What does a desktop AI agent really cost?
App fees, model access, billing periods, and usage limits explained.
The cost of a desktop AI agent can include an app subscription, model access, additional usage, and computer runtime. Some products bundle these; others use your existing provider account. Denker is an interface for AI agents with its own app plans, separate provider charges, and a limited included AI starter allowance. Compare the complete setup required for your task, not only the advertised monthly number. The prices below were checked against official sources on September 30, 2026. Currencies and billing periods remain separate; this is not an exchange-rate conversion or a promise of a particular number of completed tasks.
1. Separate the interface fee from the intelligence
Denker's Free plan is €0 with 25 on-screen requests per month, two projects, and five connected tools. Pro is €19 per month with unlimited on-screen requests, projects, and integrations, plus knowledge graph memory. New users receive a 14-day Pro trial without a credit card or automatic charge.
AI provider subscriptions or usage charges are separate. Denker includes a limited AI starter allowance; CLI dispatch uses your existing Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode login. Unlimited Denker requests do not mean unlimited provider tokens. If you already pay for a provider, distinguish that existing expense from the extra Denker app fee.
2. Check subscription access and shared limits
Claude Pro lists $20 when billed monthly or $200 paid upfront for a year. Claude Max starts at $100 per month. Claude Code and other Claude activity share usage limits; paid access is not unlimited task capacity.
ChatGPT Plus is $20 per month. ChatGPT Work and Codex share a usage allowance, while an API-key setup has separate API billing. Do not budget from retired ChatGPT agent message quotas or assume two interfaces create two independent allowances. Check the plan and account you actually intend to use.
3. Read annual prices as annual commitments
Lapu's pricing page lists annual EUR plans: Premium €192 per year, displayed as €16 per month; Pro €576 per year, displayed as €48 per month; and Max €960 per year, displayed as €80 per month. It also describes a free plan. These annual equivalents are not verified month-to-month checkout prices.
A lower monthly equivalent can still require a larger payment today. Compare renewal terms, cancellation, and the allowance you need before choosing annual billing. Keep EUR and USD amounts distinct unless you deliberately convert them using a stated date and rate. Taxes and local checkout can affect the final payment.
4. Include computer time where it is metered
Simular's Sai lists a free Explore plan with daily credits. Its $50-per-month pay-as-you-go plan includes 50,000 credits, described as $50 of usage for AI models and computer time. Running on your own Mac or Windows device counts AI usage without a computer-time charge. Additional credits are available.
Sai Unlimited lists $500 per month with fair-use conditions. For any metered service, inspect what consumes credits: reasoning, runtime, or both. A task that waits on a slow website may have a different cost from a short file transformation. An advertised credit total is not a guaranteed task count.
5. Compare automation licenses by execution mode
Microsoft's US pricing lists Power Automate Premium at $15 per user per month, paid yearly, including attended desktop flows. Process is $150 per bot per month, paid yearly, for unattended automation. Hosted Process is $215 per bot per month, paid yearly, including a Microsoft-hosted virtual machine.
These licenses answer different needs. A desktop task you supervise is not equivalent to an unattended process on a hosted machine. Match the license to where work runs, who initiates it, and whether someone must be present. Comparing the cheapest user plan with a hosted bot price alone obscures that distinction.
6. Budget for setup, retries, and review
A free app can still require paid model access or your time to configure it. A bundled service can still need manual sign-in, retries, and output review. Avoid claiming one billing model is always cheaper: the answer depends on workload, allowance, model choice, and how often you intervene.
Choose one representative task and record the app fee, provider charge, extra usage, setup time, and review effort separately. For Denker, start with a small screen-based handoff on the trial or Free plan, then decide whether the recurring workflow justifies Pro. Review the result before treating saved time as a benefit.
Frequently asked questions
Is Denker Pro's €19 fee all-inclusive?
No. It is the Denker app fee. AI provider subscriptions or usage charges are separate, and the included AI starter allowance is limited.
Does an annual monthly equivalent mean I pay monthly?
No. Lapu's listed €16-per-month Premium equivalent is €192 billed yearly. Always check the actual billing period and upfront payment.
Can I compare €19 directly with a $20 subscription?
Keep the currencies separate until you use a stated exchange rate and account for taxes. Also check whether the products include the same services and usage.
Do unlimited app calls mean unlimited AI usage?
No. App limits and provider allowances are separate. Model subscriptions, credits, fair-use conditions, or API charges can still limit or meter the work.