![AI Content material Is 4.7x Cheaper Than Human Content material [+ New Research Report]](https://i2.wp.com/ahrefs.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ai-content-is-4.7x-cheaper-than-by-ryan-law-data-studies.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,998&ssl=1 "AI Content material Is 4.7x Cheaper Than Human Content material [+ New Research Report]")
We surveyed 879 entrepreneurs to know how generative AI is altering content material advertising: the workflows, the prices, the outcomes…and the dangers.
On this article, we’re trying particularly on the prices and budgets related to AI content material. How a lot does AI content material value? Are corporations investing extra, or much less?
Learn the total analysis report
Obtain and skim the total PDF report right here (no electronic mail required): The State of AI in Content material Advertising.
It contains further analysis and evaluation on AI content material efficiency and prices, professional commentary from a dozen content material and AI specialists, and the total analysis methodology.
- AI-generated content material is 4.7x cheaper than human-written content material.
- The common value per AI-generated weblog put up is $131, in comparison with $611 for human-written posts.
- Corporations utilizing AI spend a mean of $2,475 monthly on content material, in comparison with $2,442 for non-AI customers.
- 51% of corporations plan to extend their spending on AI-generated content material.
- On common, corporations spend simply $188 monthly on AI instruments.
- 38% of respondents report saving cash on writers on account of AI adoption.
- 64% of corporations spend lower than $500 monthly on AI content material instruments.
We requested respondents how a lot they spend to create a single weblog put up. Unsurprisingly, AI-created content material is less expensive than human-written content material.
On the lowest finish of the spectrum, 87% of AI customers reported a price of $0–100 per weblog put up, in comparison with 39% of non-AI customers.
On the excessive finish, 11% of non-AI customers reported spending larger than $1,000 per weblog put up, in comparison with simply 2% of AI customers. 4% of non-AI customers report spending larger than $5,000 per weblog put up.
We used the midpoints for every vary to calculate an approximate weighted common value. For AI-generated content material, this common value was $131; for human-created content material, it was $611, or 4.7x larger.
| How a lot do you pay for the typical weblog put up? | AI | No AI |
|---|---|---|
| $0–$100 | 87.15% | 39.02% |
| $101–$500 | 8.52% | 30.49% |
| $501–$1,000 | 2.23% | 19.51% |
| $1,001–$2,000 | 1.26% | 3.66% |
| $2,001–$3,000 | 0.42% | 2.44% |
| $3,001–$4,000 | 0.28% | 0.00% |
| $4,001–$5,000 | 0.14% | 1.22% |
| $5,001+ | 0.00% | 3.66% |
Whether or not or not they use AI, our respondents spend the identical quantity on their content material advertising methods.
The common month-to-month spend on content material advertising was nearly the identical within the AI and non-AI segments: $2,475 and $2,442, respectively.
Given the diminished marginal value of AI content material and the elevated publishing frequency it allows, this means that AI content material is primarily a cost-cutting measure, permitting corporations to publish extra content material with the identical finances—as a substitute of unlocking radically new or completely different content material methods.
Segmenting the info additional by firm dimension, AI use appears to save lots of essentially the most cash for the smallest (micro) and largest (enterprise) corporations:
What the specialists suppose
“It’s fascinating that corporations utilizing AI aren’t essentially spending much less—they’re producing extra with the identical finances. Although we’re nonetheless in a troublesome budgetary atmosphere, corporations are nonetheless investing to shift from the fixed battle of creation to specializing in technique, viewers insights, and measuring precise enterprise influence. We’ve seen the identical at Campfire—the efficiencies AI has created has allowed us to experiment increasingly more shortly (eg, AB testing advert copy at scale), and we’ve truly invested extra in our personal content material in Q1 as a result of we really feel there are economies of scale to AI use that we couldn’t generate earlier than.”
“One approach to learn this knowledge: content material budgets are related throughout AI and non-AI-using corporations. As a substitute of utilizing AI as a justification for rising spend, AI is as a substitute getting used to make the identical finances go additional, creating extra content material for a similar complete value.”
Unsurprisingly, nearly none of our respondents plan to cut back their spend on AI content material.
Over half of respondents plan to extend spend on AI content material within the subsequent 12 months (17% “improve considerably” and 34% “improve”). 43% plan to maintain their spend the identical, whereas simply 6% plan to lower spending (5% “lower” and 1% “lower considerably”).
Grouping knowledge by firm dimension, micro (1–9 worker) corporations are the almost certainly to extend their spend, whereas enterprises (1,000+ staff) are the least prone to lower their spend:
AI instruments are extraordinarily low-cost. Nearly two-thirds of our survey respondents (64%) spend lower than $500 monthly on content material instruments.
On the low finish of the spectrum, 47% of respondents reported spending $1–100 on AI instruments monthly, with 15% spending $101–250. Solely 2.6% of respondents spend over $1,000 per month.
Utilizing the midpoints of every vary, we are able to calculate an estimated weighted common spend of simply $188 monthly.
What the specialists suppose
Generative AI has been so disruptive partly due to its low value. Now we have entry to a freemium SaaS product that may write articles, generate code, and create pictures. API calls have gotten cheaper and cheaper too, so even superior customers with complicated workflows can entry AI for terribly low costs.
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Though it appears attainable that AI content material will eat away at the marketplace for freelance writing, our knowledge counsel that AI content material is way from a wholesale substitute.
When requested how a lot cash AI customers saved monthly, the commonest response (45%) was that they had been not saving cash.
38% of respondents reported lowering their expenditure on writers and freelance writers on account of adopting AI. Solely a really small proportion (2.99%) reported saving over $5,000 per month.
Probably the most generally reported financial savings fell into the $1–500 and $501–1,000 vary. Utilizing the midpoints of every vary we are able to calculate an estimated weighted common saving of $603.
What the specialists suppose
“AI is just not right here to exchange content material groups—it’s right here to make them extra environment friendly, artistic, and strategic.
The manufacturers that spend money on AI coaching now could have a transparent aggressive edge, producing high-quality content material quicker whereas sustaining authenticity and model voice.”
“One thing we’ve seen with generative AI is that it could possibly unlock new sorts of shopper demand, as a substitute of merely changing current demand. Thus far, AI search appears additive to conventional search—and the identical could also be true for entry to content material advertising. AI may permit corporations that couldn’t in any other case afford any sort of content material advertising to entry it for the primary time.”
Need to find out how entrepreneurs use AI for content material creation, or how nicely it ranks relative to human-written content material?
You possibly can obtain and skim our full PDF report right here (no electronic mail required): The State of AI in Content material Advertising.
