When a business owner asks, „how much does AI for office staff cost," they often expect a single price. One number. One correct answer.
But the reality is far more complex. Today, you can find AI in the cloud, in a desktop application, within Microsoft 365, and on your own server under a desk. And the price tag ranges from a few hundred crowns per user per month to six-figure investments in hardware.
It’s not a question of „to buy or not to buy." It’s a question of when, for whom, and for what purpose. This article was written as a fair guide for owners of small and medium-sized businesses – no hype, no scaremongering, and without telling you at the end that there is one universally best solution. Because there isn’t.
TL;DR: For a few people, cloud AI (ChatGPT Business, Claude Team Standard) is the simplest. For a team that lives daily in Microsoft 365, Copilot makes sense. For sensitive data and working with internal documents, in-house AI can be more advantageous – but the return on investment is not automatic. Free accounts are great for testing, not for business operations. A hybrid approach ultimately suits most companies: cloud where practical, and in-house AI where necessary.
Overview of Options: From Cloud to In-House Server
Before we get to the specific numbers, let’s clarify what we’re actually talking about. There are many ways to bring AI into a company – from services where you only pay for what you use, to solutions where you own and operate the entire hardware on-site.
- ChatGPT Business – cloud AI from OpenAI, universal, with good Czech language support. Works via browser, app, and API.
- Claude Team – cloud AI from Anthropic, strong in working with texts, documents, and the analysis of longer materials. Available in two performance levels.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot – AI built directly into Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, or SharePoint. Its value grows the more a company relies on Microsoft 365.
- Free Accounts – free versions of commercial tools. Fine for individuals, problematic for a team without management and governance.
- Free/Open-Weight Models – models like Llama or Mistral that you can run on your own premises. Licence for 0 CZK, hardware and management for tens to hundreds of thousands.
- In-House/Local AI – a server with a GPU or a powerful workstation running an open-source model connected to company documents. Full control over data.
- Hybrid – a combination of cloud for everyday work and in-house AI for sensitive agendas. Proving to be the most practical path for many companies.
Fair Cost Table for 10 People
Let’s look at the annual costs for a team of ten people. All prices are listed excluding VAT, converted at an approximate exchange rate of 1 USD = 24 CZK, verified on 25 June 2026.
For cloud services, I distinguish between annual and monthly billing – an annual commitment is always more cost-effective. For in-house AI, I calculate both a basic model with server acquisition and operation, and a more cautious three-year TCO including installation, security, management, and integration.
| Solution | Price per User | Annual Cost (10 people) | Three-Year Cost (10 people) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Business (annually) | 20 USD / month | 57,600 CZK | 172,800 CZK |
| ChatGPT Business (monthly) | 25 USD / month | 72,000 CZK | 216,000 CZK |
| Claude Team Standard (annually) | 20 USD / month | 57,600 CZK | 172,800 CZK |
| Claude Team Standard (monthly) | 25 USD / month | 72,000 CZK | 216,000 CZK |
| Claude Team Premium (annually) | 100 USD / month | 288,000 CZK | 864,000 CZK |
| Claude Team Premium (monthly) | 125 USD / month | 360,000 CZK | 1,080,000 CZK |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot (annually) | 21 USD / month | 60,480 CZK | 181,440 CZK |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot (monthly) | 25.20 USD / month | 72,576 CZK | 217,728 CZK |
| Free/open model – locally | 0 CZK licence | 0 CZK (licence) | 104,000 CZK (basic model) |
Notes on the table:
- Claude Team requires a minimum of 5 members.
- Claude Team Premium is significantly more expensive at a price of 100–125 USD/user/month. For a blanket purchase for the whole team, this is an amount that exceeds a quarter of a million crowns annually for 10 people. It makes sense as a selective tool for a few power users, not as a team standard.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot is currently offering a promotional price of 18 USD/user/month on annual billing (10 people: 51,840 CZK/year). Do not consider this price a guaranteed three-year cost – it is a temporary offer that may change. Furthermore, Copilot typically requires a suitable Microsoft 365 licence, the price of which is not included in the table.
- In-House AI – basic model: acquisition of a server/workstation with a GPU for 80,000 CZK plus electricity and basic operation 8,000 CZK annually. Three-year total: 80,000 + (3 × 8,000) = 104,000 CZK.
- In-House AI – more cautious TCO: real three-year costs, when factoring in installation, security, user access, updates, management, monitoring, backups, and connection to company documents, range from 120,000 to 180,000 CZK.
Three-Year View: Cloud or In-House Hardware?
