# How much does AI agent development cost?

> At Agentic AI Tech Hub, building an AI agent typically costs $2,000–$5,000 for a small project (a chatbot or single automation), $6,000–$15,000 for a medium one (an AI agent or business app with several integrations) and $20,000–$45,000 for a large platform — a one-time price, plus a fixed monthly maintenance plan.

By Vijay Sharma, Agentic AI Tech Hub · Updated October 8, 2026 · https://www.agenticaitechhub.com/blog/ai-agent-development-cost

## Typical price ranges

| Size | Typical project | Usual timeline | One-time price (USD) | Maintenance |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Small | A chatbot or a single automation with one or two integrations | 1–2 months | $2,000–$5,000 | $150/month |
| Medium | An AI agent, or a CRM or business app with AI built in and several integrations | 3–4 months | $6,000–$15,000 | $350/month |
| Large | A platform with several agents, enterprise integrations, data pipelines and multiple user roles | 6–9 months | $20,000–$45,000 | $800/month |

These are rough guides, not quotes. After a short discovery call we quote one fixed price for the build. You can get an instant estimate with [Estimate with NOVA](https://www.agenticaitechhub.com/how-we-work#estimate).

## What affects the price?

- **Scope** — what the agent must do and how many scenarios it handles.
- **Integrations** — each system it connects to (CRM, email, WhatsApp, databases, payments) adds work.
- **Complexity** — rules, approvals, languages, documents and data quality.
- **Design** — custom screens and dashboards versus an existing interface.
- **Security and compliance** — single sign-on, audit logs, data residency.

## What are the running costs?

Two kinds: our **maintenance plan** after launch (monitoring, bug fixes, minor updates — $150, $350 or $800 a month by project size; the first month of hypercare is included), and **third-party usage** — cloud hosting, AI model usage and messaging — billed by the providers on accounts in your name, with no markup. Light usage can cost a few dollars a month; large enterprise stacks can cost much more.

## How are payments structured?

One fixed price, paid in three milestones: 30% at contract signing, 30% at the mid-project demo and 40% after successful completion on staging, before go-live. We do not bill by the hour. Details are on [How we work](https://www.agenticaitechhub.com/how-we-work#billing).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I start small and grow later?

Yes. A focused first version proves the value; new features are quoted separately as fixed-price additions.

### Are AI model costs included in the price?

No. Model usage, hosting and messaging run on your own accounts and you pay the providers directly at their prices, without markup.

### Do you charge by the hour?

No. You pay one fixed price for the build and a fixed monthly maintenance fee after launch.