Collection

The AI ROI Library

30 calculators, business cases, and frameworks for measuring AI value

30 resourcesSix ROI evaluation stagesLast reviewed 2026-11-08
30 of 30 resources

AI ROI: A Practical Framework for Assessing the Return on AI Investments — University of Technology Sydney

University of Technology Sydney, Human Technology Institute

FrameworkBusiness caseBeginnerFree

For: Boards, CFOs, CIOs, and enterprise AI investment committees.

Why explore: AI ROI should evolve with the maturity, scale, and strategic significance of the investment.

Brillian AI ROI Toolkit — Value, Cost and Uncertainty Canvases

Brillian

FrameworkBusiness caseBeginnerFree

For: Innovation teams, consultants, and executives evaluating AI opportunities.

Why explore: AI investment decisions improve when potential value and uncertainty are evaluated together.

AI ROI Calculator: A Business Case That Survives the Board — Kiseki Labs

Kiseki Labs

ToolBusiness caseBeginnerFree

For: COOs, CFOs, transformation leaders, and operational teams.

Why explore: The economics of an AI workflow depend on the cost and quality of the entire human–machine process.

Business Case / ROI Calculator — Associum

Associum

ToolBusiness caseBeginnerFree

For: Consultants, project sponsors, and internal investment teams.

Why explore: A forecast return is only useful when it is connected to the capabilities, milestones, and responsibilities required to realize it.

AI Value Realization Framework — Open-Source ROI Spreadsheet

Srivatsan, independent open-source contributor

ToolBusiness caseBeginnerFree

For: Analysts and teams seeking an editable starting point.

Why explore: Transparent and adaptable assumptions are more useful than an impressive ROI figure whose calculation cannot be inspected.

AEGITz AI ROI Calculator

AEGITz

ToolFinancial returnsBeginnerFree

For: Executives, operators, and AI project sponsors.

Why explore: Financial return requires a credible value-capture mechanism.

AI & Automation ROI Calculator — Numbers & Judgment

Numbers & Judgment

ToolFinancial returnsBeginnerFree

For: CFOs, financial analysts, and operational leaders.

Why explore: Operational capacity and realized cash benefits are different economic outcomes.

AI ROI Calculator and Business Case Template — Kona

Kona

ToolFinancial returnsBeginnerFree

For: Managers evaluating individual AI-assisted workflows.

Why explore: AI productivity should be measured against the complete task, not the speed of its first output.

AI ROI Calculation Spreadsheet Template — WayaNerd

WayaNerd

ToolFinancial returnsBeginnerFree

For: Finance teams and organizations preparing formal investment cases.

Why explore: A credible ROI model should show what happens under unfavorable assumptions, not merely the most attractive forecast.

How to Calculate AI ROI: Formula, Worked Example and Worksheet — NextGen Code

NextGen Code

FrameworkFinancial returnsBeginnerFree

For: Business owners and managers building their first AI ROI model.

Why explore: Simple financial models become valuable when their inputs are measurable, transparent, and regularly updated.

ROI of AI-Assisted Software Development Calculator — DORA

DORA

ToolFull costBeginnerFree

For: CTOs, engineering leaders, and software organizations.

Why explore: Engineering AI ROI depends on delivery outcomes and organizational adaptation, not simply coding speed.

AI ROI Calculator for Software Delivery — DecodeSeries

DecodeSeries / Christine Aykac

ToolFull costBeginnerFree

For: Engineering executives and software delivery leaders.

Why explore: Software development ROI should connect engineering improvements to outcomes that matter economically.

AI Model Comparison Tool — Artificial Analysis

Artificial Analysis

FrameworkFull costBeginnerFree

For: AI product leaders, engineering managers, and technology procurement teams.

Why explore: The relevant economic measure is often cost per successful task rather than cost per token.

LLM Price Index — TokenCanopy

TokenCanopy, open-source project

FrameworkFull costBeginnerFree

For: AI architects, analysts, and teams tracking infrastructure costs.

Why explore: AI cost assumptions should be monitored and revised as the provider landscape changes.

OpenAI API Pricing Reference

OpenAI

FrameworkFull costBeginnerFree

For: Product teams and developers using OpenAI services.

Why explore: Financial models require actual service-pricing inputs, updated as deployment conditions change.

Generative AI ROI and KPI Design Sheets — Uravation

Uravation, Japan

FrameworkROI measurementBeginnerFree

For: Teams wanting a structured recurring measurement system.

Why explore: AI ROI must be revisited as actual adoption, quality, costs, and realized benefits become visible.

