Most UK AI automation agencies hide prices, study finds

TrustedAIAgencies has found that most UK AI automation agencies do not publish prices on their websites. Its study found that 113 of the 277 agencies listed in its UK directory displayed at least one price.

The findings suggest limited public pricing transparency in a market where businesses often need to contact agencies directly before getting any indication of cost.

Among agencies that published a one-off project price, the median starting price was £1,500. Published starting prices ranged from £99 to £25,000.

The research reviewed the websites of all 277 agencies in the TrustedAIAgencies UK directory, recording a price only where it appeared on the agency's own site. It did not include quotes requested from agencies or prices listed on third-party platforms.

Starting prices were lower for audits, assessments and discovery sessions, with a median of £750 across 47 agencies. Monthly plans, retainers and support services started at a median of £250 a month across 43 agencies.

More specialised work tended to carry higher advertised entry prices. Workflow automation builds started at a median of £1,500 across 29 agencies, while AI agent, chatbot and custom software builds started at a median of £4,000 across 27 agencies.

Among agencies that published a project price, 57% started between £1,000 and £4,999. A further 27% started below £1,000, while 16% began at £5,000 or more.

Who publishes

The likelihood of publishing prices varied by business type. General agencies were the most likely to do so, at 48%, followed by consultancies at 41%, software studios at 33% and marketing agencies at 18%.

Voice AI specialists stood out in the sample, with five of the six listed in the directory publishing a price.

Regional differences also emerged. Around half of listed agencies in the South East and East of England published a price, rising to 56% in both the East Midlands and the North East.

London stood at 46%, compared with 30% in Scotland and 10% in Northern Ireland.

Service split

The data also suggested a link between the tools agencies mention and their advertised starting prices. Agencies that referred to no-code platforms tended to show lower project entry points.

The median project starting price was £875 among agencies that mentioned n8n, £950 for Make and £975 for Zapier. Among agencies that mentioned OpenAI or Claude, the median was £1,500, while those that mentioned Microsoft Power Platform had a median of £2,500.

By service line, agencies that mentioned custom AI software had a median project starting price of £3,000. Those that referred to AI training and workshops had a median starting price of £2,500.

For recurring services, monthly plans for AI chatbot services started at a median of £150 a month. Voice agents and AI receptionists started at £225 a month, while AI agents started at £450 a month.

Reading the figures

The figures reflect advertised starting prices rather than the final cost of completed projects. Agencies also describe scope differently, meaning a listed "from" price may cover very different work from one firm to another.

Sample sizes were limited in several categories, with the largest group containing 47 agencies. The figures also combined prices that may or may not include VAT, because only 20 agencies stated that VAT was excluded and the rest did not specify.

That means the medians offer a guide to market positioning rather than a direct benchmark for like-for-like purchasing. Buyers comparing agencies would still need to test quotes against a common written brief and separate build, monthly and platform costs.

Edgars Lapins, founder of TrustedAIAgencies, said: "Fewer than half of the agencies we looked at publish any price at all. I'd like to see that change. Being open about cost helps buyers trust an agency, and publishing a starting price is an easy first step."

The findings also reflect a wider tension in agency pricing between the need to scope bespoke work and pressure from smaller businesses for upfront clarity.

Charlie Essex, director of Inferred, said: "Most of the firms we work with are owner-managed, and they should be able to see roughly what something costs before giving up an hour for a sales call. A published starting price is just being straight with people; the real figure comes from scoping the actual job with them."