What does workflow automation cost in 2026?

The short answer

At Dutch providers that publish their prices, one clearly scoped workflow costs a median of €800 and €1,308 on average, excluding VAT. Several workflows, or AI automation with human approval, cost a median of €3,500. Programmes spanning several processes and systems average €10,611. Agency care costs €150 to €250 a month at the providers that publish it. At AppMakelaar a single workflow costs €1,350 excl. VAT · €1,633.50 incl. VAT, with the scan, tests, error alerts, documentation and 2 weeks of aftercare. An AI workflow costs from €3,950 excl. VAT · €4,779.50 incl. VAT for one process with 2 integrations and an approval step, typically up to €6,500 excl. VAT · €7,865 incl. VAT; a connected project costs €7,500 to €15,000 excl. VAT · €9,075 to €18,150 incl. VAT. Care costs €195, €395 or €595 excl. VAT · €235.95, €477.95 or €719.95 incl. VAT a month, with a virtual server of your own.

Why prices vary so much

In our count, 17 Dutch providers publish their automation prices, and they fall into two groups. Productised studios sell a first workflow for €600 to €1,500, usually with a monthly fee on top. AI agencies publish starting prices of €3,000 to €18,000 for one process and €10,000 to €30,000 or more for AI solutions that span several systems.

Almost every figure is a "from" price or the bottom of a range. If you use the midpoints of those ranges instead, the averages are 25 to 45% higher, so the typical invoice sits above these figures. In our count, four providers serving the Dutch market publish an hourly rate for extra work: €75 to €120, €96 on average.

A fixed price needs a fixed scope. We agree up front how many integrations, exceptions and approval steps the price covers, and we estimate anything beyond that before we start.

What drives the price of an automation?

• - Integrations. Every extra integration needs building, testing and maintenance. One workflow between two systems is the smallest unit.
• - AI or rules. Not every task needs AI; rules or an existing feature in your software are sometimes enough. An AI step that summarises, categorises, extracts data or replies within set limits is simpler than AI whose every draft a person approves.
• - Human approval. A step in which a person approves or escalates keeps AI under control, and needs more design and testing.
• - Exceptions. The more unusual cases, such as incomplete enquiries or duplicate messages, the more testing.
• - Access and data. Whether something is feasible depends on two things: can your software be connected (for example through an API, a technical connection for other software), and can you supply representative examples? We check this in the free scan.
• - Handover and aftercare. Documentation, error alerts and a period of aftercare are part of a working solution.

Three examples and what they cost with us

• - Accounting link. New customers, payments or bookkeeping entries flow into Moneybird or e-Boekhouden by themselves. That is a single workflow: €1,350 excl. VAT · €1,633.50 incl. VAT.
• - AI on your website form. A personal reply that AI drafts within limits you set and sends automatically, with no approval step, or new enquiries categorised by AI, with spam set aside and an alert for a warm lead. That is also a single workflow: €1,350 excl. VAT · €1,633.50 incl. VAT, plus AI usage at cost without mark-up.
• - Draft replies with approval. Email or form enquiries are categorised and given a draft reply that a person approves. That is an AI workflow: from €3,950 excl. VAT · €4,779.50 incl. VAT for one process with 2 integrations and an approval step, typically up to €6,500 excl. VAT · €7,865 incl. VAT. Extra integrations or exceptions are estimated in advance from the expected hours at €95 excl. VAT · €114.95 incl. VAT an hour and agreed with you before we start; your proposal always gives a fixed price.

See what each automation package includes ↗

What does care cost per month?

Only 7 of the roughly 30 providers we checked publish a monthly care price. The cheapest plans, at €18 to €50 a month, centre on hosting, monitoring and updates; none of the three states a number of hours for changes. Agency care with maintenance and support costs €150 to €250 a month; more extensive plans cost €297 to €400 and €497 to €600, although those figures come from just two providers. Hours and response times are almost never stated. Hosting is usually included only in the cheap plans, and AI usage is usually charged separately.

At AppMakelaar, care costs €195, €395 or €595 excl. VAT · €235.95, €477.95 or €719.95 incl. VAT a month for 1, 3 or up to 6 workflows. It includes 0.5, 1.5 or 3 hours a month for maintenance, incidents and small changes, and a virtual server of your own. We acknowledge your request within 2 business days (Essential) or 1 business day (Business and Plus).

Compare the automation care plans ↗

Expect third-party costs

• - Platform. Workflows run on automation software such as n8n, Make, Zapier or Power Automate. Billed yearly, such a cloud platform costs €20 or €50 a month at n8n (VAT not stated) and from $19.99 a month at Zapier; Power Automate Premium then costs €13 per user per month. Make lists plans from $9 a month.
• - AI usage. One Dutch provider estimates AI model usage at €50 to €300 a month for most small-business uses (OpenKlauw). A small, clearly scoped use often costs far less. AI services charge per token, a small piece of text: Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $1 per million input tokens and $5 per million output tokens, Claude Sonnet 5.5 $2 and $10 (Anthropic, read on 6 October 2026). An AI reply to 150 website-form enquiries a month, each about 3,000 tokens in and 500 out, costs about $0.83 a month with Haiku 4.5: less than €1. Categorising 300 emails a month with a draft reply, each about 6,000 tokens in and 800 out, costs about $6 with Sonnet 5.5: about €5. Actual usage depends on volume and model.
• - Your own software. Licences for software you already use, such as your CRM or accounting package, remain your own cost.

With us, the server is part of the care plan, and your proposal states whether any platform licence comes on top. We charge AI usage at cost, without mark-up, up to a monthly cap we agree with you, for example €15 excl. VAT · €18.15 incl. VAT a month; we only go above it with your approval, and actual usage is shown on your invoice.

Worked example: the first year

• - A single workflow, such as an accounting link, with Essential care: €1,350 + 12 × €195 = €3,690 excl. VAT · €4,464.90 incl. VAT.
• - An AI workflow at €3,950 excl. VAT · €4,779.50 incl. VAT with Business care: €3,950 + 12 × €395 = €8,690 excl. VAT · €10,514.90 incl. VAT, plus AI usage up to the agreed cap.

See every first-year example ↗

Seven questions to ask about any quote

• - Does the price include or exclude VAT?
• - How many integrations and exceptions does the price cover?
• - Is there a step in which a person approves?
• - Are testing, documentation and aftercare included?
• - Who hosts the automation, and what happens if you stop?
• - What is the term of the care plan, and is the response time an acknowledgement or a resolution time?
• - Which third-party costs come on top, and is there a cap on AI usage?

About these figures

Our count covers the published prices of 17 Dutch automation providers (16 with build prices) and the monthly prices of the 7 of roughly 30 providers that publish one, all read on 4 October 2026. For each provider we sorted the prices by scope: one clearly scoped workflow, several workflows or AI with human approval, and programmes spanning several processes. This is a snapshot of published prices, not a representative survey and not a prediction of the price for your situation. AppMakelaar works for businesses, start-ups and private clients; we show our own prices excluding and including 21% Dutch VAT, and the market figures excluding VAT.