Buying guide
How to choose an AI tool for your small business: 7 checks before you pay
Seven checks that decide whether an AI tool is worth its subscription — plan limits, credits, billing terms, refunds, seats, data location and free trials — with real examples from Chatbase, Sintra, Submagic and Taskade.
Updated 20 Oct 2026
Most AI tools look affordable on the pricing page. The cost shows up later: in a feature that only the next plan includes, in credits that run out by the third week, or in a yearly prepayment you cannot get back. These seven checks take ten minutes and catch most of it. The examples come from the vendors’ own pricing pages and terms, checked on 13 October 2026.
Start with the job, not the tool
Write down the one task the tool has to do, in a sentence a colleague would understand: “answer the same twenty support questions on our website”, “turn a weekly video into three captioned Reels”, “keep client projects and notes in one place”. Then compare tools that do that job. A general “AI assistant” that does a bit of everything is hard to judge, because you cannot tell whether it is good at the one thing you need.
Check 1: What does the cheapest plan leave out?
The entry price is a door, not a room. Read the comparison table to the bottom and look for the feature your task depends on:
- Chatbase starts at $40 a month (Hobby), but the shared helpdesk, the API and voice only come with Standard at $150.
- Submagic Starter is $12–19 per member, but videos are capped at two minutes; Pro raises that to five.
- Taskade has a free plan, but it includes no monthly AI credits at all.
If the feature you need sits one plan up, that plan is your real starting price.
Check 2: Count in credits, not in plans
Many AI tools sell credits rather than unlimited use, and one credit rarely equals one result. Chatbase charges per answer depending on the model, and actions can trigger several requests. Sintra gives every plan the same 250 credits a month. Work out how many results you need per month and how many credits each one costs before comparing prices — AI credits explained shows how.
Check 3: Monthly or yearly billing — and what that commits you to
Yearly billing is much cheaper on paper. Sintra shows $15.60 a month on a 12-month term against $48.50 on a monthly plan; Taskade halves its prices for yearly billing; Submagic saves up to 41 per cent. But a yearly plan is a prepayment. Before you take the discount, read check 4.
Check 4: Can you get your money back?
For business customers, usually not:
| Tool | Refund rule (business customers) |
|---|---|
| Chatbase | Fees are non-refundable under the terms of service |
| Submagic | Fees are non-refundable; consumers keep the statutory right of withdrawal |
| Taskade | Payments are final, with narrow exceptions |
| Sintra | 14-day refund promised on the pricing page and in the refund policy; the terms of service only refund proven faults |
Start monthly, and switch to yearly once the tool has proven itself for a month or two. If a vendor’s promise and its terms disagree, as with Sintra, ask for the refund in writing within the deadline and cite the refund-policy page.
Check 5: Where does your data go?
If you will put customer data into the tool — support chats, emails, client projects — check where it is processed and whether the vendor signs a data-processing agreement (DPA). Of the four tools reviewed here, Chatbase and Sintra include a DPA with EU Standard Contractual Clauses, Submagic has only a processor clause in its terms, and Taskade states that it does not sign one. Details in AI tools and the GDPR.
Check 6: Per seat or per workspace?
Pricing per member grows with your team; pricing per workspace does not. Submagic charges per member. Taskade’s Pro plan covers ten users for one flat price. Chatbase includes two, three or five seats depending on the plan; more seats cost extra. For a team of three, the cheapest tool on the pricing page is not always the cheapest on the invoice.
Check 7: Try it on your real task first
Use the free plan or trial on the task from the start of this guide — not on the demo the vendor suggests.
| Tool | How to try it |
|---|---|
| Chatbase | 7-day trial on paid plans |
| Sintra AI | Not on the pricing page; the help centre describes a 3-day trial with 50 credits |
| Submagic | 3 test videos without a card; watermark-free download needs a plan |
| Taskade | Free plan, but without monthly AI credits |
The checklist
- The one job the tool has to do, written down.
- The plan that includes the feature you need — that is your price.
- Results per month × credits per result, compared with the plan’s credits.
- Monthly first; yearly only after it has proven itself.
- The refund rule, read in the terms, not on the pricing page.
- Where your data is processed, and whether there is a DPA.
- Seats: what it costs for everyone who will use it.
Ranked picks by job are in the best AI tools for small businesses.
Prices and terms change often. Each tool review shows the date of its last check, and the vendor’s own page is always binding.