It's the question we get asked first, and that's normal — the automation market is opaque. Between the freelancer billing by the hour with no guarantee and the agency selling a five-figure package with no detail, it's hard to know what's reasonable. Here are the real numbers.
Two cost items to tell apart
A serious automation project always has two components:
- Setup — building the workflow(s), paid once.
- Subscription — hosting, monitoring, fixes if a third-party tool changes its API. Without it, your workflow runs with no safety net, and nobody notices a failure until the client complains.
Be wary of a provider who only charges for setup: either they maintain nothing, or the maintenance cost is hidden elsewhere.
Price ranges by project size
At n8de.me, our three formats give a good picture of the Belgian market for an SME:
- First scope (3 workflows): €297 setup + €99/month, or €790 upfront at €45/month.
- Full department (10 workflows): €697 + €149/month, or €1,390 upfront at €69/month.
- Complete system with 24/7 monitoring: on request. The exact scope and price are defined with you.
See the full detail on our pricing page. Essentiel and Business amounts drop by 25% after the first year on the spread plan.
What makes the bill vary
- The number of tools to connect. Two tools with a proper API, that's simple. A tool with no API (scraping, PDFs, old line-of-business software), that takes longer.
- Data volume. 50 orders a month or 5,000 isn't the same technical sizing.
- Team training. A one-hour Zoom session so your team can read the logs comes at a cost.
- The level of guarantee. 24/7 monitoring with instant alerts costs more than a weekly check.
The real calculation: the return, not the cost
A concrete example: an SMS reminder system to cut no-shows costs around €10/month in SMS and is included in the Essentiel plan. For a restaurant losing €800 to €1,500 a month in empty tables, the payback is measured in weeks, not months. Same logic for unpaid invoice reminders: the cost of the workflow is often lower than a single invoice recovered faster.
The right question is never "how much does it cost", but "how much does it bring in, and how fast".
Watch out for vague quotes
A serious quote spells out the number of workflows, the tools connected, what's included in the subscription, and what isn't. If a provider gives you a single figure without having seen your tools, it's either a generic package or a price inflated to absorb the uncertainty.
Next step
The simplest way to get an exact figure for your case: our contact form, 2 minutes, or a 15-minute call, no commitment.