# AI builder comparison pack

Benian Technologies · September 7, 2026
Source: https://benian.ai/answers
Use with any builder. Copy this file for your project. Blank cells are unknowns, not zeroes.

## 1. Send the same brief to each builder

- Business / project:
- Person responsible for the decision:
- Job to improve (one sentence):
- Trigger → steps → finished result:
- Monthly volume and measurement dates:
- Current time per job, including corrections:
- Tools and data sources involved:
- Decisions that must stay with a person:
- Desired result and how we will measure it:
- Required date and why it matters:
- Constraints, exclusions, and unresolved questions:

Ask each builder to state assumptions and exclusions explicitly. A price is comparable only when the scope, usage, and support terms are comparable.

## 2. Questions worth asking — and evidence worth keeping

| Topic | Ask | Keep as evidence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fit | What is the smallest useful version? What would you leave manual? | Workflow diagram, exclusions, and a clear reason for using AI |
| Scope | What exactly is delivered, and what depends on our team? | Deliverable list, dependencies, milestones, and responsibility split |
| Success | How do we decide whether the build passes? | Dated baseline, target, test cases, and acceptance owner |
| Cost | What do we pay at our expected and busy-period volumes? | Build fee, subscriptions, usage rates, support, overages, and taxes if applicable |
| Changes | What happens when requirements or a connected tool change? | Change process, rates, retesting responsibilities, and approval step |
| Data | What data goes where, and who can access or remove it? | Data flow, permissions, retention settings, and provider list |
| Errors | What happens when the input is incomplete or a tool is down? | Recorded failure test, retry behavior, alerts, and recovery steps |
| Handoff | When does a person take over? What if they are unavailable? | Trigger, named recipient, context sent, and fallback demonstration |
| Control | Whose accounts, phone numbers, and credentials are used? | Account inventory and administrator access demonstration |
| Ownership | What custom work do we own and what is licensed? | Contract terms, source/export inventory, dependencies, and payment conditions |
| Support | Who responds after launch, during what hours, at what cost? | Support scope, contact, response expectations, and exclusions |
| Exit | What would moving to another provider actually involve? | Export sample, runbook, migration steps, and any charges |

## 3. Normalize the quotes

Use the same currency, tax basis, monthly workload, and support needs across columns. Separate committed charges from estimates. Do not include speculative revenue in the cost comparison.

| Item | Builder A | Builder B | Builder C |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Quote date / version / link | | | |
| Deliverables and exclusions | | | |
| One-time build and onboarding | | | |
| Required setup paid to others | | | |
| Monthly subscriptions | | | |
| Monthly usage at our baseline | | | |
| Monthly support | | | |
| Other recurring charges | | | |
| First 12 months total | | | |
| Busy-period usage assumptions | | | |
| Scope-change rates | | | |
| What we receive at handover | | | |
| Evidence we still need | | | |

First 12 months = build + other setup + 12 × (subscriptions + estimated usage + support + other recurring charges). Use actual billing periods for annual or variable charges; do not count the same subscription twice. Include internal implementation effort separately if it affects your choice.

## 4. Run the same demonstration

Prepare representative examples with permission to use the data. Remove private information when it is not needed. Agree the expected result before the builder runs the test.

| Case | Your input | Expected result | Observed result | Pass / fail / not run | Evidence link |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ordinary request | | | | | |
| Missing information | | | | | |
| Request outside scope | | | | | |
| Human escalation | | | | | |
| Connected tool unavailable | | | | | |
| Duplicate / repeated request | | | | | |

A short demonstration identifies questions; it does not establish production reliability. Agree a broader test set before accepting the build.

## 5. Write down the decision

- Preferred builder and reasons tied to evidence:
- Material uncertainty / unresolved risk:
- Clarification or demonstration required before agreement:
- Person responsible and date:
- Decision: proceed / revise scope / run a pilot / pause
- What new evidence would change the decision:

Avoid averaging away a critical gap. If ownership, data access, or a failure path is unresolved, record it explicitly rather than hiding it in a total score.

For the working project record: https://benian.ai/resources/ai-project-checklist