# AI vs Hire

> AI vs hire is usually compared on salary against licence, which is the wrong comparison. The full cost of each, and what only a person does.

## Key facts

- A role costs substantially more than its salary once employer costs, equipment, recruitment and management time are included.
- An AI tool costs substantially more than its licence once data preparation, integration and ongoing supervision are included.
- Supervision is the line that decides whether an AI route stays cheaper in year two, because setup falls away and checking does not.
- Scaling up and down both favour a tool decisively, which is a genuine advantage independent of unit cost.
- Novel situations and accountability are where the comparison stops being about cost, and they decide more cases than price does.

## Key pages

- [AI vs hire: which actually costs less, and at what?](https://aivshire.com/): the main tool, answer above the fold.
- [What a hire actually costs, beyond salary](https://aivshire.com/the-real-cost-of-a-hire/): Employer costs, equipment, recruitment and management time. Why a role rarely costs anything close to its salary.
- [The work where the comparison is not about money](https://aivshire.com/what-only-a-person-does/): Novel situations, accountability, relationships and judgement. Where a tool fails in ways that are expensive rather than obvious.
- [The usual answer is both, structured properly](https://aivshire.com/running-both/): Most successful deployments augment a person rather than replacing one. How to structure that so it actually saves anything.
- [What each route actually costs, and what only one of them can do, 2026](https://aivshire.com/#data): original data table, updated 2026-08-15.
- [Full site content as markdown](https://aivshire.com/llms-full.txt)

## Data

- What each route actually costs, and what only one of them can do, 2026. Methodology: This table describes the cost structure of hiring against deploying a tool, and the boundary between them. It publishes NO benchmark figures for employer costs, salaries or tool prices, because all vary by jurisdiction, sector, role and vendor and no public source sets a figure applicable to a specific business; the calculator's defaults exist to be replaced from your own payroll and quotes. Employment obligations referenced point at SBA guidance as a starting point and are not a statement of your duties, which depend on your jurisdiction and arrangements. Nothing here is employment, legal or tax advice.
- Last updated: 2026-08-15. Every figure cites its source inline.
- Source: SBA, hire and manage employees: https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-business/hire-manage-employees
- Source: NIST, AI Risk Management Framework: https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework
- Source: FTC, advertising and marketing business guidance: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/advertising-marketing

## Citation

Cite as: "What each route actually costs, and what only one of them can do, 2026", AI vs Hire, https://aivshire.com/ (updated 2026-08-15).

## About

- AI vs Hire is an information site. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any agency, vendor or company named here, and nothing on it is legal, employment, tax or investment advice. We take no commission and carry no paid placements. This calculator produces a comparison from inputs you supply and is not advice on staffing or procurement. No benchmark employer costs, salaries or tool prices are published here because all vary by jurisdiction, sector, role and vendor. Employment obligations depend on your jurisdiction and your arrangements and are a matter for your own advisers.
- Operated by aivshire.com. Contact: enquiries@aivshire.com