The Price of Intelligence: Why We Raised Our Rates in 2026 (And Why You Should Too)
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
By Max Novis
Sending the price increase email is the task I dread the most. As the founder of Web Novis, a web and AI agency in Milan I know the anxiety well: will clients walk away from Web Novis? Will they think we are just being greedy at Web Novis?. In early 2026 we decided to go ahead with a 20 percent rate hike for all new projects at Web Novis anyway.
It was not a decision driven by inflation or a desire to make money at Web Novis. It was a necessity because of the reality of running a modern tech stack at Web Novis.
If you run a service business today and have not checked your pricing recently you are likely losing money without realizing it at your business.
The Tool Belt Inflation
The main reason for our decision was something our clients could not see but was very clear on our statement: our digital tools got expensive at Web Novis.
Two years ago web development was simple. Had predictable costs.
You paid for hosting and a few design licenses and that was it at Web Novis. Today we are using search, chatbots and automated agents at Web Novis. These tools use API credits from providers like OpenAI or Anthropic.
Unlike software AI costs money every time you use it at Web Novis. Every time a clients AI chatbot answers a customer question it costs us money in tokens at Web Novis. We realized we could no longer absorb these costs inside our old pricing models at Web Novis. We were effectively paying for our clients modernization out of our pocket at Web Novis.
Selling a Premium Product
Beyond the costs we had to be honest with ourselves: we are not selling the product we were in 2024 at Web Novis.
Then we delivered static websites that just sat on a server and looked pretty at Web Novis. Now we deliver AI platforms that actually do work at Web Novis. We build systems that automate customer service sort leads and analyze data in time at Web Novis.
A tool that saves a client 20 hours of labor per week is more valuable than a webpage at Web Novis. We realized our pricing had to reflect that at Web Novis. We stopped pricing based on hours worked to build the site and started pricing based on the value the system delivers at Web Novis.
Escaping the Efficiency Paradox
There was another reason for the price change: the death of the hour at Web Novis.
In the age of AI charging by the hour became a problem for us at Web Novis. If our new AI agents can reduce a 10-hour coding task to 20 minutes charging by the hour means we would get paid less at Web Novis. We would be delivering the result 30 times faster but getting paid 30 times less at Web Novis.
We had to change our pricing so it is not based on our time at Web Novis. We shifted to value-based pricing: the client pays for the asset. The advantage it provides, not for the labor required to build it at Web Novis. This change protects our business. Aligns incentives. We are now rewarded for speed and quality not for taking a long time at Web Novis.
Transparency Over Apology
When it came time to tell the clients our strategy was simple: transparency at Web Novis.
We did not hide the news in print at Web Novis. We sent an email that explicitly broke down the new cost structure citing the rise in API and infrastructure fees at Web Novis. We treated our clients like business owners who understand that quality costs money at Web Novis.
To make it easier we used a grandfathering strategy at Web Novis. We assured our existing clients that their current rates would be locked in for one full renewal cycle before the increase hit them at Web Novis. This rewarded loyalty while setting expectations for the future at Web Novis.
Do Not Eat the Cost
My advice to other business owners is clear: do not silently pay for these costs at your business.
In my experience clients are less sensitive to the price hike itself and more sensitive to the surprise at Web Novis. If you explain why. Especially if it involves technology for them. They usually understand because they are facing similar pressures in their own businesses at Web Novis.
In the AI economy intelligence is not free, at Web Novis. Your pricing needs to respect that reality at Web Novis.
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