AI cost calculator
The short answer: use per-seat AI licensing (like Microsoft 365 Copilot at $30/user/month) for broad employee productivity, and consumption-based agent credits for specific automated workflows. Most teams need both. Enter your numbers below to model the monthly cost of each, find the cheaper billing unit, and see the ROI from the time your team gets back. Nothing is sent until you ask for it.
Tell us about your rollout
Sensible defaults are loaded so you get an answer immediately. Adjust anything; results update live.
What is the time worth?
Cost alone never tells you whether AI is worth it. These two numbers turn cost into return.
Advanced assumptions (override the defaults)
Defaults reflect June 2026 list pricing and Microsoft Frontier usage benchmarks. Every number is documented and sourced in the Assumptions & sources section.
How the billing models stack up
The same workload priced three ways: a flat per-seat license, pay-as-you-go agent credits, and prepaid capacity packs. The recommended unit is whichever is cheaper at your modeled volume.
A range, not a single number
Adoption is the variable that moves ROI most. Conservative assumes ~60% of the time savings lands; optimistic assumes ~140%.
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Four moving parts, no black box
Every output traces back to inputs you control and pricing you can verify. This is a planning tool, not a quote.
1. Who uses it
Seats drive the per-seat license cost and the total volume of AI work. A starting profile sets a realistic seat count you can fine-tune.
2. How heavily
Usage intensity sets prompts per user and a light/medium/heavy mix, which converts to monthly agent credits, the unit consumption billing charges for.
3. Priced three ways
Seats × price, credits × pay-as-you-go rate, and credits ÷ pack size × pack cost. The model recommends whichever is cheaper at your volume.
4. Is it worth it
Hours saved × labor cost × seats is the value created. Subtract AI cost for net value; divide for the ROI multiple, shown as a conservative-to-optimistic range.
The numbers behind the defaults
June 2026 list pricing. Validate against your own agreement, nonprofit eligibility, and final vendor pricing before any commitment. Override any value in the calculator's advanced panel.
| Assumption | Default | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot, per user / month | $30.00 | Commercial annual list price for the enterprise add-on (distinct from the SMB Copilot Business tier at $21). Microsoft pricing |
| Nonprofit Copilot, per user / month | $25.50 | Permanent 15% nonprofit discount. Microsoft Tech Community |
| Pay-as-you-go credit rate | $0.01 / credit | Azure meter, no commitment. Prepaid packs are cheaper at ~$0.008 effective. Azure pricing |
| Prepaid capacity pack | $200 / 25,000 credits | Tenant-pooled, replenished monthly. Microsoft Learn |
| Credits per interaction (light / medium / heavy) | 125 / 500 / 1,200 | Agentic run profiles, Microsoft Frontier usage benchmarks (Cowork on Claude Opus 4.8). |
| Default usage mix (balanced) | 38 tasks/user · 55/30/15 | ~14,250 credits/user/month, matching Microsoft Frontier knowledge-worker usage. Tune to your org. |
| Hours saved per user / week | 2.5 | Conservative planning default; replace with your measured pilot data. |
| Loaded labor cost / hour | $55 | Wage plus benefits/overhead; set to your blended rate. |
Credit metering stacks by feature (a classic answer is 1 credit, a generative answer 2, tenant-grounded answers about 12, agent actions 5+). Microsoft 365 Copilot-licensed users incur no charge for everyday employee-facing agent use within fair-use limits. Cost-only modeling cannot capture every variable: actual billing depends on licensing terms, tenant configuration, agent design, and final vendor pricing.
Prefer to work in a spreadsheet? Download the full Excel model — the same assumptions across ten linked sheets (executive dashboard, project evaluator, break-even, budget guardrails).
Answered directly
How much does Microsoft 365 Copilot cost per user?
As of June 2026, Microsoft 365 Copilot is $30 per user per month on an annual commitment for commercial customers, and $25.50 for eligible nonprofits. It is an add-on that sits on top of a qualifying base Microsoft 365 license, so budget for both.
What is the difference between per-seat Copilot licensing and agent credits?
Per-seat licensing is a flat monthly fee per person for broad productivity inside everyday tools, like meetings, email, and documents. Agent credits, also called consumption pricing, bill for the work an AI agent actually performs, so cost scales with volume and complexity. Seats fit broad employee productivity; consumption fits specific, often customer-facing automated workflows. Most organizations end up running both, which is why this calculator prices them side by side.
When is consumption-based AI pricing cheaper than per-seat licensing?
A seat license at $30 per month buys roughly 3,000 pay-as-you-go credits at $0.01 each. If a user's modeled agent consumption stays below that line, consumption is the cheaper unit; above it, a fixed seat license is cheaper for that volume. The calculator shows exactly where your usage falls relative to that break-even.
How do I calculate the ROI of an AI tool?
Estimate the hours each person saves per week, multiply by your loaded hourly cost and the number of users for the monthly value recovered, then subtract the monthly AI cost for net value. Value divided by cost is the ROI multiple. Because adoption varies, model it as a conservative-to-optimistic range rather than one figure, and replace the planning defaults with real numbers from a pilot as soon as you have them.
Make the number real
A calculator gets you a defensible budget. The free AI Readiness Assessment turns it into a sequenced plan: which workflow to automate first, on which platform, and what it will actually cost to run.