How often is the pricing data updated?

The catalog refreshes hourly. Each row in the table shows the exact "last verified" timestamp alongside a link to the provider source it was read from, so you can confirm a price yourself rather than trusting a stale snapshot.

Do I need an account to compare prices?

No. Browsing, filtering, reading the chart, copying share links, and using the ROI calculator are all account-free.

What does "quality tier" mean on the chart and table?

It's a rough capability class — frontier, balanced, or budget — used to group models with similar strengths, not a numeric benchmark score. Use it to avoid comparing a narrow classifier against a frontier reasoning model as if they were substitutes.

Why do some models show no current price?

When a provider changes a rate by more than a review threshold, the new price is held for manual confirmation instead of being published automatically, so a model can briefly show no current price rather than an unverified one.

Is the price shown here what I'll actually be billed?

Treat it as an informational estimate, not an invoice. Provider pricing pages are the source of truth — this table exists to help you compare quickly, not to replace checking directly before you commit spend.

ImplementationAll guides

How to run an AI tool pilot

Last updated 2026-07-18

Abstract hand-drawn AI tool pilot test track with gauges and experiment icons — Original AICostCompass illustration. Abstract generated artwork; no people or animals.

A good AI pilot is not a sandbox where everyone plays with a chatbot for two weeks. It is a small business experiment. The pilot should answer a specific question: does this tool make a real workflow faster, cheaper, better, or easier to scale without creating unacceptable risk? If the pilot cannot answer that, it will end with opinions instead of a decision.

A lightweight pilot plan

Step 1

Pick one workflow and define the baseline: volume, time per task, quality level, and current pain.

Step 2

Run the tool with success metrics: time saved, acceptance rate, errors, review effort, and cost.

Step 3

Decide: roll out, change tools, narrow the use case, add controls, or stop.

Choose a workflow that already exists

The best pilot candidates are repeated tasks with visible queues: ticket triage, pull request summaries, invoice extraction, call-note cleanup, research summaries, sales email drafts, or document comparison. Avoid starting with "make the team more productive." It is too broad. A workflow with a queue gives you a baseline, and a baseline gives you a way to measure improvement.

Define success before testing

Decide what "good" means before the team starts using the tool. Useful metrics include minutes saved per task, percentage of AI output accepted with light edits, reduction in backlog, accuracy against a checklist, average number of retries, and user satisfaction. For coding tools, include review quality and defect risk. For customer-facing workflows, include tone, policy compliance, and escalation accuracy.

Measure rollout cost, not just pilot cost

A pilot can look cheap because only a few people use it. Before approving rollout, estimate what happens at full volume. If 5 pilot users become 80 seats, seat pricing changes the budget. If 1,000 API calls become 500,000 calls, token mix and output length matter. Put the rollout volume into the comparison tool, then use the ROI calculator with realistic saved time.

Keep the decision small and explicit

At the end, do not let the pilot drift. Choose one of five outcomes: roll out, expand the test, change the workflow, switch providers, or stop. Stopping is a valid result if the quality bar is not met or the saved time is too small. A clean no is better than a tool that quietly becomes shelfware.

References and fact checks

GitHub Copilot billing for organizations - useful for understanding seats, pooled credits, and usage-based billing before a developer-tool pilot
Cursor team pricing documentation - documents team billing, active seats, usage dashboards, and spending limits
OpenAI business pricing - lists business controls that become relevant when pilots move into managed team use

How to do this in AICC

Turn the article into an answer you can use

Use AICC to make an AI pilot measurable before people start testing: define the workflow, estimate rollout cost, and set the ROI threshold for approval.

AICC workflow map

Move 1

Define pilot baseline

Move 2

Estimate rollout cost

Move 3

Approve, revise, or stop

1
Create the baseline
From the guide, write down the current task volume, minutes per task, quality standard, and pain point. This is the before picture.
2
Use Compare for pilot and rollout volume
Run two comparisons: one for the small pilot and one for expected rollout. The rollout case prevents a cheap pilot from becoming an expensive surprise.
3
Use ROI for the pass/fail line
Open ROI and enter conservative saved time after review. Decide in advance what net benefit or payback threshold would justify rollout.
4
Use the result to choose an action
If the numbers work, roll out with controls. If cost is high, try a different model tier. If saved time is low, narrow the workflow or stop the pilot.

What you should have at the end

You should have a pilot scorecard with baseline effort, expected cost, ROI threshold, and a clear decision path.

Comparison tool

Enter your workload assumptions and compare estimated monthly cost across selected tools.

ROI calculator

Translate AI spend into saved time, labor value, and business return.

Pricing map

Scan providers, model tiers, unit prices, quality signals, and visible market options.

Frequently asked questions

What makes an AI pilot different from letting a team experiment with a chatbot?

A real pilot answers a specific business question using a defined workflow, baseline, and success metrics — without that structure, it produces opinions instead of a decision.

Why can a pilot look cheap but rollout look expensive?

Pilot cost reflects only a few users or requests — scaling from a handful of seats or API calls to full team volume can change the pricing tier and total bill significantly.

Is stopping a pilot considered a failure?

No. Stopping is a valid outcome if the quality bar isn't met or saved time is too small; a clear no is better than a tool that quietly becomes shelfware.