You pay for 5 tools. SkaLean replaces them all.

SkaLean reduces AI costs in three structural ways:

1. Subscription consolidation: instead of paying for 5 to 7 separate tools (ChatGPT Teams at $25/user/month, Zapier at $99/month, Intercom at $74/month, etc.), you pay a single SkaLean subscription starting at $29/month covering all three modules. For 10 users, moving from the classic stack (~$630/month) to SkaLean (~$97/month) represents an 85% reduction in direct subscription cost.
2. Intelligent LLM router: SkaLean doesn't run GPT-4 or Claude 3 Opus for every request. An automatic router analyzes the complexity of each request and sends it to the least expensive model capable of handling it correctly. A simple question about your hours is processed by a model 30x cheaper than a complex contract analysis.
3. Elimination of hidden costs: training, integration maintenance, developer hours to fix broken connectors — these invisible costs represent on average 2.4x the listed subscription cost. SkaLean eliminates them by offering a unified platform with a single interface to learn and zero integrations to maintain.

SkaLean optimizes five spending categories:

1. LLM tokens: the most unpredictable variable expense. SkaLean's router automatically selects the least expensive model for each request. A 10-person SMB generating 50,000 tokens/day saves an average of 65 to 80% on this category compared to direct use of GPT-4.
2. SaaS subscriptions: consolidation of 5 to 7 tools into 1.
3. Integration development costs: with SkaLean's 200+ native connectors, no developer is needed to maintain connections between tools. Estimated savings: 4 to 8 developer hours/month avoided.
4. Training cost: a single interface to master (4 hours) instead of 5 different interfaces (3 weeks). For a team that onboards 3 new employees/year, that's 12 training hours saved.
5. Unused licenses: according to Productiv, 27% of SaaS licenses haven't been used in 30 days. With SkaLean, a single shared subscription replaces multiple underused individual licenses.

Yes — and it's one of the most important mechanisms for controlling your AI costs. SkaLean's LLM router analyzes each incoming request on 4 criteria:

1. Task complexity: simple classification (lightweight model, cost ~$0.0002/1000 tokens) vs. complex multi-document legal analysis (powerful model, cost ~$0.015/1000 tokens). The router sends each request to the cheapest model capable of handling it with the required quality.
2. Latency constraint: real-time requests (voice, chat) are sent to fast models. Batch tasks (reports, overnight analyses) to less expensive but slower models.
3. Required context: if the response is anchored in your document base (Studio AI), a less powerful model suffices since the knowledge is already provided in context.
4. Quality history: the router learns from your team's preferences and adjusts its recommendations.

Observed result: 40 to 70% savings on token costs compared to using a single premium model for all requests.

SkaLean offers three tools to forecast and control your AI budget:

1. Real-time consumption dashboard: visualize your tokens consumed by module (Studio AI, AI Assistant, AI Automation), by user, and by request type. You can identify in real time which uses consume the most and adjust.
2. Configurable budget alerts: set a monthly token or cost ceiling. When you reach 80% of the ceiling, you receive an alert. When you reach 100%, the system can continue with less expensive models, suspend, or alert you based on your configuration.
3. Budget estimator at onboarding: when you start, our team analyzes your current request volume (emails, support questions, processed documents) and provides a monthly SkaLean budget estimate with a confidence interval. The fixed component (SkaLean subscription) is predictable. The variable component (tokens) is managed and capped.

Overall, 85% of our clients have less than a 15% gap between their estimated budget and actual cost by month 3.

SkaLean applies a policy of full transparency on costs.

What you pay:

1. The SkaLean subscription (fixed, based on your plan and number of users).
2. LLM token consumption beyond the quota included in your plan — displayed in real time in the dashboard, with the cost per request visible.

What you don't pay as a hidden surplus:

1. API calls to native connectors (Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, etc.) are included in the subscription without volume limit.
2. Document storage in Studio AI is included up to 10 GB on the standard plan (extensible).
3. Bandwidth or infrastructure fees.
4. Standard support fees.

Important clarification: SkaLean does not buy tokens at full price and does not take a hidden margin on them. You pay the real cost from the LLM provider with a transparent service margin displayed. You can see the exact cost of each request in the detailed logs.

Based on our clients active for more than 6 months, we observe three ROI categories:

1. Subscription ROI (immediate ROI): average 68% reduction in total AI subscription cost. For an SMB moving from $680/month (classic stack) to $197/month (SkaLean Pro plan), savings are $483/month or $5,796/year. The ROI on the migration investment (average $2,500 team time) is reached in 5 months.
2. Productivity ROI: 20h+ freed per week for an 8-person team (see Automation page), 85% reduction in document search time (see Studio AI page), 80% of client questions resolved without human intervention (see AI Assistant page). Monetizing these hours at $35/h, the productivity ROI is estimated at $1,200 to $2,000/month.
3. Compliance ROI (regulated sectors): elimination of GDPR fine risk (up to 4% of revenue), complete traceability of AI requests for audits. The insurance value of this ROI is difficult to quantify but often decisive for medical, financial, and legal sectors.