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AI chatbot cost and ROI calculator

Enter your enquiry volume and how long each one takes your team. You get the staff time a chatbot could free, what the chatbot costs to run, and a simple payback range.

In short: Staff hours freed equal monthly enquiries times the share a chatbot handles alone times staff minutes per enquiry; subtract running cost for net saving and payback. The 20% default share is a cautious assumption, so tag a month of real enquiries to replace it with your own number.

How would you get the chatbot?
Staff hours freed a month0
Staff cost freed a monthS$0
Chatbot running cost a monthS$0
Simple payback-

    These are estimates built on assumptions you choose, not a quote or a forecast. Prices are from providers' published pages and one developer's guide, and may exclude 9% GST. Rates checked October 2026.

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    How the estimate works

    The calculator multiplies your monthly enquiries by the share you think a chatbot could handle on its own, then by the staff minutes each of those enquiries takes today. That gives the staff hours freed each month. Multiplying by your loaded hourly cost gives the staff cost freed.

    It then subtracts the chatbot's running cost to get a net monthly figure, shown as a range. For a custom build, the simple payback is the build cost divided by that net monthly figure. The short end pairs the lowest build cost with the lowest running cost; the long end pairs the highest of both. If running costs are larger than the staff cost freed, the calculator says the build does not pay back at those assumptions.

    The three main inputs, the share handled, the minutes per enquiry and the hourly cost, are yours. We did not find a neutral, published benchmark for how many enquiries a chatbot resolves, so we start at a cautious 20% and you should change it to suit your own enquiries.

    Sources and assumptions

    Rates checked October 2026. Prices change often, so check each page before you budget.

    • Off-the-shelf, per AI-handled conversation. Intercom's pricing page lists Fin AI Agent at $0.99 per outcome, with seat plans at $29, $85 and $132 per seat a month. Zendesk's pricing page lists automated resolutions at US$2.00 each on pay-as-you-go, with Suite Team at US$55 per agent a month billed annually (US$69 monthly) and 5 automated resolutions included per agent a month. Intercom's page shows "$" without a currency code; we treat it as US dollars. The calculator charges every handled enquiry at US$0.99 to US$2.00 and any new seats at US$29 to US$55 each. It ignores included resolutions, so it slightly overstates the cost.
    • Other plans. Tidio lists a free plan, paid plans from US$24.17 a month and its Lyro AI agent from US$32.50 a month for 50 AI conversations. Its pricing is by bundle, so it is not modelled here, but it can be cheaper at low volumes.
    • Custom build and running costs. Kaopiz's Singapore chatbot cost guide (May 2026) gives build costs of S$8,000 to S$20,000 for a rule-based FAQ bot, S$15,000 to S$35,000 for an AI-powered FAQ bot, S$25,000 to S$50,000 for a lead qualification bot and S$45,000 to S$90,000 for a customer support bot. It gives monthly running costs of S$650 to S$1,500 for a simple FAQ bot and S$1,600 to S$4,300 for a customer support bot. Kaopiz sells development work, so treat these as one firm's figures.
    • Our mapping (an assumption). We apply the simple FAQ running cost to both FAQ bot types. The guide gives no running cost for a lead qualification bot, so we use the span from S$650 to S$4,300. Enterprise chatbots are left out because the guide gives an open-ended range.
    • Exchange rate. Off-the-shelf prices are in US dollars. The 1.30 default is illustrative only; enter the rate on the day you compare.

    What changes the result

    • How repetitive your enquiries are. Opening hours, delivery status and pricing questions suit a chatbot. Complaints, negotiations and one-off cases do not.
    • The quality of your source material. A chatbot can only answer from what it is given. Scattered or outdated content lowers the share it can handle.
    • Connections to your systems. Looking up orders or bookings raises the share handled, but also the build cost.
    • Your team's review time. Someone has to check answers in the first weeks and keep the knowledge base current. That time is not in the running cost.
    • WhatsApp and AI model fees. Our AI chatbot cost guide explains how Meta's template fees and per-token model fees add to the bill.
    • Grants. A grant can lower the build cost. Try our EDGE grant estimator.

    Next steps

    Pull a month of enquiries and tag the ones a chatbot could have answered alone. That one exercise replaces the biggest assumption in this calculator with your own number. Then compare an off-the-shelf trial against itemised custom quotes. See our AI chatbot service for how we approach a build, or use our free AI development matching to get introductions to suitable developers.

    Frequently asked questions

    How much does an AI chatbot cost in Singapore?

    Off-the-shelf tools charge per AI-handled conversation or per seat. In October 2026 Intercom listed its Fin AI Agent at $0.99 per outcome and Zendesk listed automated resolutions at US$2.00 each on pay-as-you-go. For a custom build, a May 2026 guide by the development firm Kaopiz gives S$15,000 to S$35,000 for an AI-powered FAQ bot and S$45,000 to S$90,000 for a customer support bot.

    What share of enquiries can a chatbot handle?

    It depends on how repetitive your enquiries are and how good your source material is. We do not use a published benchmark because the figures we found were vendor claims. The calculator starts at a cautious 20%. Check your own inbox: count how many recent enquiries could have been answered from your website or a short set of documents.

    Is the staff cost freed a real saving?

    Only if the time is used for something else or you avoid hiring. Freed hours are a capacity gain. If the same people stay on the same shifts with nothing new to do, your cash costs do not fall.

    How do I work out my hourly staff cost?

    Divide the yearly cost of the people who answer enquiries, including salary, employer CPF, levies and benefits, by the hours they work in a year. Our free employee cost calculator does the first part for you.

    Can a grant reduce the build cost?

    Possibly. The EDGE Grant replaced the Productivity Solutions Grant on 30 September 2026. Use our EDGE grant estimator for a rough figure, and check eligibility with Enterprise Singapore before you sign with a vendor.