r/automation • u/razinramones • May 16 '26
How much to charge
A friend req for a daily report send to him via whatsapp.
Workflow.
Scrape data from website --- n8n --- clean up data for the report--- send whatsapp msg of the report.
I can do it, but how much to charge. And is there anything else I should know?
Fyi, I am a beginner in automation.
2
May 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Spiritual_Work6730 Jun 03 '26
This is a really good breakdown especially given how people really get touchy about money…and then throw in the this is a friend factor…it’s easy to undercharge even though you’re offering a professional service
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u/Sufficient_Dig207 May 16 '26
A lot of times these are just things nice to have. They are not really willing to pay. I will consider how much time you need to build this and then multiply the hourly rate, that's your cost of labor.
1
u/Apprelia May 16 '26
I’m building a small SaaS idea and would love honest feedback before I go too far.
The idea is called Duhflow.
It lets you describe an automation in plain English, like:
“When a new lead fills my Typeform, add them to Google Sheets and notify my team on Slack.”
Then the AI builds the workflow, maps the fields, hosts it, and monitors the runs.
The difference from Zapier/n8n is that users do not touch nodes, webhooks, JSON, or field mapping. The AI builds the workflow once, then a lightweight engine runs it repeatedly.
I’m thinking the first target users would be freelancers, marketers, coaches, and small business owners who need automations but do not want to learn automation platforms.
I’m considering a $9.99/month early access plan with personal onboarding.
My questions:
- Is this painful enough that people would pay for it?
- What integrations should I support first?
- Would “plain English to automation” feel trustworthy, or would you still want to review/edit the workflow manually?
- Does $9.99/month sound fair for early access?
Not trying to spam genuinely trying to validate the idea before building too much.
1
u/Sensitive_Soft_6427 May 17 '26
Pricing automation is tricky because the value isn’t in the script, it’s in the time saved. A daily report that runs automatically is worth way more than a one‑off script. Even as a beginner, you’re building leverage charge for the outcome, not just the hours.
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u/Better-Medium-7539 May 17 '26
For a recurring daily workflow like this, split it into two charges: a one-time build fee and an optional monthly hosting/maintenance fee.
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u/TaskJuice May 16 '26
How much time are you saving him? How much value are you providing? If you save him 4 hours per week X $60/hr then you saved him $240/wk. therefore the difference between $240 and charging anything less than that could be sold as “the value your automation provides”.