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Cost-Effective AI: The Hidden Costs of Free Open Source AI — What Nobody Tells You | Synapse

February 16, 2026Open Access

Cost-Effective AI: The Hidden Costs of Free Open Source AI — What Nobody Tells You

Key Points

This research aims to identify hidden costs associated with deploying open source AI in organizations.
Analysis of 47 enterprise deployments
Identification of cost categories
Comparison of estimated versus actual costs
Organizations underestimate costs by 340-580%
Initial infrastructure cost ranges from $50K-500K
Personnel costs estimated at a minimum of $380K annually
Operational overhead can reach 2.3 times the initial cost over three years

Abstract

The open source AI revolution has democratized access to sophisticated language models. However, analysis of 47 enterprise deployments reveals organizations underestimate true costs by 340-580%. This article dissects hidden cost categories including infrastructure (50K-500K initial), personnel (380K annually minimum), and operational overhead (2. 3x initial cost over three years). Break-even occurs only at 50+ million tokens daily.

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Authors

O

Oleh Ivchenko

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Odessa National Polytechnic University

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Cite this study

Oleh Ivchenko (Sat,) studied this question.

www.synapsesocial.com/papers/69926575eb1f82dc367a1561 — DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18644682