Automation Planning · Free Tool
Automation ROI Calculator
Estimate the hours and money an automation saves, its payback period, and its first-year and three-year ROI from a few numbers about one manual process.
Running cost covers platform plans, AI model usage, hosting, and maintenance. Assumes automation removes the errors it touches in proportion to the share automated.
About this tool
Enter how often a manual process runs, how long it takes a person each time, and what that person's time costs. The calculator works out the hours freed every month and year, what those hours are worth, and how they compare with what it costs to build and run the automation: payback period, first-year net savings, and three-year ROI.
The math is deliberately conservative. Only the share of each run you mark as automatable counts, error costs are optional, and running costs (platform subscriptions, AI model usage, hosting, maintenance) are subtracted every month. Use a fully loaded hourly cost (salary plus benefits and overhead, often 1.25 to 1.4 times the wage), not the bare wage.
Common uses
- Build the business case for automating a process before asking for budget
- Decide which of several manual processes to automate first by comparing payback periods
- Sanity-check a quote from an automation freelancer or agency against the savings it should produce
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a good payback period for automation?
Small workflow automations (n8n, Zapier, Make) often pay back within a few months because build costs are low. Larger projects such as AI agents or RPA bots more commonly take 6 to 18 months. Anything under 12 months is usually an easy yes; over 24 months deserves a harder look at volume or scope.
Why should I not count 100% of the time as saved?
Almost every process keeps some human work: exceptions, approvals, reviewing edge cases. Setting the automatable share to 70 to 90% gives a more honest number than assuming the whole task disappears.
What should go into monthly running cost?
Platform subscriptions (or server hosting for self-hosted n8n), AI model usage if the workflow calls an LLM, third-party API fees, and a maintenance allowance for fixing the workflow when a connected app changes.
Is my data uploaded to a server?
No. This tool runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript, so nothing you type is transmitted, logged, or stored anywhere. You can even use it offline once the page has loaded.