Aiprosol vs building automation in-house — the real math
You CAN build everything Aiprosol sells using our $17-$997 self-serve catalogue. The question isn't 'can we?' — it's 'should we?'. Building in-house costs 4-8x what most teams budget when you factor in opportunity cost. This page does the math.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | In-house build | Aiprosol managed |
|---|---|---|
| Direct labour cost | 1 ops/eng FTE = $80-150K/year fully loaded | Starter $11.9K/yr · Growth $35.9K/yr · Enterprise $95.9K/yr |
| Time to first workflow live | 8-16 weeks (ramp + build + iterate) | Day 14 (Phase 0 → Phase 1) |
| Time to 10 workflows live | 9-15 months | Day 60-90 on Growth plan |
| Opportunity cost | 1 FTE not building product / serving customers | Your team stays focused on revenue-producing work |
| Tooling cost | Same regardless ($200-2000/mo) | Same |
| Failure mode if owner leaves | Workflows die (single-owner risk) | Aiprosol continues operating them |
| Knowledge transfer | Documentation rarely happens | SOPs + monthly health checks documented |
| Tool selection expertise | Trial and error | We've shipped this stack for clients across 9 industries |
| Optimisation rigor | Once-and-done | Weekly metric review + monthly tune |
The verdict
Build in-house when (a) you have a dedicated ops/automation hire who actively wants this role, (b) you have 9+ months to ramp, and (c) you accept the single-owner risk. Use Aiprosol managed when you want measurable outcomes in <90 days without dedicating an FTE.
FAQs
Can't I just buy your $197 Playbook Pack and build it myself?
Yes — and we recommend it for teams with engineering capacity who like building. The Playbook Pack is the framework + 25 importable n8n workflows. Managed plans add: we do the building, we operate it, we tune it. Some teams want the framework; others want the outcomes.
What's the breakeven for hiring vs. buying?
Roughly: if your fully-loaded ops/automation hire would cost <$3,500/mo AND they'd start delivering in week 2 AND they'd stay 18+ months — hire. If any of those three is uncertain, the Growth plan ($2,997/mo) is cheaper risk-adjusted.
We have an engineer who could do this. Why use Aiprosol?
Two reasons. (1) Opportunity cost — that engineer's time on automation isn't time on product/customers. (2) Specialisation — we ship this same stack across 9 industries and bring the pattern library. Your engineer would learn over months what we already know.
What happens if I cancel?
Everything we built is yours. We hand over n8n exports, all credentials remain with you, full documentation transfers. No lock-in.
Do you guarantee outcomes?
Yes — managed plans include a 90-day reclaim guarantee: if 35+ hours/week aren't freed up by Day 90, we work for free until they are.