AI agent cost per task
The monthly price on a pricing page doesn't tell you what a finished piece of work costs. This page explains how per-task cost works under each pricing model, shows each agent's entry price, and describes the three standard tasks we will measure.
Results coming soon We have not run the cost-per-task tests yet, so this page lists no per-task dollar figures. Get the results first by email.
How per-task cost works by pricing model
Credits (Lindy, Manus, Genspark, Relevance AI)
You buy a monthly pool of credits, and each task uses some of it. Cost per task = credits used × price per credit. Credits are each vendor's own unit, so 1 credit on one product is not the same amount of work as 1 credit on another. Watch for rollover rules, top-up prices and what happens when the pool runs dry.
Plans with usage limits (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Devin, Zapier Agents)
You pay a flat monthly price, and usage is capped by time windows, per-feature limits, activities or allowances. On a flat plan, the marginal cost of one more task is close to zero until you hit a limit. A fair per-task figure is therefore the plan price divided by the share of the monthly allowance a task uses, labelled "flat-rate, est." Usage past the limit often moves to API-rate billing or a higher tier.
Per-seat licenses (Microsoft 365 Copilot, Notion)
You pay per user per month, whatever the volume. Per-task cost falls the more each person uses it. Extra metered items, such as custom agents or Notion credits, add on top.
Entry price and what you get
| Agent | Model | Headline price | What the plan gives you | Free tier | Measured cost per task |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lindy | Credits | $29.99/mo | Credits: everyday asks 2-250, deep work 250-1,000, big builds 1,000-2,500; top-up $10/1,000 credits | $50 free credits for 7 days, no card | Coming soon |
| Manus partial | Credits | $20/mo | Credits consumed by LLM tokens, VM time, third-party APIs; refund on platform failures | Daily refresh credits (Manus 2.0 lite only) | Coming soon |
| Genspark | Credits | $24.99/mo | Monthly credits for AI tasks; weekly Free Quota for Standard mode; core AI Chat/Image models included, flagship models use credits | 100 credits/day up to a lifetime limit | Coming soon |
| Relevance AI | Credits | Custom / sales | Custom vendor credits | None listed | Coming soon |
| Zapier Agents | Plan with usage limits | $33.33/mo | Activities: each trigger, knowledge answer, action, browse/scrape, search = 1 activity; separate from Zap tasks | 400 activities/mo | Coming soon |
| Devin | Plan with usage limits | $20/mo | Usage allowance per plan that auto-refreshes; extra usage at API pricing | Light quota | Coming soon |
| Claude | Plan with usage limits | $20/mo | Usage limits on rolling 5-hour window plus weekly limits; optional usage credits at API rates | Yes | Coming soon |
| ChatGPT | Plan with usage limits | $8/mo | Usage limits per plan; Business/Enterprise can buy workspace credits beyond included limits | Yes | Coming soon |
| Gemini | Plan with usage limits | $4.99/mo | Compute-based limits refresh every 5 h up to weekly limit; extendable with AI credits; Flow credits 200/1,000/10,000-25,000 | Yes | Coming soon |
| M365 Copilot partial | Per-seat | $23.5/mo | Seat license; custom agents metered for Copilot Chat users | Copilot Chat free with eligible M365 plans | Coming soon |
| Notion AI | Per-seat | $20/mo | Notion credits for Custom Agents ($10/1,000/mo) | AI trial | Coming soon |
"Headline price" is the figure we use for comparison. It is often per user and sometimes an annual-billing equivalent; see each agent's page for caveats. Last checked 2026-10-16.
The 3 standard test tasks
Every agent will run the same three tasks on a fresh account, on the plan being tested, with the default model. We record the usage meter before and after, wall-clock time, human interventions and retries (max 2). Each task runs 3 times, and we report the median. Full rules are in the methodology.
T1: Contract summary
Summarise a fixed 20-page synthetic contract (MSA) in 400 words or fewer, then list parties, term, fees, termination rights, liability cap, auto-renewal and 3 risky clauses with page numbers. Pass: all 7 fields correct and at least 2 of 3 risky clauses match the answer key.
T2: Reconciling two messy CSVs
Reconcile bank.csv (500 rows) against ledger.csv (480 rows). The files contain mixed date formats, duplicates, "$" vs plain numbers and 12 planted mismatches. Pass: at least 11 of 12 mismatches found, no more than 2 false positives, and a downloadable reconciled CSV.
T3: 5-email prospecting sequence
Write a 5-email cold sequence over 14 days for a fictional SaaS product selling to HR directors at 200-person firms, with subject lines, 120 words or fewer per email, one CTA each, and personalisation tokens. Pass: 5 emails, word limits met, and a rubric score of at least 7/10 from two raters. The emails are never sent.
Cost per task FAQ
What does an AI agent cost per task?
It depends on the pricing model: credits used times the price per credit, or for flat-rate plans a share of the monthly price. AgentBill has not published measured per-task costs yet; results from three standard tasks are coming soon.
Why can't I compare credits across vendors?
Each vendor defines its own credit or activity unit, and the same task can use very different amounts. Only running the same task on each agent gives a fair per-task cost.
Which tasks will AgentBill test?
A 20-page contract summary, reconciling two messy CSV files, and writing a 5-email prospecting sequence. Each runs 3 times, and we report the median.
See also: pricing comparisons · pricing changelog