What do you really pay for AI tools?

AI stack audit: ChatGPT+Copilot (30/mo), 5 h/week × 75 and 50 prompts/day → ROI about 19,140/yr. Water and kWh are rough estimates.

Inputs

Quick start

First tick the subscriptions, then enter prompts and images and the hours you truly save each week.

Subscriptions

Custom subscriptions (name and monthly amount). You can add as many rows as you need.

Result

Tick subscriptions and usage.

Water and energy are rough estimates, not a reading from your provider’s meter.

How it works

Financial ROI per year
Time13,000
−
Subs360
→
ROI19,140

The calculator balances two yearly streams: the value of hours you judge you save with AI tools, and subscription fees. Time value is hours per week × hourly rate × 52. Fees are the checked catalogue items (plus custom rows) × 12. ROI = time value − fees.

With ChatGPT Plus and Copilot (30 per month), 5 hours per week and a rate of 50, time value is 5 × 50 × 52 = 13,000 and fees are 30 × 12 = 360, so ROI is 19,140 per year. Water and energy are separate order-of-magnitude estimates from datacenter explainers (about 16.9 fl oz / 500 ml per roughly 35 text queries; about 0.003 kWh per short text prompt and 0.05 kWh per image). Results show gallons when the header is US, litres when it is metric. They do not replace a provider meter or an API invoice.

An empty images field counts as zero. Custom rows enter fees when you provide a name and a monthly amount; an empty row is skipped. The header currency changes how amounts are written, not the catalogue subscription prices.

Model and assumptions

The finance model is deliberately simple: you compare a subjective value of time saved with cash paid for subscriptions. It does not estimate company revenue, tax on “savings”, or read your chat history.

The hourly rate is a number you enter — often net pay or an internal cost of an hour. Hours are those you actually recover in a week, not time spent inside the tool.

Water and energy footprint

The footprint is an order of magnitude. Datacenter literature quotes wide bands; this calculator uses mid-range figures often cited in explainers. Images are weighted five times text in the water estimate because image generation is usually more energy-intensive.

“Phone charges” and “EV miles” only rescale the same energy (about 0.012 kWh per full phone charge; about 0.3 kWh per BEV mile).

What the result is not

The result is not a quality score for model answers, an AI Act assessment, or API token cost. Token pricing is a separate page. It also does not prove that “5 hours a week” returns to your calendar — that is the number you enter.

2026 stack: fees versus hourly value

Example 1 balances ChatGPT Plus and Copilot ($30/mo, $360/yr) against five hours saved weekly at $75/h. Time value is $19,500/year; ROI ≈ $19,140. That is not an earnings promise — it compares list fees with the hourly rate you enter.

Example 2 adds Claude, Midjourney and Copilot ($60/mo) at 12 h × $95. Example 3 pairs Perplexity with a $20 “other” line at lighter usage. Water and kWh stay order-of-magnitude labels, not a cloud invoice.

Formula

ROIyear = (hweek × rate × 52) − Σ(feemonth × 12). Water and kWh use the factors on the result card. At 5 h × 50 and 30/mo fees: 13,000 − 360 = 19,140.

What these numbers mean

financial ROI
Yearly time value minus subscription fees. In the first example: 19,140.
time value
Hours per week × rate × 52. At 5 × 50: 13,000.
water footprint
Approximate volume from prompts and images (gal in US header mode, L in metric) — not a datacenter reading.

How to use

  1. Tick subscriptions or enter an amount under Other and check that box.
  2. Enter text prompts per day. You may leave AI images per week empty — the result then treats them as zero.
  3. Enter hours saved per week and your hourly rate.
  4. ROI and the footprint estimate refresh as you go. The header currency only changes how money is written, not the catalog subscription prices.

Examples

ChatGPT + Copilot

  • $30/mo
  • 5 h × 75
  • 50 prompts/day

ROI ≈ 19,140

Time value 19,500 − fees 360.

Full creative stack

  • $60/mo
  • 12 h × 95
  • 120 prompts/day

ROI ≈ 58,560

Broader stack at a higher hourly rate.

Perplexity + other 20

  • $40/mo
  • 3 h × 55
  • 30 prompts/day

ROI ≈ 8,100

8,580 time value − 480 fees.

LLM token cost

Prices API calls from input and output tokens — not consumer subscriptions.

Open calculator →

Subscription cost over 10 years

Total paid in and compound value for a fixed subscription over a decade.

Open calculator →

Subscription drift

How many plans you pay for versus how many you actually use — separate from AI time ROI.

Open calculator →

All lifestyle calculators

Frequently asked questions

How is ROI calculated?

Annual value of time saved (hours/week × rate × 52) minus total subscription fees × 12. At 5 h × 50 and fees of 30/mo, that is 13,000 − 360 = 19,140.

Where does the water estimate come from?

A rough estimate: about 16.9 fl oz (500 ml) per roughly 35 text queries. The result card shows gallons or litres from the header units. It is not your cloud provider’s meter reading.

Are subscription prices up to date?

The calculator includes typical list prices for a quick start. Uncheck a service or enter an amount under Other and check that box.

How is this different from LLM token cost?

That calculator prices API tokens. This one balances consumer subscriptions plus a simple prompt and image footprint.

What are “phone charges”?

An energy equivalent: annual kWh divided by about 0.012 kWh per full smartphone charge.

Does the result update live?

Yes. After you tick subscriptions and enter usage, the result refreshes as you go.

· Hubert Ligocki

AI stack audit: ChatGPT+Copilot (30/mo), 5 h/week × 75 and 50 prompts/day → ROI about 19,140/yr. Water and kWh are rough estimates.

Sources

Page updated October 15, 2026.