The verdict in three sentences
For a 70-employee company that wants to automate 6 repetitive tasks, RPA (software robots that mimic a user's clicks) costs USD 5,500 to 16,500 a year per robot, plus USD 4,400 to 11,000 of setup per process. Custom development with scripts and APIs runs USD 3,300 to 13,200 per process, with no annual licence, and copes better with screen changes. The right answer is decided process by process: API available, go custom; old closed application without an API, go RPA.
The 6 tasks and what they cost today
In an industrial subcontractor, the same actions come back every week: chasing late-paying customers, downloading documents from customer portals, keying supplier invoices, reconciling the bank, syncing stock between two systems, producing a weekly report. Taken one by one, these jobs look small. Added up, they fill almost one full-time role.
| Task | Manual time per month | API available? | Recommended option | 2026 budget (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chasing unpaid invoices | 20 h | Yes (invoicing software) | Custom | 3,300 to 5,500 |
| Extraction from 3 customer portals | 30 h | No | RPA or browser script | 5,500 to 9,900 |
| Keying supplier invoices | 35 h | Yes (OCR + accounting) | Custom | 6,600 to 13,200 |
| Bank reconciliation | 15 h | Yes (bank aggregator) | Custom | 3,300 to 6,600 |
| Stock sync between ERP and logistics | 25 h | Partial | Custom | 5,500 to 11,000 |
| Weekly reporting | 15 h | Yes | Custom | 3,300 to 5,500 |
| Total | 140 h |
At USD 42 per loaded hour, these 140 hours cost about USD 5,900 a month, or roughly USD 70,500 a year. Estimates are 2026 orders of magnitude for companies of 50 to 150 employees.
3-year cost comparison
RPA appeals because it is fast: you record a user's path and the robot replays it. But each unattended robot runs on an annual licence, and the smallest interface change (a moved button, a new login step) makes it fail. Custom code talks directly to APIs: longer to write at first, but immune to cosmetic changes.
| Scenario for 6 processes | Upfront cost | Annual cost | 3-year total | Failures per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All RPA (2 unattended robots) | USD 39,600 (6 setups at 6,600) | USD 17,600 licences + 5,500 maintenance | USD 108,900 | 8 to 15 |
| All custom | USD 46,200 (6 processes at 7,700) | USD 4,000 maintenance and hosting | USD 58,200 | 1 to 3 |
| Mixed: 5 custom + 1 portal robot | USD 46,200 | USD 8,800 licence + 4,000 | USD 84,600 | 3 to 6 |
| Mixed: 5 custom + 1 browser script | USD 45,100 | USD 4,600 | USD 58,900 | 2 to 5 |
For this profile, custom comes out about 45% cheaper over 3 years. RPA regains the edge when a company has more than 15 processes on legacy applications without APIs, and an IT team able to maintain the robots.
Decision grid per process
Ask four questions for each task. Does the target application expose an API or a reliable export? If yes, custom almost always wins. Does the interface change more than twice a year? If yes, avoid RPA, it is too fragile. Does volume exceed 500 operations a month? If yes, an API handles in seconds what a robot does in hours. Is the process temporary, such as a 6-month migration? If yes, RPA is a good bridge. Also require alerts: an automation that fails silently costs more than manual work.
Mini case study
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Daniel, operations and finance director of a 70-employee aerospace subcontractor in Miami, compares two quotes. RPA option: USD 108,900 over 3 years. Mixed option, 5 custom processes and 1 browser script for the portals: USD 58,900. Both free up about 120 of the 140 monthly hours, or 1,440 hours a year valued at USD 42, nearly USD 60,500 a year or USD 181,400 over 3 years. With the mixed option, the 3-year net gain reaches USD 122,500, against USD 72,500 with RPA. The USD 45,100 upfront investment pays back in about 10 months.
FAQ
Should a small company avoid RPA altogether?
No. It remains relevant for an old business application without an API, or for a temporary automation under 12 months. It becomes expensive beyond 2 licensed robots.
How long does it take to automate one process with custom code?
Allow 2 to 4 weeks per process, testing included. The 6 processes in the example are delivered in 3 to 4 months.
Who maintains the automations?
A maintenance contract of USD 220 to 440 a month covers monitoring, alerts and updates when a vendor changes its API.
Can portals without APIs be automated without RPA?
Yes, with headless browser scripts costing USD 4,400 to 8,800 with no annual licence. Like RPA, they remain sensitive to screen changes.
Does automation eliminate jobs?
In companies of this size, it mainly frees time for higher-value work: customer relations, control, analysis. About 120 hours a month are reassigned in the example.
Let's scope your project. List your repetitive tasks, the software involved and the time spent: we price each process between USD 3,300 and 13,200 and tell you honestly where RPA is the better choice. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
