For a 120-person firm, business AI seats at list price run about CAD 3,400 to 4,900 a month, or about CAD 28 to 41 a seat (our arithmetic from the Claude, ChatGPT and Copilot prices below). Outside help and your staff's time usually cost more, and this article shows each.
Buying AI now does not make a firm early. In September 2026, 55.86% of US businesses on Ramp, a US corporate card and expense company, paid for at least one AI product or service, up from 43.80% a year earlier (Ramp AI Index on FRED, updated October 14, 2026). In Canada, 27.8% of businesses with 100 or more employees used AI to produce goods or services in the second quarter of 2026, and 32.4% of professional, scientific and technical services firms did (Statistics Canada, June 11, 2026). The two measure different things: Ramp counts any payment for AI, while Statistics Canada counts AI used in producing what a business sells.
Budgets are rising. In a BCG survey of about 2,400 executives in 16 markets, companies expected to double their AI spending in 2026, from 0.8% to about 1.7% of revenue (BCG, January 15, 2026). For a firm with CAD 20 million in revenue, 1.7% would be CAD 340,000 a year (our arithmetic, as an illustration).
Tools: what a seat costs
Business plans charge a fixed fee per person each month, with usage limits. These are the list prices on each vendor's pricing page on October 16, 2026.
| Tool | Per person, per month | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Team | US$20 billed annually or US$25 monthly (about CAD 28.39 annually, our conversion) | Standard seat, for 2 to 150 people. A premium seat with five times the usage of a standard seat is US$100 billed annually. Claude Enterprise is US$20 a seat plus usage at API rates, with a 20-seat minimum. |
| ChatGPT Business | US$20 billed annually or US$25 monthly (about CAD 28.39 annually, our conversion) | Two or more users. ChatGPT Enterprise is priced through OpenAI's sales team. |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business | CAD 28.50 billed annually at list, or CAD 34.20 monthly | An add-on to a qualifying Microsoft 365 licence. Microsoft lists a CAD 24.43 promotion from July 1 to December 31, 2026. Microsoft 365 Copilot for enterprise is CAD 40.70, paid yearly. Copilot Chat comes at no extra cost with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription. |
| Gemini in Google Workspace | Included in Business Standard at US$14 with a one-year commitment (about CAD 19.87, our conversion) | That is the price of the whole Workspace plan, with email and documents. Google says the one-year commitment saves 16% over paying month to month. Business Starter (US$7) gets basic Gemini access; Standard and above get expanded access. |
For 100 people on a CAD 28.50 Copilot Business seat, that is CAD 2,850 a month, or CAD 34,200 a year (our arithmetic). At Microsoft's promotional price of CAD 24.43, which runs to December 31, 2026 and applies to the first year, it is CAD 2,443 a month. It's a real line in the budget, but usually the smallest one. Ramp found the median firm spent US$11.38 per employee per month on AI tools in June 2026, while the top 10% spent US$611 (Ramp Economics Lab, June 9, 2026). The median is below the list price of one business seat, which suggests many firms haven't given everyone a seat yet.
Some plans also bill by usage once you pass the seat limits. What an AI setup costs explains subscription and usage-based billing, and how to keep a usage bill predictable.
Outside help, compared
This is where the larger numbers sit. The table puts published prices for training, consulting, fractional leadership, a full-time hire and Sidekick's three offers side by side.
We could not find credible Canadian figures for fractional executive rates, AI consulting rates or a Head of AI salary, so US figures are shown for reference and marked US$. The large consulting firms don't publish their rates. Robert Half Canada is the source for the Canadian salaries.
