Pricing & Budgeting
What a Custom AI Solution Actually Costs
Real 2026 UK price ranges for custom websites, AI integrations, AI products and the visual assets that go with them, and what actually drives the number up or down.
In 2026, custom AI work in the UK typically ranges from a few thousand pounds for a custom marketing site to six figures for a full AI product. A conversion-focused custom website runs £8k–£20k, an AI assistant built on your own data runs £6k–£25k, and a full custom AI app runs £25k–£100k+. The number is driven by scope and integrations, not by hours of design polish. These are typical ranges, not a quote.
- Custom marketing site
- £3k–£8k
- Conversion site + CMS
- £8k–£20k
- AI assistant on your data
- £6k–£25k
- Full custom AI product
- £25k–£100k+
Pricing for custom AI work feels opaque because the label covers everything from a five-page website to a bespoke software product. The good news: the cost is predictable once you break it into the thing you are actually buying. Here is what each band gets you in 2026, in pounds, for the UK market.
The full breakdown
| What you are buying | Typical UK range | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Custom marketing / brochure site | £3,000–£8,000 | 2–4 weeks |
| Conversion-focused site + CMS | £8,000–£20,000 | 4–8 weeks |
| AI assistant / chatbot on your data | £6,000–£25,000 | 3–8 weeks |
| Custom AI product or web app | £25,000–£100,000+ | 2–6 months |
| Professional photography (½–1 day) | £800–£2,500 | 1 day + edit |
| Drone photo / video shoot | £500–£2,000 | ½–1 day |
| Ongoing SEO + AI discoverability | £500–£2,500 / mo | Rolling |
These are market ranges to help you budget, not a Mismi quote. A real quote depends on your scope, which we set on a free intro call.
What actually drives the cost up or down
- Integrations, not pages. A ten-page site with no integrations is cheaper than a three-page site that syncs a CRM, takes payments and books appointments. Connections to other systems are where real engineering time goes.
- Whether AI touches your private data. A chatbot using a public model is cheap. An assistant grounded in your documents, with permissions and accuracy guarantees, is a real build, because getting AI to be reliable on your data is the hard part. That is the work behind a proper internal AI assistant.
- Original visual assets. Stock imagery is free and looks it. A photography or drone day adds cost but is often the single biggest jump in perceived quality.
- Content readiness. If your copy, logo and brand are settled, build is fast. If they need creating, that is real work and real budget.
- Ongoing vs one-off. A site is a one-time build. Search and AI visibility are a rolling effort, because rankings and citations have to be maintained.
Why custom costs more than a template, and when it pays back
A £20-a-month builder will always undercut a custom build on the invoice. The question is what each one returns. A custom site exists to convert: to turn the visitor you already paid to attract into a booked call or a sale. If a custom build brings in one extra customer a month and a customer is worth £500 to you, it has returned £6,000 in year one. Measured against revenue rather than cost, custom is usually the cheaper option. We cover this trade-off in detail in AI website builder vs a custom website.
What to budget for ongoing, not just the build
- Hosting and maintenance: A custom site is cheap to run, often £10–£50 a month, but budget a small amount for updates and security.
- AI running costs: If you ship an AI assistant, the model usage has a per-use cost. For most small businesses this is tens to low hundreds of pounds a month, scaling with how much it is used.
- Discoverability: Ranking on Google and getting cited by AI assistants is a rolling effort. Budget a monthly retainer if visibility matters, or treat it as a focused project a couple of times a year.
How to get a fixed price you can trust
Avoid anyone who quotes a number before understanding your scope, and avoid open-ended hourly billing for a defined project. The right process is a short discovery conversation, a written scope, then a fixed price against that scope. That is how we work at Mismi: you know the number before anything is built, and changes are priced transparently. Whether you are in London, Brighton or anywhere in the UK, the intro call is free.
Want a real number for your project?
Book a free intro call. We will scope what you actually need and send a fixed price, with no obligation and no hourly surprises.
Book a free intro callFrequently asked questions
How much does a custom AI website cost in the UK?
A custom marketing site typically costs £3,000–£8,000, and a conversion-focused custom site with a CMS and integrations costs £8,000–£20,000. Adding an AI assistant trained on your own data starts around £6,000. The final figure depends mostly on integrations and whether original photography or drone work is included.
Why is custom so much more expensive than a website builder?
A builder sells you a template and hosting for a monthly fee. A custom build is bespoke engineering, design and content built around your specific business and integrations, which you then own outright. The right comparison is not invoice vs invoice but return vs return: custom exists to convert visitors into customers, and usually pays for itself through the business it brings in.
Are there ongoing costs after the build?
Yes, but they are usually small: hosting and maintenance (often £10–£50 a month), AI model usage if you ship an assistant (typically tens to low hundreds of pounds a month for a small business), and an optional retainer for search and AI discoverability.
Can I do it in stages to spread the cost?
Often, yes. A common path is to launch a strong custom marketing site first, then add an AI assistant or deeper integrations once it is earning. We will tell you on the intro call whether staging makes sense for your goal or whether it would cost more overall.
About the author
Mat Mora, MSc · Founder & AI Specialist, Mismi
Mat Mora is an AI specialist and the founder of Mismi, where he designs and ships custom AI solutions for businesses, from internal assistants to bespoke, AI-powered websites. He holds an MSc from the University of Sussex and AI credentials including Anthropic's AI Fluency Framework & Foundations, DeepLearning.AI and OpenAI prompt engineering. He builds and ships production AI products, including the Diving Standard app, and works with companies across London, Brighton and the UK.