The build price is the entry ticket
AI builders advertise the build because the build is the cheap part. These are the INR costs that arrive after, from rescue work on Indian businesses' AI-built sites:
| Post-build cost | Honest band (INR) | When it hits |
|---|---|---|
| Stabilization sprint (forms, analytics, SEO plumbing, legal pages) | ₹28,000 – ₹1,13,000 | Week 1–4 after launch |
| Production deployment (domain, hosting, SSL, email routing) | ₹11,000 – ₹56,500 | Launch week |
| Form/rescue after silent lead loss discovered | ₹17,000 – ₹68,000 + the lost leads | Usually month 1–3 |
| Performance rescue (mobile reality check) | ₹22,500 – ₹90,000 | First campaign |
| Monthly care, senior | ₹14,000 – ₹47,500/month | Forever, and worth it |
| Escape/migration off a locked builder | ₹56,500 – ₹3,40,000+ | When you outgrow it |
The first-year total, honestly
A free AI-built site with a free subscription commonly costs ₹1,00,000–₹3,00,000 in its first year once stabilization, rescue and care are priced, versus an AI-assisted professional build at ₹1,50,000–₹5,00,000 that includes all of it. The AI route still wins sometimes: prototypes, throwaway campaigns, sites you will not depend on. The error is commissioning a builder for a business asset.
How to spend the least overall
- If you must self-build: read the failure list first and fix the top three before your first campaign.
- If the site matters: AI-assisted professional build with maintenance in the contract from day one, see the maintenance guide.
- Either way: run the lost-leads audit in month one. The audit is free and the findings are never free.