| Option | Published price | Source and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Staff training, all topics | US$782 per learner a year at midsize US companies (about CAD 1,110, our conversion) | Training Magazine, 2025 Training Industry Report, November 10, 2025. Covers every kind of workplace training. Employees averaged 40 hours of training a year. |
| Hands-on AI engineering, by the hour | US$125 to 240 an hour (about CAD 177 to 341); senior engineers US$170 to 240 (about CAD 241 to 341). Conversions are ours. | KORE1, a US IT staffing firm, August 22, 2026. Agency bill rates from its own placements, which include the contractor's pay and the agency's margin. |
| Fractional executive, by the hour | US$176 to 211 an hour on average for a fractional CMO, CFO, COO or CTO | Go Fractional, 2026 State of Fractional Work, updated June 9, 2026. Based on US job postings over 90 days (17 to 52 per role) and a survey of 213 people. |
| Fractional CFO on retainer | US$3,000 to 10,000 a month (about CAD 4,259 to 14,196, our conversion) | Same Go Fractional report: what a fractional CFO retainer typically runs. |
| Full-time AI engineer, Canada | CAD 119,500 a year at mid level (range CAD 91,250 to 144,000) | Robert Half Canada, national figure from its 2027 salary guide (the latest it publishes for this role). The employer also pays at least CAD 6,218.75 a year in CPP, CPP2 and EI (our arithmetic from the 2026 maximums), before provincial payroll taxes, benefits and recruiting. |
| Chief information officer, Vancouver | CAD 260,260 a year at mid level (range CAD 212,420 to 308,620) | Robert Half Canada, from its 2026 salary guide, which is the latest it publishes for this role. Vancouver, the only Canadian CIO figure we found. |
| Sidekick Solo | CAD 1,800 once | An AI setup for one person in Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot, with four 30-minute coaching calls over 30 days. See Solo. |
| Sidekick Solo for Execs | CAD 2,900 once, in place of Solo | Everything in Solo, plus a one-page statement of where the firm stands on AI, a staff AI-use policy, talking points for staff and clients and a personal 90-day plan. See Solo for Execs. |
| Sidekick Fractional AI Leadership | From CAD 6,000 a month, with a 90-day commitment (CAD 18,000 at the starting fee) | Your leaders coached first, an AI plan and staff policy written with you, teams trained, and results measured against goals you set. See Fractional. |
Sidekick prices are in Canadian dollars, plus applicable tax. AI subscriptions are separate. Each line buys a different amount of work, so compare what's included as well as the price. A training budget buys hours of instruction, an hourly engineer builds what you specify, a fractional leader is accountable for a plan, and an employee is there every day.
Where Sidekick sits
Fractional AI Leadership is for the company case: a firm of 50 to 300 people that needs AI working across its teams. We coach your leaders first, write your AI plan and staff policy with you, train your teams, and measure results against goals you set. It starts at CAD 6,000 a month with a 90-day commitment, so CAD 18,000 at the starting fee.
CAD 6,000 is about US$4,227 at the Bank of Canada rate (our conversion). That is inside the US$3,000 to 10,000 monthly band Go Fractional publishes for a fractional CFO retainer. For reference, a quarter of Robert Half Canada's mid-level salary is CAD 29,875 for an AI engineer and CAD 65,065 for a Vancouver CIO, before benefits (our arithmetic). Both are full-time roles with far more hours, so weigh the fee against how much leadership time you need.
Solo for Execs (CAD 2,900 once) and Solo (CAD 1,800 once) suit a leader who wants to start with their own email, documents and meetings before taking AI to the rest of the firm. Solo sets up Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot for one person and coaches them for 30 days. Solo for Execs adds the documents a leader needs to answer the board, partners or staff.
The cost nobody quotes: your people's time
None of the prices above include your staff's hours. People need time to learn the tools, to set up the jobs they hand to AI, and to check what comes back before it reaches a client.
A news report of KPMG's survey of more than 750 Canadian business leaders found that 93% use AI in some form, 31% have it fully integrated, and 2% are seeing a return on generative AI (Consulting.ca, November 25, 2025). One likely reason is the work around the tools: training, setup and checking.
Budget that time on purpose. Our guide to training employees on AI recommends one AI champion for every 15 to 20 staff, with protected time to help colleagues. In a 120-person firm, that is six to eight people (our arithmetic). Ask any provider to estimate the hours your team will spend on setup, training and checking, and put those hours next to the fee.
If you'd like to see where AI fits before you spend anything, the free AI Opportunity Map takes about 10 minutes. If you'd rather talk through the budget, a short call will show whether you need help for one person, leadership across the company, or neither yet.
Common questions
Is AI expensive for a 100-person firm?
The tools are not. At list price, 100 business seats of Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot cost about CAD 2,840 to 4,070 a month, depending on the plan (our arithmetic from the vendors' prices). Microsoft's promotional Copilot Business price of CAD 24.43 a seat, which runs to December 31, 2026, brings the low end to about CAD 2,443. Outside help and your staff's time are the larger costs, so budget for those separately.
Should we hire or bring in fractional help?
Hire when leading AI work needs someone every day and you can describe the role. Robert Half Canada puts a mid-level AI engineer at CAD 119,500 a year, before benefits. Fractional help suits a firm that needs a plan, a policy and trained teams before it knows what that role should be.
Do grants cover it?
Some Canadian programs can help pay for AI training, planning or technical work. Our Canadian funding guide lists them. Don't count on a grant when you set the budget.
Do Sidekick's prices include tax?
No. Sidekick prices are in Canadian dollars, plus applicable tax. AI subscriptions such as Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot are billed separately by the vendor.
Figures checked October 16, 2026. US dollar amounts are converted at the Bank of Canada daily average for October 15, 2026, 1 USD = 1.4196 CAD, and marked as our conversion.