Measuring the ROI of AI in Business — NextStart.AI

NextStart.AI

FrameworkROI measurementBeginnerFree

For: Transformation leaders, HR executives, CIOs, and management controllers.

Why explore: Measurement begins before implementation, not after a positive result needs to be justified.

AI Impact Evaluation Framework — UK Government

UK Government

FrameworkROI measurementBeginnerFree

For: Enterprise transformation teams and public-sector AI programs.

Why explore: AI value measurement should reflect the specific outcomes and risks of the use case.

Guidance on the Impact Evaluation of AI Interventions — UK Government

UK Government / Magenta Book guidance

FrameworkROI measurementBeginnerFree

For: Evaluation specialists, policy teams, and enterprise AI program managers.

Why explore: Observing an improvement after implementation does not necessarily establish that AI caused it.

NIST AI Risk Management Framework Playbook — Measure

US National Institute of Standards and Technology

FrameworkROI measurementBeginnerFree

For: AI governance, engineering, assurance, and risk teams.

Why explore: AI value must account for reliability, monitoring, and the consequences of system failure.

Generative AI at Work — Brynjolfsson, Li and Raymond

Academic researchers / National Bureau of Economic Research

FrameworkReal-world evidenceBeginnerFree

For: Leaders evaluating customer support and knowledge-worker augmentation.

Why explore: AI productivity gains can be heterogeneous, and the distribution of those gains affects the business case.

Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier — Harvard Business School and BCG Research

Harvard Business School researchers, in collaboration with BCG

FrameworkReal-world evidenceBeginnerFree

For: Consultants, strategists, and leaders assessing knowledge-work applications.

Why explore: AI investment decisions should be made at the level of real tasks, not broad occupational categories.

Measuring the Impact of AI on Experienced Open-Source Developer Productivity — METR

Model Evaluation & Threat Research

RepositoryReal-world evidenceBeginnerFree

For: Engineering leaders and executives evaluating developer AI tools.

Why explore: AI adoption should be evaluated using measured task outcomes, not only user enthusiasm or self-reported time savings.

The 2026 AI Index Report — Economy

Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence

FrameworkReal-world evidenceBeginnerFree

For: Strategists, investors, CFOs, and executive planning teams.

Why explore: AI investment decisions should be informed by independent market and economic evidence.

The 2026 AI Index Report — Technical Performance

Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence

FrameworkReal-world evidenceBeginnerFree

For: Technology executives, strategists, and AI investment committees.

Why explore: Technical progress informs investment opportunities, but business value requires separate validation.

The Green Book 2026 — Appraisal and Value for Money

HM Treasury, United Kingdom

FrameworkGovern & scaleBeginnerFree

For: CFOs, investment committees, and enterprise strategy teams.

Why explore: A positive AI business case is not necessarily the best available use of organizational resources.

Guidance on Developing Business Cases — HM Treasury

HM Treasury

FrameworkGovern & scaleBeginnerFree

For: Executives preparing major AI transformation proposals.

Why explore: Financial attractiveness, strategic relevance, affordability, and implementation feasibility must be evaluated together.

AI Impact Assessment Tool — Australian Government

Australian Government Digital Transformation Agency

FrameworkGovern & scaleBeginnerFree

For: AI governance, procurement, risk, and implementation teams.

Why explore: Attractive projected financial returns do not remove the obligation to assess risk and organizational impact.

AI Training ROI Calculator — TAI Labs

TAI Labs

ToolGovern & scaleBeginnerFree

For: HR leaders, transformation teams, and organizations investing in AI capability development.

Why explore: The value of AI technology depends partly on whether people possess the capabilities to apply it effectively.

NIST AI Risk Management Framework Playbook — Governance and Monitoring

US National Institute of Standards and Technology

ToolGovern & scaleBeginnerFree

For: AI governance committees, risk officers, and technology executives.

Why explore: AI investment decisions should be continuously revisited as new evidence becomes available.

About this collection

This is the searchable companion to The Strategy Stack's AI ROI Library on Substack. Use it when you need a calculator, business-case template, or measurement framework for a specific AI investment stage—not another vendor ROI pitch. Filter by evaluation stage, cost, and format. Each entry includes a direct provider link and a concise summary. Start with business-case logic, then financial returns, full cost, measurement design, real-world evidence, and investment governance. For narrative context, the six-stage ROI measurement system, and the 90-day validation sprint, read the editorial guide on Substack (linked on this page).
Read the full editorial guide on Substack ↗