MCP ROI calculator
This calculator estimates the first-year return from using the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to give AI assistants live access to your firm's business systems: annual hours saved = professionals × weekly hours saved × 50 weeks; implied savings = hours × fully loaded hourly cost; ROI = (savings − first-year cost) ÷ first-year cost.
Your inputs
Enter professionals using mcp, weekly hours saved per professional, fully loaded hourly cost ($), annual mcp software/hosting cost ($), one-time implementation & training cost ($) to see the result.
Inputs
- Professionals using MCP
- People who today pull data manually.
- Weekly hours saved each
- Time spent on manual lookups and reporting.
- Fully loaded hourly cost
- Salary + benefits + overhead ÷ 2,080 hours.
- Annual software/hosting cost
- See your vendor's pricing.
- One-time implementation cost
- Internal or external setup and training.
Outputs
- Annual hours saved
- Annual hours saved
- Implied annual savings
- Implied annual savings
- First-year ROI
- Illustrative ROI %
How it is calculated
Weekly hours saved = professionals × hours saved each. Annual hours saved = weekly hours × 50 weeks.
Implied annual savings = annual hours × fully loaded hourly cost. First-year cost = annual software + one-time implementation.
ROI % = (implied savings − first-year cost) ÷ first-year cost × 100
Worked example (illustrative)
Illustrative only: 10 professionals saving 3 hours a week at $125 per hour implies $187,500 of annual savings; against $25,000 of first-year cost that is a 650% illustrative ROI.
Assumptions and limitations
- Illustrative estimate only; the result is entirely determined by your assumptions.
- Models time savings only — it excludes qualitative benefits like faster decisions and better data governance.
- MCP access to a system's data does not grant any right to sell or license that data; licensing is a separate legal process.
Questions and answers
What is a fully loaded hourly cost?
Total annual compensation plus benefits and overhead, divided by about 2,080 working hours.
Why 50 working weeks?
A conservative assumption that allows for holidays and vacation; adjust by lowering weekly hours if your firm differs.
Does a high ROI estimate guarantee returns?
No. It is an illustration of your own assumptions, not a forecast or guarantee.
Does MCP access mean we can license the data?
No. Access for internal reporting is separate from data licensing rights, which require explicit authorization from the data owner.
Sources
Content reviewed October 9, 2026 by the SourceX Partnerships Team. Results are calculated in your browser; nothing you type is stored.