Free tool
AI Project Cost Estimator
How much does an AI project cost?
It depends most on what you build, which stage you are paying for, and how many systems it must connect to. With an India-based team, a proof of concept for a chatbot or document Q&A assistant typically costs a few thousand US dollars, and a production system tens of thousands. Integrations, regulated data, extra languages and on-premises hosting each add to that. This estimator shows a range per stage from public market data, adjusted for your answers.
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Frequently asked questions
Where do these numbers come from?
From public cost guides and India rate data, reviewed in October 2026 and listed under the result. Where no source priced a stage, the range is worked out as weeks × team size × an India day rate of $200–360.
Why is a proof of concept so much cheaper than production?
A proof of concept tests one idea on sample data. Production adds integrations, security, monitoring, testing at scale and support — usually most of the work.
Does the estimate include running costs?
No. Model, hosting and storage costs are monthly and depend on usage. Use the LLM token cost and cloud cost calculators for those.
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