Looking three years ahead, the picture changes. Cloud services for 10 people typically cost between 172,800 and 217,728 CZK (excluding Claude Premium). In-house AI in the basic model costs 104,000 CZK, in a more cautious TCO 120,000–180,000 CZK.
At first glance, the in-house option appears cheaper – but only in the basic model, which doesn’t account for installation, integration, and ongoing management. In a more cautious scenario, the costs intersect with the cloud, and the advantage fades.
Moreover, the break-even point (when the investment in your own server starts to pay off compared to the cloud) is not a single universal number. The formula is simple:
break-even point in months = acquisition cost / (monthly cloud price - monthly in-house server operation)With an acquisition cost of 80,000 CZK and monthly operation of ~667 CZK (8,000 CZK annually), the payback period for 10 people is as follows:
- ChatGPT Business / Claude Standard annually: ~19 months
- ChatGPT Business / Claude Standard monthly: ~15 months
- Copilot Business annually: ~18 months
- Copilot Business monthly: ~15 months
For 20 people, the payback time shortens to approximately 7–9 months, depending on the billing type.
However – with a more cautious TCO of 120,000–180,000 CZK, the payback period for 10 people shifts to approximately 23 to 44 months. That is a horizon where hardware technological obsolescence becomes a relevant factor. That’s why I’m not saying the return on investment is certain or that there’s one correct number. It always depends on the specific operational scenario.
Why „Free" Doesn’t Mean Zero Cost
Many companies start with free accounts. That’s fine – an individual can try out what AI can do, and the company doesn’t spend a single crown on licences. A problem arises the moment one account becomes a work tool for five people.
A free account is not business administration. It lacks central user management, access control, activity logging, or the ability to delete a former employee’s data. Sensitive documents are uploaded to third-party servers without contractual data protection.
A free/open-weight model is not free operation. A 0 CZK licence is great, but the hardware on which the model runs costs money. Electricity, cooling, management, security, updates, monitoring – these are all real monthly costs that quickly turn zero into thousands.
So yes – free is great for testing, education, and personal use. But for business operations, count on the fact that zero on the licence invoice is just the beginning of the story.
When Each Tool Makes Sense
Instead of a universal „buy this" recommendation, I offer a practical guide based on what a company most often deals with.
- ChatGPT Business – when you’re looking for universal AI for everyday office work: writing emails, summarising texts, help with wording, basic research. Strong Czech language support, a wide range of uses. For a team that doesn’t want to deal with hardware and wants to start immediately.
- Claude Team Standard – when your primary focus is processing longer texts, documents, contracts, and analyses. Claude excels in understanding context and structured output. Priced comparably to ChatGPT Business, so the choice depends more on the type of content you work with.
- Claude Team Premium – a more powerful variant for demanding analytical tasks. With a price starting from 100 USD/user/month (over 28,800 CZK annually per person), it’s a selective tool for a few key people, not a blanket purchase for the entire company. For 10 people, the three-year cost comes to 864,000–1,080,000 CZK.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot – when your company lives daily in Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and SharePoint. The value of Copilot isn’t in the AI itself, but in the fact that the AI sits directly within your documents, emails, and meetings. Without an active Microsoft 365 ecosystem, its benefit is significantly lower. Don’t forget that you typically need a suitable M365 licence in addition to the cost of Copilot.
- Free Accounts – for individuals who want to get a feel for AI. For quick testing to see if investing in AI for the company makes sense at all. However, it’s not sufficient for business operations with multiple people.
- Free/Open Models Locally – when you don’t want to or cannot send data outside the company. Or when you need a model tuned to your own documentation. The licence is free, but hardware and management cost money.
- Hybrid – cloud for everyday agenda, in-house AI for sensitive documents, HR data, or internal know-how. For most companies, the most practical compromise between convenience and control.
When to Consider In-House or Local AI
In-house AI has two main arguments – one financial, one security-related. And it’s important to separate them.
The Savings Argument: For 10 people, the investment in your own server can pay for itself in 15–19 months in the basic model. With a more cautious TCO, the payback period extends to 23–44 months. It’s not an automatic win, and the numbers vary significantly depending on how many people use AI and how intensively.
The Data Control Argument: This is often the stronger reason. Company documents, employee personal data, contracts, know-how – all of this stays on your server. No data leaves for a third party; you decide on backup, encryption, and access.
I calculate in-house AI in two variants:
- Basic Model: 104,000 CZK over 3 years (80,000 CZK hardware + 3×8,000 CZK operation). This is a minimal calculation excluding installation and management.
- More Cautious TCO: 120,000–180,000 CZK over 3 years including installation, security, access, updates, management, monitoring, backups, and connection to company documents.
