“What will AI actually cost us?” is the first real question for most Indian businesses — and the honest answer is that the licence price is rarely the biggest number. Here’s a grounded breakdown in ₹ terms. (dgm implements osFoundry, a separate company’s platform — dgm is an independent integration partner, not osFoundry. General information, not financial advice; figures vary by scope.)

The four cost components

  1. Platform — per-seat SaaS or a flat-fee / self-hosted platform.
  2. Integration — connecting AI to your systems and data (usually the biggest line).
  3. Model / usage — per-token charges (often modest for typical business volumes).
  4. Ongoing operation — maintenance, monitoring, change management.

For most Indian businesses, integration and licensing dominate — not model costs.

Per-seat vs flat-fee economics

This is where the numbers diverge:

  • Per-seat SaaS (~$20–30/user/month) is predictable per user but scales linearly — at 200 users, roughly $48,000–72,000/year ongoing, before renewals (see the pricing reviews).
  • Flat-fee integration (e.g. dgm’s $3,999/month) doesn’t scale with seats — often cheaper for larger user bases; for a handful of users, per-seat tools may be cheaper.

Model your own numbers — there’s no universal winner.

The hidden costs (where India projects overrun)

  • Data preparation — cleaning and structuring your data.
  • Integration complexity — legacy systems, Tally, ERPs.
  • Change management — getting staff to actually use it (see change management).
  • Maintenance — keeping it working as systems change.

Over-focusing on token costs (usually small) while under-budgeting these is the classic overrun.

How dgm prices

dgm is transparent: a $399 one-time assessment and $3,999/month implementation on osFoundry, no per-seat fees (INR approximate; USD authoritative; 18% GST domestic). Model/usage costs and your own infrastructure are separate and depend on your workload. See also AI ROI and consulting cost.

General information, not financial advice. Costs vary by scope — get a scoped estimate for your use case.