Between the subscriptions that pile up and the time spent configuring everything yourself, doing it yourself often costs more than you'd think — before even counting the comfort of having a single partner to call. Calculate your own cost below, in full transparency.
Doing it yourself is tempting: a €20 ChatGPT subscription, a free n8n account, a YouTube tutorial on a Sunday evening. Then a second tool gets added for the CRM, a third for chatbots, a fourth because the first one wasn't enough anymore. Six months later, you're juggling several subscriptions, several passwords, and no one to call when a tool changes its interface overnight.
That's not a criticism — plenty of Belgian SMEs start this way, and it's even a good way to test things out. But to decide with a clear head, you need an honest number. That's what this page does: we show you, line by line, what DIY really costs (subscriptions and time), next to a turnkey solution starting at €249/month excl. VAT.
Check what your business would need. We recalculate live the subscriptions, the time it would take you each month, and the number of different tools to manage — next to a single LTC offer.
Time is valued at €45/hour — a conservative estimate of the value of your time as an owner or key employee.
A turnkey solution, a single partner, a single invoice. Support, updates and improvements included — you no longer manage anything technical.
Indicative estimate based on 2026 market pricing. Every situation is unique — our free diagnostic gives you an accurate figure for your SME.
Here are the ranges we use for our calculator above — conservative, rounded averages observed on professional offers on the Belgian market.
| Tool | € / month | Needed for |
|---|---|---|
| Professional general AI (ChatGPT Business, Claude… ~2 seats) | €45 | any need that touches AI |
| Automation engine (n8n Pro, Zapier, Make…) | €50 | agent, quotes, emails, CRM |
| Chatbot platform / agent hosting | €40 | AI agent, customer chatbot |
| CRM (HubSpot, Pipedrive…) | €45 | connected CRM |
| Transcription (Fireflies, tl;dv…) | €20 | meeting transcription |
| Content & design AI (Canva, Jasper…) | €30 | content generation |
In practice, as soon as you tick 3 or 4 needs, the bill often runs between €100 and €230/month in subscriptions alone — before even counting the time. And on the ground, other side tools tend to creep in (a tracking spreadsheet, a shared calendar, a mobile app…), easily pushing the tally to 5 or 6 different subscriptions to watch every month.
A subscription shows up on a bank statement. Time quietly disappears into your evenings and weekends instead — and it's often the heaviest line item.
Understanding each tool, configuring it, connecting it to the others. We estimate about 25 hours in total — spread over a year to stay realistic.
Even once it's in place, a DIY system needs upkeep : about 6 base hours a month, plus 2 hours per automated need — updates, small bugs, adjustments.
At €45/hour — a conservative estimate for an owner or key employee — this time quickly weighs more than the subscriptions themselves. That's what the calculator above adds up for you.
At LTC Group, we don't sell you one more tool to add to the pile. We build, connect and maintain your AI agent or automation — you no longer have to choose between five subscriptions or troubleshoot alone on a Sunday evening.
We choose, connect and make the right tools work together for you. You get one number to call, not five customer services each in their own language.
We're the ones who learn the tools, connect them and maintain them. Your hours stay in your business, not in tutorials.
See our AI agentsFrom €249/month excl. VAT, all-in: hosting, maintenance, updates, support. No surprise line at the end of the month.
See our diagnosticA new need in six months ? We adapt the existing solution instead of selling you a new subscription to learn.
See all our servicesFor a small team (1 to 2 people), budget about €45/month for a professional plan such as ChatGPT Business or Claude — that's the baseline we use in the calculator on this page. The price rises with the number of seats and enterprise features (SSO, admin controls, data retention).
Prices vary with volume: n8n Pro runs around €60/month, Zapier around €30/month for typical SME usage, Make around €16/month for simpler needs. In our calculator, we use a conservative average of €50/month for this type of automation engine.
Building it yourself with separate tools (general AI + automation engine + chatbot hosting), budget about €135/month in subscriptions — before even talking about setup and maintenance time. With LTC Group, a bespoke AI agent is included in our plans starting at €249/month excl. VAT, all-in.
We start from 2026 pricing observed at the main tools on the market (general AI, automation, chatbot, CRM, transcription, content), and value time at €45/hour — a conservative estimate for a Belgian SME. These are ballpark figures to help you compare, not a quote: every situation is unique, which is why we offer a free diagnostic.
Yes, for a targeted automation: hosting, maintenance, updates and support are included. It's a starting point, not a teaser rate — the exact figure depends on your project, and we give it to you after a free 30-minute diagnostic, no commitment.
The calculator gives a ballpark figure. A free 30-minute diagnostic gives you, in black and white, the real figure for your SME — on-site or by video call.