When In-House AI Doesn’t Make Sense
It’s just as important to know when not to go for in-house AI as it is to know when to do it.
- Small Team (up to 5 people). Compare the annual cloud costs with the investment in hardware, security, and management. With a low number of users, the cloud almost always wins on simplicity and total cost.
- You Don’t Have an IT Administrator. In-house AI requires someone to set up the server, secure it, update it, and solve problems. If you don’t have such a person, you’ll have to hire one – and that changes the economics.
- You Only Use AI Occasionally. If a few people get a document summarised once a week, the cloud is cheaper and simpler.
- You Don’t Work with Sensitive Data. If your AI prompts are of the „write an invitation to a meeting„ and „summarise this public report" variety, there’s no point in dealing with your own server.
- You Expect It to „Run by Itself." In-house AI is not a microwave. It needs care and a budget for ongoing operation.
Recommended Decision-Making Process for a Company
When a company comes to me with the question „which AI should we buy," I take them through this thought process:
- Who will use the AI? One person? Five? Twenty? The number of users fundamentally affects the economics of cloud vs. in-house server.
- What kind of data do you work with? Public information, internal documents, personal data? The more sensitive the data, the more an in-house solution makes sense.
- How intensively do you use AI? Occasional queries vs. hours per day. Intensive use shortens the return on investment for in-house hardware.
- What environment do you work in? If the company lives in Microsoft 365, it’s natural to start by considering Copilot – but not automatically, always with an awareness of its price and licensing prerequisites.
- Do you have an IT administrator? Without one, in-house AI is risky. The cloud is a safer choice in such a case.
- Do you need governance? If so, free accounts are out. You need a business plan with central administration.
- What is the budget for 3 years? Don’t just compare monthly fees. Calculate TCO – hardware, licences, operation, management, training.
Based on the answers, you typically arrive at one of three scenarios:
- Cloud for everyone – everyday agenda, no sensitive data, you don’t want to deal with hardware.
- In-house AI – sensitive data, intensive use, you have an administrator.
- Hybrid – sensitive agenda on your own server, the rest in the cloud. The golden middle path for most companies.
FAQ: Most Common Company Questions
Is Copilot more cost-effective than ChatGPT? That depends on whether you live in Microsoft 365. If you work daily in Teams, Outlook, and SharePoint, Copilot saves you switching between applications, and AI gets directly to where your data is. If you don’t use Microsoft 365, or only marginally, it’s an expensive tool with a low benefit.
Why is Claude Team Premium so expensive, and is it worth it? Claude Team Premium costs 100–125 USD/user/month – that’s five times the standard tariff. The performance is higher, suitable for demanding analytics, programming, or processing extensive documents. For a blanket purchase for the whole company, it’s extremely expensive. It makes sense as a tool for a few specialists whose productivity justifies the cost.
Doesn’t in-house AI always pay off? No. For small teams, occasional use, and companies without IT management, the cloud is almost always more advantageous – both financially and operationally. The break-even point for 10 people is between 15 and 44 months, depending on the scenario. It’s not a universal win.
Can I use a free account for business purposes? You can, but you’re taking a risk. Account management, security policies, and logging are missing. You don’t know who uploaded what, and you have no control over the data. Yes for testing, no for live operations.
What if I need AI for a few months, not years? In that case, the cloud is the only sensible choice. Monthly billing is more expensive, but for a short-term project, the investment in hardware won’t pay for itself.
Do I need an IT administrator for in-house AI? Yes. Someone has to install the server, secure it, update it, and deal with outages. If you don’t have such a person internally, factor in external management – and that moves the TCO towards a more cautious scenario.
Summary: The Most Expensive AI Isn’t the Best Choice for the Whole Company
The main point of this entire article is simple: the most expensive available option is not automatically the right one for everyone. The decision about AI in a company is always a question of context – how many people use it, for what, with what data, and in what ecosystem.
For a few people, the cloud is the simplest. For a team in Microsoft 365, Copilot makes sense. For working with documents and long texts, Claude might be better. For sensitive data and internal know-how, in-house AI is suitable. For testing, a free account is enough. And for most companies, a hybrid will ultimately be the most practical – cloud where it makes sense, and in-house AI where it’s necessary.
There is no single correct answer. There is only the right question: „What exactly do we need, and under what conditions?"
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Price Sources (as of 25 June 2026): ChatGPT Business pricing · ChatGPT Business info · Claude Team plan · Claude plans · Microsoft 365 Copilot pricing · Mistral open models license · Llama FAQ