What does an automation project cost? Prices with date

A workflow from a provider’s catalogue costs from about 1,000 euros, one-off. For a custom-built workflow with a test, providers with published prices ask roughly 5,000 to 10,000 euros, consulting and test packages lie between 2,000 and 8,000 euros, and running monthly fees start at 100 to 190 euros. There is no general price list, because scope sets the price: the number of connected programs, special cases and operation. All figures are provider statements from their own pages (as of 13 November 2026).

A workflow is a chain of steps that a program carries out by itself, for example from an enquiry arriving to a finished draft reply. More in the article Process automation in a small business: the basics.

What providers publish

I reviewed five provider pages that show prices. The selection is not representative, because I deliberately looked for pages that name prices. I do not name the providers, because this article is not meant to recommend or compare any provider; the sources are listed at the end. I have not checked whether the providers deliver at these prices. The table is ordered by the lowest price.

Provider	Published package	Price according to the page
A	Catalogue packages class S to XL, sprint for workflows outside the catalogue, operation	from 990, 1,490, 2,490 and 4,900 euros net; sprint 9,900 euros (four weeks); process scan 490 euros; operation from 190 euros a month
B	first workflow at a fixed price, maintenance	from 1,490 euros net; maintenance from 149 euros net a month
C	automating quote preparation, for trades and SMEs	from 1,990 euros set-up plus from 100 euros a month, cancellable annually; net or gross not stated
D	review of existing workflows, strategy workshop, proof of concept (feasibility test)	2,000, 4,000 and 8,000 euros plus VAT; travel costs for on-site meetings; larger projects by effort
E	feasibility sprint for a workflow with an AI step	from 4,999 euros fixed price plus VAT, as of September 2026

The prices cannot simply be laid side by side: provider D sells consulting and a test, provider A ready-made packages, provider C a workflow including operation. VAT is not shown the same way everywhere; whether you can deduct it as input tax is for your tax adviser to clarify.

Day rates and hourly rates: what each figure measures

Three sources give rates, and each measures something different.

FRATCH, a platform that matches freelancers with clients, gives for n8n experts an average of 802 euros and a median of 800 euros per day (as of 13 November 2026). According to the page that corresponds to about 100 euros an hour on an eight-hour day. The basis is current contracts of freelancers on the platform, excluding its margin. 87 per cent of the experts lie between 400 and 1,200 euros. The page does not say how many profiles enter the figures.

freelancermap, also a platform, shows 5,887 profiles for the keyword “Automatisierung” (automation) on 13 November 2026 and an average hourly rate of 90 euros. The keyword covers automation other than n8n, and the page does not state the method or the date of the figure.

The Freelancer Compass 2026, published by freelancermap, gives 103 euros an hour on average (previous year 104). According to the press release of 17 March 2026, 5,412 freelancers were surveyed in four surveys between 17 November 2025 and 8 February 2026, across all fields.

These figures do not belong in one calculation: contract data from a platform, a profile search and a survey answer different questions.

The cost types

A quote rarely covers every item: there are one-off and running costs, plus your own time.

1. Platformn8n Cloud EUR 20 to 50 a month per the vendor, as of November 2026
2. Operation and upkeepPublished monthly fees: from EUR 100 to from EUR 190
3. Building the workflowPublished: catalogue from EUR 990 to from 4,900, custom EUR 9,900, one-off
4. Analysis and testingPublished EUR 490 to 8,000: scan, workshop, feasibility test
5. Your own timeAnswering questions, testing, sign-off: on top of the quote

Text version of the graphic

• Layer 1 from the bottom: Platform, n8n Cloud EUR 20 to 50 a month per the vendor, as of November 2026
• Layer 2 from the bottom: Operation and upkeep, Published monthly fees: from EUR 100 to from EUR 190
• Layer 3 from the bottom: Building the workflow, Published: catalogue from EUR 990 to from 4,900, custom EUR 9,900, one-off
• Layer 4 from the bottom: Analysis and testing, Published EUR 490 to 8,000: scan, workshop, feasibility test
• Layer 5 from the bottom: Your own time, Answering questions, testing, sign-off: on top of the quote

According to the manufacturer’s page, the platform costs 20 euros a month for n8n Cloud (Starter, 2,500 executions) or 50 euros (Pro, 10,000 executions), each with annual payment. How providers count and what self-hosted software really costs is explained in the article Cloud or self-hosted: what automation costs. The three providers that name a monthly fee come to from 100, from 149 and from 190 euros, for maintenance, operation or without further detail. Anyone who does not hand over operation carries updates and backups themselves, see n8n updates and backups: who looks after them?.

