For retyping, sorting and following up, many German businesses hire a working student (Werkstudent), a university student employed part-time alongside their degree. Often that is a good choice. Here is what both routes cost, with assumptions stated openly, and what each is suited for.
As of the date of this page, to the best of our knowledge. Other providers change their offers, so check the details with them directly.
| Criterion | Working student | AI agent from Scalient |
|---|---|---|
| Tasks | Versatile, including phone, filing and ad hoc tasks | One clearly defined process or one department |
| Availability | Up to 20 hours a week during term time, plus holidays and exam periods | Around the clock, even at high volume |
| Onboarding | From scratch with every change of person | Once during setup, rules stay stored |
| Cost | Wage plus employer contributions and supervision time | Fixed: setup plus monthly fee |
| Judgement | Human, learns along the way, can ask questions | According to your rules, asks when unsure |
| Traceability | Depends on diligence | Every step logged with a timestamp |
| Turnover and absence | Graduation, internships or exams | Operation and maintenance included in the monthly fee |
Working student fits better if
- Tasks change every week and cannot be captured in a fixed process.
- It needs phone work, paper filing or work on site.
- Volume is so low that a fixed system does not pay for itself.
- You want to build up young talent who will later join you permanently.
Scalient fits better if
- A process arrives every day in the same form, such as invoices, enquiries or status questions.
- Volume fluctuates and has to be handled in the evening or at peak times too.
- Every change in the team costs you weeks of onboarding again.
- Every step should be logged in a traceable way.
Often the best solution is both: the agent handles the retyping and sorting, the working student the tasks that need thinking, phoning or hands-on work.
All values marked “Assumption” are estimates, not study results. The statutory minimum wage in Germany is €13.90 per hour in 2026, and we assume a wage just above it. Use your own figures.
Working student, first year
20 hours per week
- Hourly wageAssumption
- €15.00
- Annual wage20 h × 52 weeks × €15.00, paid holiday included
- €15,600
- Employer contributionsAssumptionaround 10%, mainly statutory pension insurance
- €1,560
- Onboarding by your teamAssumption3 h × 4 weeks × €45
- €540
- Cost in the first year
- €17,700
- Holidays and exam periodsAssumption
- 6 weeks
- Productive hours44 full weeks, onboarding counted at half
- 880
- Cost per productive hour
- €20.11
AI agent from Scalient
Prices from the price list, net
- Starter: setup
- €2,490
- Starter: monthly fee
- €490 per month
- Starter, first yearSetup + 12 × €490
- €8,370
- Starter, from the second year
- €5,880
- Scale: setup
- €4,900
- Scale: monthly fee
- €790 per month
- Scale, first yearSetup + 12 × €790
- €14,380
- Scale, from the second year
- €9,480
The working student should be learning, not retyping. The agent does the retyping.
Where do the figures in the calculation come from?
They are assumptions, not study results. The wage is slightly above the statutory minimum wage in Germany, and employer contributions, onboarding and absence are rough estimates. Use your own figures, the calculations are shown in full.
Does an agent replace a working student?
Only for the part of the work that runs the same way every day. For anything that needs judgement, phone calls or work on site, a person is the better choice.
Which is cheaper?
That depends on the process. For a single, uniform process, an agent is cheaper in the first year according to our example calculation. For varied tasks the comparison is skewed, because an agent does not take those on.
In the initial call we look at one concrete process and tell you honestly whether and how it can be automated. 30 minutes, free of charge, by video, in English or German.