Most AI subscriptions are sold on time saved, but few people check the math. A $30 tool that saves you two hours a month is a loss if your time is worth $10 an hour — and a bargain if it saves two hours a week. Plug in your own numbers to see where you land.
How to estimate hours saved honestly
- Time one task the old way, then with the tool, for a week. Use the real difference, not the vendor’s claim.
- Subtract the time you spend checking, fixing and re-prompting. For writing and research tools this can eat half the savings.
- Count only tasks you would actually do. Generating ten extra social posts you would never have written isn’t time saved.
What hourly value to use
- If you bill clients, use your effective hourly rate.
- If you don’t, use what you would pay someone else to do the task, or what the freed-up hour earns you elsewhere.
Before you subscribe
- Run the free plan or trial on a real task first.
- Check whether a tool you already pay for covers the same job.
- Prefer monthly billing until the tool has proven itself for a few months.
Compare plans on the AI tool pricing overview, or find tools by task with the AI tool finder.
The calculator uses 52 ÷ 12 ≈ 4.33 weeks per month. Results are estimates based on the numbers you enter.