AI support agent cost calculator
Most AI support agents bill per resolution, conversation or action, so the bill grows with your volume. Enter your numbers to compare six vendors' list prices with a one-time build.
Your volume
One-time build
Estimated monthly cost
2,000 · 50%One-time build · Standard Chat Bot
$889
$575 once + $26/month running costs
Cheaper than Freshdesk Freddy AI Agent from month 1
| Vendor | Per month | 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Customer AgentLowest$0.50 per resolved conversation; needs a Professional or Enterprise plan | $500 | $6,000 |
| Salesforce Agentforce$0.10 per action (20 Flex Credits) | $600 | $7,200 |
| Freshdesk Freddy AI Agent$49 per 100 sessions | $980 | $11,760 |
| Fin (formerly Intercom)$0.99 per outcome; at least 50 a month with another helpdesk | $990 | $11,880 |
| Tidio Lyro$0.50 per conversation Lyro replies to | $1,000 | $12,000 |
| Zendesk AI agents$2.00 per automated resolution, pay-as-you-go | $2,000 | $24,000 |
Not included: your helpdesk subscription, plan allowances, volume discounts and taxes. Fin also bills some handoffs and routings as outcomes, so its real cost can be higher.
Estimates only, not a quote.
How it works
How the calculation works
Resolved conversations are your monthly conversations times the share resolved without a human. Fin, Zendesk and HubSpot bill per resolution or outcome, Freddy per pack of 100 sessions, Tidio Lyro per conversation it replies to, and Agentforce per action. Each vendor's list price links to its pricing page below.
Why per-resolution bills grow
When a vendor bills per resolution, every extra conversation the agent resolves adds to the bill. A one-time build has no per-resolution fee: you pay the AI provider for tokens and the automation platform for its plan, directly.
What a one-time build costs to run
AI usage is billed per token by your AI provider. This calculator uses Claude Haiku 5.5 list prices for prompts up to 100,000 tokens: $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.50 per million output tokens. Add the automation platform: self-hosted n8n (free software, you pay for the server), n8n Cloud from €20/month or Make from $9/month, both billed annually.
Frequently asked questions
Are these prices current?
They are list prices as published on each vendor's pricing page in October 2026. Vendors change prices often, so check the linked pages before you buy.
What counts as a resolution?
Each vendor defines it differently. Fin bills per outcome, Zendesk per automated resolution, HubSpot per resolved conversation, and Freddy per session. Read each vendor's definition before comparing.
Why are prices shown in my currency?
Vendors publish these prices in US dollars. Outside the US version of this page, they are converted at the European Central Bank reference rate of 16 October 2026.
Is a one-time build always cheaper?
No. At low volumes a per-resolution agent can cost less. The calculator shows if and when a one-time build becomes cheaper at your volume.
Want an exact number for your team?
Book a free Health Check: a 30-minute call, then a written report with the package and fixed price that fit.
Sources
- Fin (formerly Intercom): pricing
- Zendesk AI agents: pricing
- Freshdesk Freddy AI Agent: pricing
- HubSpot Customer Agent: pricing
- Tidio Lyro: pricing
- Salesforce Agentforce: pricing
- Fin outcome types (third-party summary)
- Anthropic: Claude Haiku 5.5
- Example token use for a 5-message support conversation
- n8n: pricing
- Make: pricing
- European Central Bank: euro foreign exchange reference rates