What AI tools actually cost a small business each month
Most owners of small and medium businesses across Melbourne's west land between $50 and $300 a month all up — and a fair slice of that is often something they already pay for. Here is where the money goes.
The line items
| Cost | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus, one paid seat | A$35 per month | The everyday workhorse for most task lists. One seat covers a single person running the tasks. |
| Claude Pro, one paid seat | A$32 per month | Similar money to ChatGPT Plus. Which one we recommend depends on the task, not the price. |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on, per user | Quoted per user, on top of your Microsoft 365 plan | Worth checking only if your business already runs on Microsoft 365. Price it in your own tenant, because it varies by the plan you hold. |
| Second seat for a key staff member | The same A$32 - A$35 again | Only where a second person runs the tasks day to day. Most first engagements do not need it. |
| Specialist tool (voice answering, document processing) | A$50 - A$200 per month | A range, not a price: these are quoted per business. We only recommend one where a general assistant genuinely cannot do the job. |
| Usage or per-call charges | Usually small, but not zero | Voice and document tools often bill per minute or per page on top of the subscription. We put your expected volume into the task list so the number is yours, not an average. |
| Setup time (yours and your staff’s) | A few hours, once | This is the cost owners forget. First AI Win covers the build, configuration and installation guidance, while your team completes the installation with our support. |
Vendor prices checked 31 August 2026. AI vendors change pricing regularly, so confirm the current figure on the vendor's own page before you budget.
Your own numbers
Tradies and small operators rarely fit the average. Put your own setup in below and you will get the monthly tool cost, what the time is worth, and how long it takes to cover our one-off fee.
Work out your own monthly cost
Tick the tools you would run, then enter your own workload, realistic reduction, checking time and hourly value. Nothing is sent anywhere - the sums happen on your own device.
Your monthly tool cost
A$35per month
- Estimated reduction (0 hrs/week × 0%)
- 0 hrs/week
- Less ongoing checking or rework
- 0 hrs/week
- Net time back
- 0 hrs/week
- Estimated internal time value (A$0/hr)
- A$0 / month
- Estimated value after mid-point tool cost (A$35)
- -A$35 / month
- Time-value basis for our one-off $599 + GST in Australia fee
- Not at these numbers
A guide, not a quote or profit forecast. “Internal time value” values the net capacity your inputs suggest; it is not cash saved unless costs actually fall, and it is not revenue unless the recovered time is put to productive work. The 4.33 weeks-per-month conversion and mid-point tool cost are shown assumptions. Setup, implementation and other ongoing costs are not included.
How to judge whether it is worth it
Compare the monthly cost against the hours the task removes. Four hours a week back is worth far more than a $60 subscription in almost any business. If a task does not clear that bar, do not automate it — that judgement is the whole point of the First AI Win task list, where every task carries an estimated return.
Our fee is separate and one off: $599 + GST in Australia for the walkthrough, the task list, the build, configuration and guided installation. Tool subscriptions are paid by you, directly to the vendor, so there is nothing bundled and nothing to unwind if you stop.
Where these prices come from
Want a second opinion on your own task list?
Bring the jobs that eat your week and we'll talk through which of them AI can genuinely take on, and what that would be worth to you. The First AI Win package is $599 + GST in Australia, one-off, including the proposal, up to three agreed solutions, configuration, staff induction, guided installation, operating instructions and support until agreed measures are met.
Prefer to talk first? Call or email us.