TestingBudget

Run

Run cost per year

Run effort per year at the effective hourly rate, plus any tokens consumed during execution.

Unit
money per year
Where you enter it
Computed; shown on the Run and Total Cost tabs.

What it means

Effort per year converted to money at the effective hourly rate, plus the yearly token cost of AI-driven execution and triage where the tool uses a model. It recurs every year of the analysis horizon.

It is one of the four recurring lines that make up the annual ongoing cost.

Why it matters to the cost

Across a five-year horizon the run line is usually the largest single cost for manual testing and a major one for automation; it is the line that release cadence multiplies. Doubling runs per year doubles it exactly.

Typical values

For a 300-case suite on a monthly cadence: roughly $5,000–$10,000 a year for a tool; $80,000 or more for manual execution.

Typical values describe a category of tool — AI-native, codeless, script-based, homegrown, manual — never a named product. Why we do not price named products.

Where it appears in the model

Run — every release

tests broken per run
Total test cases × Test breakage rate ÷ Runs per year — found here, repaired under Maintain
flaky per run
Total test cases × Flaky failures per run
Failures per run
Defects found per run + tests broken per run + flaky per run — derived, never asked
Run effort
Prepare and start a run + Failures per run × Triage one failure + Defects found per run × Write up one defect + Report and sign off — an automation tool
Run effort
Prepare and start a run + Total test cases × Execution time per case + Defects found per run × Write up one defect + Report and sign off — a manual approach — the tester is the run
Machine time per run
Total test cases × Execution time per case — automation only; duration, not labour
Run cost per year
Run effort per run × Runs per year × Effective hourly rate + Token cost

Totals, per application

Annual ongoing cost
Run cost per year + Maintenance cost per year + Licensing and infrastructure (allocated)
Year 1 total
Build cost + Annual ongoing cost
Analysis horizon
Build cost + Annual ongoing cost × years in the horizon — the total over the horizon

Every name is a link to its definition. See the whole model.

Try it with your numbers

Run cost per year is a row in the calculator. Change it and every total on the page moves with it — free, in your browser, nothing to install.

See how run cost per year impacts the calculation of test automation costs

Related terms

  • Run effort The person-hours a run costs — preparation, triage, defect write-up and sign-off for a tool; execution itself for manual testing — and the same figure over a year.
  • Effective hourly rate The loaded cost of an engineer per year divided by their productive hours — the rate every hour of effort is priced at.
  • Token cost AI model tokens consumed, divided by a million, multiplied by the price per million tokens set in Settings.
  • Annual ongoing cost What a vendor costs every year after the build: run, maintenance, licensing and infrastructure summed.

Last reviewed 2026-09-15. All terms.