Guide · 3 minute read · 19 October 2026
How much does it cost to run an app made with AI?
Making the app may have cost you a subscription to an AI tool. Running it online is a separate bill, and for a small app it can be close to nothing. Here is what each part costs, roughly, and which part can surprise you.
The address
Every host gives you a free address under its own name, and for sharing with friends or testing that's enough. Your own domain name is paid for each year. At one registrar in September 2026, a .com cost about $11 a year. A .app cost about $9 for the first year and $15 for each year after.
Check the renewal price before you buy. One ending we looked at cost under $2 for the first year and nearly $29 a year to renew.
Hosting
A website or single-page app is cheap to host, because the host only hands out files. Many hosts do it free for small sites, and paid plans start at a few dollars a month.
An app with a server costs more, because a computer has to run it all day. Free plans for servers usually put the app to sleep when nobody visits, and the next visitor waits while it wakes up. Keeping a small app awake usually costs somewhere between $5 and $25 a month.
The database
Supabase, Firebase and Neon all have free plans that are plenty for a small app. You start paying when the data grows or the app gets busy. Free plans can also pause: Supabase pauses a free project after a week with no activity, and you have to start it again from the dashboard.
If your app sends email, such as sign-in links or receipts, it needs a sending service. Most give a free allowance of a few thousand emails a month, which covers a small app.
AI calls, the part to watch
If your app itself calls an AI service, every visitor's request costs money, billed per use. This cost grows with every visitor, and it's the one that catches people out. Set a monthly spending limit in the service's dashboard, cap how many requests one visitor can make, and keep the key on a server so nobody else can spend it.
Some rough totals
A personal website or single-page app on a free address costs nothing. The same app with its own .com costs about $11 a year. An app with a server, a small database and its own domain is often $5 to $30 a month. AI calls come on top of that and depend on how much the app is used.
A website or single-page app on a free address
Nothing
The same app with its own .com
About $11 a year
An app with a server, a small database and its own domain
Often $5 to $30 a month
AI calls
On top, and grows with use