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Free workshop replay · 70 minutes

How to keep your AI MVP costs down

Your AI MVP was meant to cost US$25 a month. Here's where the money actually goes, how to cap it, and how to price so your customers cover it.

With Daniel Le'au, fractional CTO, and Matt Ainsworth, The Lean CPTO

Workshop replay: AI MVP costs, from US$25 to US$82K

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Free. You'll also get the replay link by email, plus the cost calculator we use in the session. Privacy

The answer, in short

AI MVP costs leak in five places: build credits, hosting and databases, the AI inside your product, paying someone to fix things, and your own time. You keep them down by:

  • switching off auto top-ups
  • setting a monthly ceiling and alerts on every tool
  • starting with the cheapest AI model that does the job
  • changing one thing per prompt so you don't get stuck in a debugging spiral

Then price so AI costs stay under about 30% of revenue: set your minimum price at 3 times what each customer costs you to serve, and aim for 5 times.

What you'll learn

  • Where your money leaks. Build credits in tools like Lovable and Replit, hosting and databases, AI inside your product, paid fixes, and the hours you don't count.
  • Caps and alerts in 20 minutes. Turn off auto top-ups, set a monthly ceiling, and cap usage per user so one spike doesn't empty your account.
  • How to stop the credit spiral. One change per prompt, save the working version, and know when to stop and get help instead of asking AI to check its own work.
  • What to check before you pay for a fix. What's actually broken, a fixed price instead of an open-ended hourly rate, and everything in your name.
  • Your price floor. Work out your cost to serve each customer, then price at 3 to 5 times it.
  • The cheaper option. When a manual version (an offer page with you doing the work behind it, with Claude helping) beats building, and when it doesn't.
  • A 7-day plan to put it all in place.

Who it's for

  • You're building, or about to build, with AI tools and the bills keep creeping up.
  • Customers aren't paying yet, so every dollar comes from your own pocket.
  • You want to keep using AI, just in the way that makes business sense.

Chapters

Sign up above to watch, and each chapter becomes a link that jumps straight to it.

  1. What we'll cover
  2. Meet Matt and Daniel
  3. Recap of Part 1: build your MVP for $10K, not $150K
  4. When a US$25 AI MVP blows out (the US$82K stolen key)
  5. Building first, then looking for buyers
  6. How founders are using AI well right now
  7. Where AI MVP costs leak: credits, hosting, databases
  8. When does architecture matter?
  9. AI inside your product: caps and choosing a model
  10. Paying a developer, and the cost of your own time
  11. Your cost map, caps and alerts
  12. How to stop the credit spiral
  13. Before you pay for a fix: 3 questions
  14. Every customer costs you money
  15. Your price floor: 3 to 5 times cost to serve
  16. Manual MVP vs AI builders vs agents
  17. Your paid pilot, on one page
  18. Your 7-day plan

Your hosts

Daniel Le'au, fractional CTO.

Daniel has been building software since he was a kid. He has worked from startups to enterprise, with several successful exits, and now helps startups scale without learning everything the hard way.

Matt Ainsworth, The Lean CPTO.

20+ years across product, tech and sales in Australia and Japan, and 10 years mentoring founders in both countries. Matt helps business owners sell as they build.

Start with Part 1

Part 1: How to build your MVP for $10K, not $150K. The session before this one: what a manual back end looks like, when to bring in a CTO or a developer, and keeping your IP in your name.

Watch Part 1

Questions

How much should an AI MVP cost each month?

Before customers pay, aim to stay on free and starter tiers and keep your total tools bill to what you'd happily spend for 3 months without revenue. Once customers pay, keep AI costs under about 30% of revenue.

Should I turn off auto top-ups on AI tools?

Yes, until paying customers cover the usage. Set a monthly ceiling and alerts instead, so a spike in usage can't drain your account.

How do I price an AI product?

Add up what each customer costs you to serve (AI usage, tools and your own time), then set your minimum price at 3 times that and aim for 5 times.

Do I need a developer to fix my AI-built app?

Not always. If you've gone round in circles on the same bug, it's usually cheaper to pay someone for a fixed-price fix than to keep spending credits and hours. Make sure the code and accounts stay in your name.