Quick answer: for a Canadian small business in 2026, a CRM with follow-up automation typically costs $50 to $500 CAD a month in software plus $1,500 to $10,000 for set-up, and an AI agent (receptionist or chat agent) usually adds $1,500 to $10,000 to build and $100 to $600 a month to run. Published prices for custom AI agents start around $1,500 per agent plus a monthly optimisation fee, and AI strategy work is listed from about $5,000. These are typical market ranges, not 1 Club prices.
Owners rarely say "I need a CRM." They say "leads fall through the cracks," "I forget to follow up on quotes," or "we miss calls when we're on a job site in Stittsville." A CRM and some well-chosen automation fix that. The cost has three parts, and most quotes only show one of them.
The three parts of the cost
- Software (monthly): the CRM itself, plus any phone, texting, email or AI tools it uses.
- Set-up (one-off): planning your pipeline, importing contacts, building forms, follow-up sequences, integrations and training.
- Running costs (monthly): AI usage, phone minutes, text messages, WhatsApp conversation fees and someone keeping it tuned.
Typical software costs (2026, CAD)
- Free or starter CRMs: $0 to $50 a month. Contact lists and a basic pipeline; limited automation.
- Small business CRMs, per user: roughly $20 to $150 per user per month, depending on features.
- All-in-one platforms (CRM, texting, email, booking, forms): roughly $100 to $500 a month flat, often cheaper than stacking separate tools for a small team.
- Usage on top: text messages, phone numbers, call minutes and email sending are usually metered. A busy service business might add $20 to $150 a month.
Typical set-up costs
- Basic CRM set-up: about $1,500 to $3,500. One pipeline, contact import, a web form and a few follow-up messages.
- CRM with automation: about $3,500 to $10,000. Missed-call text-back, quote follow-up, review requests, appointment reminders, ad lead routing and reporting.
- Complex or multi-team set-ups: $10,000 to $25,000+. Several pipelines, custom integrations with accounting or job software, bilingual sequences and staff training.
Typical AI agent costs
- Build: about $1,500 to $10,000 per agent. A simple website chat agent sits at the low end; a phone receptionist or a WhatsApp and Instagram agent that books into your calendar and hands off to staff costs more.
- AI usage: often $20 to $300 a month for a small business, based on how many conversations it handles.
- Phone and messaging fees: voice minutes, phone numbers and Meta's WhatsApp conversation fees, typically $20 to $200 a month.
- Tuning and review: published plans recommend a monthly optimisation fee; in practice someone should read conversations and fix answers every month.
What drives the cost
- How many steps you automate, and how many tools they touch (calendar, accounting, job software, ad platforms).
- Two languages. French and English sequences and AI agents mean twice the writing and testing.
- Lead volume. More leads mean more texts, calls and AI conversations.
- Data clean-up. Importing years of messy spreadsheets takes longer than starting fresh.
- Rules and consent. Text and email follow-ups must meet CASL, and AI agents must not collect more personal information than needed under PIPEDA and, for Quebec contacts, Law 25.
Red flags
- You cannot export your contacts. Your customer data should always be yours to download.
- The CRM account is in the agency's name. Fine for a trial; not for your main system.
- AI agents with no human hand-off. Customers need a way to reach a person, and the agent must say when it does not know.
- No consent tracking. If the system cannot show who agreed to receive texts or emails, CASL problems follow.
- "Set and forget" AI. Agents drift. Someone should review conversations every month.
How to get a fair quote
Start by listing the leaks. Our missed-call cost calculator shows what unanswered calls cost you, and the find tasks to automate guide picks the ten jobs worth automating first. If you are not sure you need a CRM at all, read do you actually need a CRM?, and for an honest view of AI phone agents see an AI receptionist for a small business. Then ask each provider to price the same list, split into software, set-up and monthly running costs.
Three ways to start
- Do it yourself, free: take the AI readiness score and set up a missed-call text-back with the script in our guide.
- Done with you: we map your lead flow and follow-ups with you, choose the tools, and your team builds with our checklists.
- Done for you: we set up the CRM, automations and AI agent in your name, test them, and send weekly numbers on leads, replies and bookings. You get a fixed quote after a short free call.