How Much Does an AI Sales Assistant Cost?
Quick answer
An AI sales assistant costs $79–299/month for most local service businesses — 85–95% less than hiring a human salesperson at $3,000–5,000/month base salary plus commission. The AI responds to every lead in seconds, works 24/7, and requires zero ramp-up time.
Full sales cost comparison (2026)
| Option | Monthly | Annual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Sales Assistant (Starter) | $79/mo | $948/yr | Unlimited conversations, 1 Tulpik role, up to 3 channels |
| AI Sales Assistant (Growth) | $299/mo | $3,588/yr | Unlimited Tulpik roles and channels, dedicated onboarding |
| Part-time human salesperson | $1,500–2,500/mo | $18,000–30,000/yr | 20 hrs/week, business hours only |
| Full-time human salesperson | $3,000–5,000/mo base | $50,000–90,000+/yr | Salary + 10–20% commission + benefits |
| Outsourced sales agency | $2,000–5,000/mo | $24,000–60,000/yr | Retainer + percentage of revenue |
| Commission-only sales rep | $0 base + 15–25% | Variable | Motivation varies; no 24/7 coverage |
What's included in an AI sales assistant subscription?
A standard OpenTulpa AI sales assistant subscription includes all of the following at the flat monthly rate — no add-ons, no per-lead charges, no surprise overages:
- Unlimited inbound lead conversations across all connected channels
- Lead qualification with custom scoring criteria
- Objection handling trained on your common pushbacks
- Service recommendation and pricing delivery
- Automated follow-up sequences for warm leads
- CRM integration (HubSpot, Salesforce, Airtable, Google Sheets)
- Multi-channel coverage (Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, website chat)
- Human escalation routing for complex or high-value deals
Hidden costs of hiring a human salesperson
The listed salary is only the beginning. The true cost of a human sales hire includes:
Commission
10–25% on every deal closed
Payroll taxes
~15% of base salary (employer side)
Benefits
$300–600/mo in health, dental, retirement
Ramp-up time
2–4 months before full productivity
Training and tools
CRM licences, sales tools, onboarding time
Sick days and vacation
10–20 days/year of zero coverage
Turnover cost
50–200% of annual salary to replace
After-hours gap
Zero coverage outside working hours
When you add these up, a $3,500/month salary hire often costs $6,000–8,000/month in total. An AI sales assistant covers the same inbound workload — including nights and weekends — at a fraction of that cost.
Is the cost worth it? A simple ROI calculation
Use this formula to estimate your ROI. Most local businesses find the subscription pays for itself within the first 1–2 recovered leads.
1. Estimate weekly after-hours or weekend inquiries you currently miss (DMs, website messages, form fills)
2. Multiply by 40% (approximate conversion rate when response is instant)
3. Multiply by your average deal value
4. Multiply by 4 to get monthly recoverable revenue
Example
12 weekly after-hours inquiries × 40% conversion × $200 avg deal × 4 weeks = $3,840/month in recoverable revenue vs $79–299/month for an AI sales assistant.