Prices checked September 20, 2026 on each vendor's own site. US dollars, list price, before tax. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on the vendor's site before you buy.
Most small businesses don't need an "AI strategy." They need to know which tool saves time on a specific job and what it costs per person per month. This guide sorts tools by job, lists current plan pricing, and ends with a short method for choosing.
How this guide was built: it draws on the vendors' own published plans and pricing pages, read on September 20, 2026. We have not hands-on tested every product, so we give no ratings or scores.
1. AI assistants: start with the software you already pay for
Google Workspace (Gemini). Business Starter is $7 per user per month and Standard is $14 on annual billing (Google shows a 16% saving for a one-year commitment). The difference matters for AI. On Starter, Gemini is limited: it works in Gmail and Vids but is not supported in Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Meet or Chat. Standard adds Gemini across all of those, plus expanded access to the Gemini app. Higher AI limits are sold as a separate add-on.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Business. Copilot is an add-on for organizations of up to 300 users. It lists at $21 per user per month on annual billing and requires an eligible Microsoft 365 plan underneath. Microsoft's page currently shows an introductory $18 for the first year on annual plans, with the offer window running July 1 to December 31, 2026. Bundles that include Copilot list at $23.50 (Business Standard) and $32 (Business Premium), paid yearly, or $20.30 and $28.80 without Teams. Copilot Chat is already included with eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
ChatGPT Business. A Standard seat is $20 per user per month billed annually or $25 billed monthly in most countries, and pricing can vary by country. A workspace needs at least two seats. Premium seats, which carry five times the usage, are $100 annually or $125 monthly. OpenAI states it won't train on your workspace's data.
Which to pick: if your team already lives in Google or Microsoft, price that suite's built-in assistant first, because the added cost is lowest. ChatGPT Business fits teams that want a standalone assistant workspace.
2. Automation: Zapier
The Free plan gives you 100 tasks a month, with Zaps limited to two steps (one trigger, one action). Professional starts at $19.99 a month on yearly billing and adds multi-step Zaps, premium apps and webhooks. Team starts at $69 a month for up to 25 users, with shared workspaces and single sign-on.
Zapier bills per task. Each successful action step uses tasks, AI steps and some connectors can use more than one, and triggers plus built-in tools such as Filter and Formatter are free. Estimate your volume before choosing a tier. New accounts get a 14-day trial of Professional.
3. Design and marketing content: Canva
Canva Free is a permanent plan with up to 20 AI uses a month. Pro is listed at $144 a year for one person (about $12 a month) and adds premium templates, more AI and 100GB of storage. Only one person can use a Pro account. Teams should look at Canva Business at $250 a year per person, since Canva Teams is closed to new sign-ups. These are Canva's yearly-billing prices.
4. Meetings and notes: Otter.ai
The free Basic plan includes 300 transcription minutes a month, with conversations capped at 30 minutes. Pro is $16.99 per month billed monthly or $8.33 billed annually, with 1,200 minutes a month and meetings up to 90 minutes. Business is $30 per user per month billed monthly or $19.99 billed annually, with unlimited meeting transcription, meetings up to four hours, and three concurrent meetings. Minute caps are the main thing to check against how many meetings you actually run.
If you sell across borders
- Currency: Zapier's pricing page lets you pay in about 19 currencies, while OpenAI says ChatGPT Business prices vary by country and Otter lists its prices in US dollars.
- Language: Canva's AI supports more than a dozen languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, Hindi and Chinese. Otter's transcription covers English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese.
- Tax: Canva and Google both state that listed prices exclude tax, so budget for VAT or sales tax where it applies.
How to choose
- Price your existing suite first. Google and Microsoft price AI differently, so compare the all-in cost per seat.
- Count your volume. Tasks (Zapier) and minutes (Otter) are what push you up a tier.
- Check seat minimums. ChatGPT Business needs two seats.
- Pilot before committing annually. Annual billing is much cheaper (Otter Pro is $16.99 monthly versus $8.33 annual) but locks you in for a year.
- Read each vendor's data-handling terms before putting customer information into any tool.
Quick math for a 5-person team at list price, annual billing: ChatGPT Business is 5 × $20 = $100 a month. Google Workspace Business Standard, with Gemini included, is 5 × $14 = $70. The Copilot Business add-on is 5 × $21 = $105 (or $90 during Microsoft's first-year offer), on top of the Microsoft 365 licenses.
FAQ
Is there a free way to start? Yes. Zapier, Canva and Otter each have a free tier, and Copilot Chat is included with eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
Do I need all of these? Most small teams start with one assistant and add automation or meeting tools only when a specific job justifies it.
This guide contains no affiliate links.