A worked example with invented data

A construction firm (invented) with 15 employees approves 100 incoming invoices a month, each taking about 20 minutes from allocation to approval. Both are the author’s assumptions, as in the “What you gain” calculator on this site. A workflow prepares the invoices and, on a cautious assumption, saves 25 per cent of the time, that is 5 minutes per invoice. 100 × 5 = 500 minutes, which is a good 8 hours a month. At an internal hourly rate of 50 euros (assumption) that is about 417 euros. Against this stand running costs of 170 euros (20 euros platform plus 150 euros support, both assumptions). That leaves 247 euros a month. If the build costs 3,000 euros (assumption), it has paid for itself after 3,000 / 247, a good 12 months.

5 minutes saved2.5 minutes saved

• Value of the time saved100 invoices, EUR 50 an hour, assumption

  5 minutes saved 417 EUR a month
  2.5 minutes saved 208 EUR a month

• Running costsEUR 20 platform, EUR 150 support, assumption

  5 minutes saved 170 EUR a month
  2.5 minutes saved 170 EUR a month

• Left each monthBuild EUR 3,000: 12 against 79 months

  5 minutes saved 247 EUR a month
  2.5 minutes saved 38 EUR a month

Source: Invented example, author's assumptions, not measured

Text version of the graphic

• Value of the time saved: 5 minutes saved 417 EUR a month, 2.5 minutes saved 208 EUR a month (100 invoices, EUR 50 an hour, assumption)
• Running costs: 5 minutes saved 170 EUR a month, 2.5 minutes saved 170 EUR a month (EUR 20 platform, EUR 150 support, assumption)
• Left each month: 5 minutes saved 247 EUR a month, 2.5 minutes saved 38 EUR a month (Build EUR 3,000: 12 against 79 months)
• Source: Invented example, author's assumptions, not measured

If only half the time is saved, that is 2.5 minutes per invoice, it comes to 250 minutes, a good 4 hours and about 208 euros. After running costs, 38 euros a month are left, and the build would pay back only after about 79 months, more than six years. The project price is only one figure in this calculation, and the time saved is the least certain. How to measure it is covered in Measure time savings instead of promising them.

Why many providers do not name a price

I also came across pages without a price while searching, but I did not count them. One writes: “The price depends on the number of processes and the depth of the analysis” (translated). Another gives “individual quote on request” for set-up, development and operation. Even providers with prices set limits: provider D charges larger projects by effort, and provider E estimates a clear workflow without an AI step only after the first meeting.

My assessment, not measured: before an analysis the scope is unknown, and a fixed price on it would be a guess. So ask for a range and for what is included.

Funding for consulting

The BAFA subsidises consulting for small and medium-sized enterprises. I have not clarified whether automation consulting falls under it. I read the funding guideline in the version of 15 October 2026, which applies to applications from 1 January 2027, and the BAFA page. Until 31 December 2026 the version of 12 December 2024 applies, with the same funding amounts.

The grant is non-repayable and relates to the consultant’s fee. Eligible consulting costs are at most 3,500 euros. In the eastern federal states (with the regions of Lüneburg and Trier, without Berlin and the Leipzig region) the grant is 80 per cent, at most 2,800 euros. In the western states including Berlin and the Leipzig region, without Lüneburg and Trier, it is 50 per cent, at most 1,750 euros. There is no legal entitlement, and the guideline applies at most to proofs of use submitted by 31 December 2028.

What is funded matters for automation projects: conceptual one-to-one consulting with an analysis, named weaknesses and recommendations including instructions for implementation, documented in a consulting report. It may last at most 40 hours (until the end of 2026: five days). Seminars and workshops are not funded. Excluded are consulting services whose purpose is directed at goods or services that the consultants sell themselves. Anyone who sells you a workflow therefore cannot bill that workflow through the consulting subsidy. In my reading the same applies to building and running a workflow, because it is not consulting within the meaning of the guideline; the contact point clarifies that. The consulting firm must be registered with the BAFA and earn more than 50 per cent of its turnover from paid business consulting.

On the procedure: the application comes before the contract, because even signing a contract counts as the start of the consulting, and work may only begin after the information letter. The invoice must be paid in full and not in cash. From 1 January 2027 the application is, according to the BAFA, only possible through an Elster account or BundID.

An invented example: a consultation costs 5,000 euros net, the business is in Berlin and can deduct VAT. Eligible are 3,500 euros, 50 per cent of which is 1,750 euros, so the business bears 3,250 euros. The authority decides, and the contact point clarifies the individual case, for the trades for example the one at the ZDH.

What you can do now

1. Ask every provider for a price range before the call and ask whether it is a fixed price or by effort, net or gross, and what is included (test, documentation, handover).
2. Calculate your case as in the example: cases per month times minutes times hourly rate, minus running costs. Use the more cautious time saving and check what is left at half the saving.
3. Lay quotes side by side by cost type: one-off, running, your own time.
4. If you are considering funding, ask the responsible contact point before signing whether the consulting is eligible. Your legal adviser and tax adviser clarify legal and tax questions.