,119.10 a week
Super12% on top of wages
Casual staff25% loading, so Level 1 is $33.71 an hour
I don’t publish a price list. Send a project brief, or book a free 15-minute build review. You get one fixed price in writing before anything is built.
Free · 15 minutes · no technical knowledge needed. You leave with your top three time leaks and the one worth fixing first, whether or not we work together.
Choose how to start
Send a project brief, or book a free 15-minute build review. We identify the work worth tackling first.
Fixed-price quote in writing
Given before work starts, covering the agreed workflow, integrations, testing, deployment and handover.
Optional ongoing support
Ongoing support is optional and can be cancelled anytime.
60-day measurement
Before work starts, we agree the workflow baseline, success target, exclusions, and 60-day measurement method in writing. If the agreed time saving is not shown at the 60-day review, I complete the remediation steps written into that scope without an extra implementation fee.
Timing for one workflow
The usual target for one agreed workflow is 7 to 14 days, counted from when I have the access and information it needs.
In person or remote
In person on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane. Remote across Australia and New Zealand.
Registered business
ABN 84 992 526 369, registered for GST
Is this workflow worth automating?
Start with one task. Replace the example numbers with your own estimates. All amounts are AUD.
Illustrative example, not a quote. Your inputs stay in this page and are not sent to analytics or saved.
Your planning estimate
Example result — change any number and press Calculate.
Hours potentially recovered / month
14.4
Capacity value after ongoing costs / month
$550
Estimated capacity-value payback
5.5 months
First-year capacity value after all entered costs
$3,600
Time capacity is not cash savings or guaranteed revenue. It only becomes useful if the time is genuinely recovered and put to work. Validate assumptions in a small trial.
Send a project brief with the task and tools involved; a call is optional. Or use a free 15-minute build review to check these assumptions, choose a sensible first task and decide whether a custom build is worthwhile.
Mapping the task, preparing data, connecting supported systems, building approval steps, testing exceptions and showing your team how to run it. A quote should list what is included.
Software and usage
Subscriptions, hosting, AI usage and provider fees. Check which charges you pay suppliers directly, what rises with volume and any usage limits.
Human review and upkeep
Time for checking drafts, handling exceptions and maintaining the workflow. Ongoing support is optional; agree who does what before launch.
Changes and recovery
New channels, extra systems or different business rules change the scope. Agree how changes are quoted, what happens when a connection fails and how to keep working by hand.
Use an existing tool, configure a workflow or build custom?
Choose the simplest option that covers the real task and its exceptions. AI helps when information needs interpreting; fixed rules may be enough for predictable steps.
Use a feature you already have
Start here when one tool can do the whole job with its existing rules and permissions.
Example: an invoice reminder already built into your accounting software. Check its stop rules, access and charges before adding another system.
Configure automation between tools
Consider this when supported connections can follow a clear sequence without much interpretation.
Example: a website form creates a CRM record and an internal task. Plan for missing fields, duplicate submissions and connection failures.
Build a custom workflow
Consider this when the job needs business-specific decisions, several sources or an approval step the existing tools cannot support.
Example: prepare an enquiry reply from approved information, hold it for review and record the approved next step. Confirm provider access before promising an integration.
What changes the scope of an AI automation quote?
A single enquiry channel and a full website rebuild need different quotes. The first two examples are possible starting scopes; Loantec and my rental workflow are published work. Each new project needs its own access checks, approval rules and acceptance tests.
One written-enquiry channel
Sort incoming questions, use approved answers and prepare a reply for review. Define when a person takes over. Extra channels, unsupported tool access and phone answering need separate scoping.
Track one agreed enquiry source, prepare the next follow-up and update its record. Stop when someone replies or opts out; send unclear cases to a person. A different pipeline or invoice process changes the scope.
For Loantec, I rebuilt the website, configured borrower intake and added scoped lead capture and follow-up steps. A similar quote should separate the website work from the intake fields, supported connections and follow-up rules. Later integrations need their own permissions and acceptance checks. Production capture and booking rates were not independently measured for this case.
I built the property consultant for my own rentals. In the demonstrated enquiry flow, it drafts from approved context and waits for me to approve, edit or skip. A similar quote should identify the enquiry channel, approved information, reviewer, escalation rules and manual fallback. This is a personal build, not a client-agency result; the case does not publish a project price.
A short project brief is enough to start; a call is optional. A written scope and fixed quote by 5pm Brisbane time, the next business day. Keep customer information private; a redacted example can explain the task.
One task: what starts it, what a completed job looks like, and who owns it.
A rough weekly volume and time per task, including checking and rework.
The tools involved and who can confirm their supported access.
The exceptions, approval points and manual fallback you need.
The result to measure, what is out of scope, and who will test the handover.
Plan for monthly costs as well as the build. AutoCognition lists running costs of $50–$800 a month for software, hosting and AI usage, and optional support retainers are published at $500–$2,000 a month (FlowWorks, Cognition Co). Paid plans for DIY tools are billed monthly or yearly, and AI steps can use extra tasks or credits, or your own AI provider key. With my work, ongoing support is optional and can be cancelled anytime.
Is it cheaper to hire an admin assistant than to automate?
It depends on the hours involved. Ten hours a week of casual Level 1 admin help costs at least $377.55 a week: $33.71 × 10 = $337.10 in wages, plus 12% super. That is about $1,636.05 a month ($377.55 × 52 ÷ 12), before workers’ compensation insurance, recruitment, supervision or any above-award pay. A build is a one-off cost plus running costs; a person can handle judgement calls and exceptions. If the work is irregular or needs judgement, a person may be the better fit.
Because the same job can cost very different amounts in different businesses. The price depends on which systems need to connect, what access their providers allow and which steps need a person’s approval. A single list price would not fit most workflows, so I give you a fixed-price quote in writing before work starts, based on your project brief or a free 15-minute build review. The published prices above show what other providers list.
Is the example implementation budget your price?
No. Every number in the calculator is an editable illustration, not a published rate or quote. The actual price follows an agreed scope.
Does recovered time mean I save that amount in cash?
No. The estimate values available team time. Cash savings require an actual reduction in costs; extra revenue requires additional work and demand.
What should a written scope include?
The task, systems involved, permissions, human approvals, acceptance tests, recovery behaviour, handover, ongoing charges and what is excluded.
Sources
Third-party figures on this page come from these pages, checked 23 September 2026. Provider figures are each provider’s own published claims, not market research.
