Free planning tool · Updated August 2026
AI automation ROI calculator
Use this before buying automation. Enter the actual labor consumed by one workflow, a conservative automation percentage, and the complete first-year cost. The result is a planning estimate—not a promised return.
Estimated result
- Annual gross labor value
- $36,400
- First-year net value
- $20,800
- Estimated payback
- 4.4 months
This estimate excludes revenue lift, avoided errors, and delay reduction. Add those only when you can defend them with baseline data.
Formula
How the calculator works
Gross annual value
Weekly hours × hourly cost × 52 × automation coverage.
First-year net value
Gross value − build cost − twelve months of operating cost.
Payback
Build cost ÷ monthly value after operating cost.
Need a structured build and operating assumption first? Use the AI agent cost calculator, then transfer its first-year planning floor into this ROI model.
Make the estimate credible
Measure one workflow for two weeks.
- 1. Count actual volume.
How many records, calls, reports, or requests enter the process?
- 2. Time the whole process.
Include waiting, checking, correcting, and handoffs—not only keyboard time.
- 3. Separate standard and exception work.
Automate the predictable majority; budget human review for the rest.
- 4. Recalculate after launch.
Compare observed coverage, error rate, usage cost, and time saved with the model.