Roundup· 1 min
The AI stack at one person, ten people and a hundred
Also a list of what to revisit as you cross each threshold.
AI Tools Hub Editorial · published · updated
One person
| Item | Approach |
|---|---|
| Count | Three to five tools |
| Governance | None needed |
| Criterion | Does it help your core work |
| Spend | $50–$150 a month |
| Pitfall | Subscriptions you stopped using |
Ten people
| Item | Approach |
|---|---|
| Count | Five to eight |
| Governance | Minimal — define what data may be entered |
| Criterion | Can the team share it |
| Spend | $300–$800 a month |
| Pitfall | Everyone on separate personal subscriptions |
The characteristic failure here is fragmentation: separate personal accounts mean spend is invisible and data is unrecoverable when someone leaves. Move to company accounts even though per-seat prices rise.
A hundred people
| Item | Approach |
|---|---|
| Count | Ten to twenty across departments |
| Governance | Required — request path and approved list |
| Criterion | Admin controls and audit logs |
| Spend | $3,000–$10,000 a month |
| Pitfall | Unrequested usage |
At this size the problem is operations rather than selection. A slow request path produces shadow usage regardless of policy, and tools without admin controls become hard to adopt at all.
What to revisit at each threshold
- Personal to company accounts — around ten people
- Write down what data may be entered — around ten
- Build a request path — around fifty
- Publish an approved list — around fifty
- Make the inventory review recurring — around a hundred
FAQ
We are growing quickly?
Convert personal subscriptions to company accounts as you pass ten people. Deferring it makes the later migration much heavier.