The cost of AI in journalism ranges from free (using free-tier tools) to $50,000+ per month for custom enterprise deployments. The wide range makes generalisation misleading. What matters is the cost-per-story and cost-per-verified-claim — the metrics that connect AI spending to editorial value.
Small Newsroom AI Budget (2–10 journalists)
Realistic monthly costs: Perplexity Pro ($20/user × 5 = $100), ChatGPT Plus ($20/user × 5 = $100), Omniscient AI Pro ($35/month), Grammarly Business ($12.50/user × 5 = $62.50). Total: ~$300/month, or $60/journalist/month. For a newsroom publishing 100 stories/month, this is $3/story — almost certainly a positive ROI against time savings of 1–2 hours per story at $30/hour.
Mid-Size Newsroom AI Budget (50–200 journalists)
Mid-size newsrooms typically pay for: enterprise research platforms (Nexis, Factiva: $2,000–$10,000/month), AI writing and editing tools (Writer Enterprise: $1,000–$5,000/month), custom fact-checking integrations: $5,000–$20,000 setup + $2,000–$5,000/month maintenance. Total: $10,000–$35,000/month. At 1,000 stories/month, this is $10–$35/story — justifiable if each story's improved quality metrics (reduced corrections, increased engagement) are valued appropriately.
The ROI Calculation
The simplest ROI framework: (Time saved per journalist per week × hourly cost × number of journalists × 52) minus annual AI tool costs. Most newsrooms that have done this calculation find positive ROI from month one. The less tangible but equally important ROI: reduced correction rates, improved reader trust scores, and LLMO citation frequency — all of which contribute to long-term subscription and advertising revenue.