What AI coding really costs per site
How much does it cost to build websites with AI coding tools?
Compare subscription plans with usage metered builders on their current terms, track how much of your limits one site uses, and work out a cost per site before you price.
What you will be able to do
Compare AI build tools on their current terms and work out your real tool cost per client site from your own usage.
Before you start
- Part of a site built with an assistant, as in Build with an AI coding assistant.
- A spreadsheet, or the Hosting comparison sheet
Why this matters
Your tool costs are a line in every quote, written down or not. Without them you cannot tell whether a project made money.
AI tools change their plans often, so any price here would be out of date. Instead you get a method you can rerun whenever a plan changes.
Step by step
Tick each step as you do it. Your ticks are saved in this browser.
Identify which pricing model each tool uses
Most tools fall into one of two shapes, sometimes a mix.
- Subscription with usage limits. A monthly plan with limits per time window or billing period. One plan can support several sites a month, but it is not unlimited: heavy use hits the cap or pushes you to a higher tier.
- Usage metered. Many hosted site builders and some APIs charge per action, generation, credit or token. A messy build with many regenerations can cost far more than expected.
Read the current terms and write down the facts that drive cost
For each tool record the plan name, monthly cost, what counts as one unit, the limit per window or month, what happens at the limit (blocked, slowed or charged extra), whether unused allowance rolls over, and the date you checked.
Check the costs beyond the AI itself
List hosting, domains, form handling, email delivery, image tools and paid templates or plugins. Some builders bundle hosting into a plan that bills for as long as the site is live; a coding assistant usually gives you code you host where you like.
Measure one real build
On your next site, log date, task, rough prompts or credits used, and time spent. If the tool shows no usage, count sessions and note when you hit a limit.
Work out cost per site for a subscription
Divide the monthly plan cost by the number of sites you realistically work on in a month, and add a share of any time lost waiting on limits. Three sites a month means each carries a third of the plan.
Work out cost per site for a metered tool
Multiply the units your logged build used by the current price per unit, then add a buffer for revisions. Feedback rounds often cost as much as the first build, so start with a buffer the same size again.
Add recurring costs that continue after launch
If a tool must stay subscribed for the site to stay online or editable, that cost repeats every month. Put it in the maintenance side of your pricing, not the build side.
Compare on cost per site and on lock in
Put cost per site, recurring cost per site and ease of moving the site side by side. Code in a git repository you own is easiest to move.
Recheck terms every quarter
Reread the pricing pages, update your sheet and rerun step 5 or 6.
Example
Two fictional options, with prices as letters on purpose.
OPTION A: Coding assistant on a monthly subscription
Plan cost: P per month
Limit: usage window resets every few hours, plus a monthly cap
Over the limit: blocked until reset, or upgrade to a higher tier
Hosting: separate, on a static host you choose
My log, last month: worked on 3 sites, hit the limit twice, lost about 1 hour
Cost per site: P / 3, plus 20 minutes of waiting each
After launch: no AI cost unless I make changes; hosting billed separately
OPTION B: Usage metered site builder
Price per unit: U per credit
Credits per build: my log says about 200 for the first version
Revision buffer: another 200 for client feedback rounds
Cost per site: 400 x U
After launch: site lives inside the builder; monthly plan required to keep it online
Recurring per site: R per month for as long as the site exists
Export: partial; code export limited on lower tiers
Option A gets cheaper per site the more sites you work on, until you hit the limits. Option B costs roughly the same per site however many you build, but revisions and the recurring plan add up.
Then the pricing check. From a fixed build fee, subtract cost per site, any first year recurring tool costs you cover, and your hours at your target rate. If what is left is thin, raise the fee, limit revisions in scope, or pick the tool with the lower cost per site.
Common mistakes
- Believing "unlimited." Every plan has limits, written or practical.
- Ignoring revision rounds. On a metered tool, feedback rounds can double the cost. Budget for them and limit them in scope.
- Forgetting the recurring cost. A builder that must stay subscribed is a monthly cost forever. Charge for it in maintenance.
- Using someone else's numbers. Blog posts go out of date fast.
Try it yourself
Pick the tool you use today and one alternative. Read their current pricing pages and fill in a comparison with these rows: plan cost, unit of usage, limits, what happens over the limit, hosting included or separate, recurring cost after launch, export options, date checked. Then use your last build log (or a careful estimate marked "estimate") to calculate cost per site for each.
Time: about 30 minutes.
Deliverable: a filled comparison sheet with a cost per site for both options and one sentence on which you would use for your next client and why.
Resources
- Hosting comparison sheet reuse its columns to compare tool plans
- Build with an AI coding assistant working habits that keep usage low
- Hosting fundamentals for agencies the recurring hosting side of your costs
- Price your websites using cost per site in a real quote
Finished this lesson?
Mark it complete to track your progress through the course.
Last reviewed October 18, 2026. Prices, laws and tool terms change, so check current terms before you rely on any figure.