Section 01
Low-Code Workflow Platforms
Build AI-powered automations visually — no need to learn Python, LangChain, or any programming framework. Drag, drop, connect.
| Platform | Pricing | Self-Hosted? | Best For | EU Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n8n | Free (self-hosted), Cloud from €24/mo | ✓ | Technical users who want full control; 400+ integrations | Can be self-hosted on EU servers |
| Make | Free tier, then from €10.59/mo | — | Visual thinkers; great UI, strong app ecosystem | 🇨🇿 EU data centres available |
| Pipedream | Free tier, then from $29/mo | — | Developers comfortable with light code | US |
| Zapier | Free tier, then from €19.99/mo | — | Beginners; simplest interface, 7,000+ apps | US, some EU processing |
| Activepieces | Free (self-hosted), Cloud from $5/mo | ✓ | Open-source Make alternative; growing fast | Can be self-hosted on EU servers |
Recommendation: Start with Make if you want ease of use with EU data residency. Move to n8n when you need more control.
Section 02
API Routers & Orchestrators
A single gateway to access multiple AI models. One API key, switch between models easily, and keep your data in the EU.
| Platform | What It Does | Pricing | EU Compliance |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUrouter | EU-sovereign AI routing; drop-in OpenRouter replacement | Pay-per-use | 🇪🇺 Data stays in EU |
| Requesty EU | 140+ models, zero cross-border transfer, Frankfurt-hosted | Pay-per-use | 🇪🇺 GDPR Art. 44, ISO 27001 |
| Euqai | EU-native router with intelligent model selection | Pay-per-use | 🇳🇱 Hosted in Netherlands |
| OpenRouter | Largest model selection (200+) | Pay-per-use | ⚠️ EU routing by request only |
Why use a router? You avoid vendor lock-in, can compare models easily, and European routers keep your data within EU borders — important for GDPR compliance.
Section 03
Best AI Models by Task
You don't need the biggest model for every job. Here's what works best for common small business tasks, as of February 2026.
General Text (emails, summaries, content drafts)
| Model | Provider | Approx. Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mistral Medium 3 | Mistral AI 🇫🇷 | ~$0.40 / 1M input | Best European option; strong multilingual |
| Mistral Small 3.2 | Mistral AI 🇫🇷 | ~$0.10 / 1M input | Great for simple tasks; European language fluency |
| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Anthropic 🇺🇸 | ~$3.00 / 1M input | Excellent for nuanced writing and analysis |
| GPT-4o mini | OpenAI 🇺🇸 | ~$0.15 / 1M input | Cheapest "good enough" option |
OCR (Reading documents, invoices, scanned PDFs)
| Model / Service | Type | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Mistral OCR 3 | API (commercial) 🇫🇷 | Best all-round document understanding |
| Google Document AI | API (commercial) | Strong layout detection |
| Azure Document Intelligence | API (commercial) | Best for invoices and forms |
| PaddleOCR 3.0 | Open Source | Self-hosted, 100+ languages, free |
| olmOCR-2-7B | Open Source | State of the art for scanned docs |
Speech-to-Text (Transcription)
| Model / Service | Type | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Whisper Large V3 Turbo | Open Source | Best overall open-source STT; 50+ languages |
| Deepgram Nova-3 | API (commercial) | Best real-time; lowest latency |
| ElevenLabs Scribe | API (commercial) | 99 languages, excellent diarisation |
| Google Chirp 3 | API (commercial) | 100+ languages |
| NVIDIA Canary Qwen | Open Source | Lowest word error rate (5.63% WER) |
Section 04
What Does AI Actually Cost?
Real examples with real numbers. Spoiler: it's probably less than you think.
🧩 AI API costs are measured in tokens (chunks of text). Rough guide:
1,000 tokens ≈ 750 words. A typical email is about 200–400 tokens.Weekly Event Digest
Process 20 event descriptions, generate categorised summary
~$0.05/year
Using Mistral Small 3.2
Customer Email Summariser
Process 50 emails/day, generate daily summaries
~$3.60/year
Using Mistral Medium 3
Transcribe a 1-Hour Meeting
Whisper (self-hosted): Free
Deepgram Nova-3: ~$0.46/hr
OpenAI API: ~$0.36/hr
Free – $0.46
Depends on provider
Bottom line: For most small business use cases, AI API costs are negligible — often less than a coffee per month. The real cost is your time building and maintaining the workflows.
Section 05
Low-Code Web & App Builders
Need a frontend for your AI workflow? These let you create web apps, portals, and dashboards without coding.
| Platform | Starting Price | Best For | Connects To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Softr | Free, then $49/mo | Client portals, internal tools, simple web apps | Google Sheets, Notion, Xano |
| WeWeb | Free, then €29/mo | More design control; beginner-friendly | Supabase, Xano, REST APIs |
Recommendation: Start with Softr — it's the fastest path from idea to working app.
Section 06
European AI Resources & Directories
| Resource | What It Is | Link |
|---|---|---|
| European AI Atlas | Directory of EU-made AI tools and services | aiatlas.eu |
| AI4Europe (AIoD) | EU-funded AI-on-demand platform | ai4europe.eu |
| Mistral AI | Leading European LLM provider 🇫🇷 | mistral.ai |
| Infomaniak | Swiss hosting with built-in AI tools 🇨🇭 | infomaniak.com |
| Luxinnovation | Luxembourg's national innovation agency | luxinnovation.lu |
Section 07
Learning Resources
| Resource | What You'll Learn | Format |
|---|---|---|
| promptingguide.ai | How to write effective prompts | Free online guide |
| n8n.io/courses | Building workflows in n8n | Free video courses |
| CI Newsletter | Curated AI news for business | Daily email |
| crystallized.lu/gems | AI concepts explained simply | Blog posts |
| make.com/academy | Make platform tutorials | Free courses |
| Mistral AI Docs | Using Mistral's models and API | Documentation |
Section 08
Quick Decision Guide
Pick what you want to do, get a starting point.
"I want to automate a repetitive task" Make or n8n + an AI model
"I want to summarise or draft content" Mistral Le Chat (free) or Claude.ai
"I want to transcribe meetings" Whisper (free) or Deepgram
"I want to read & process documents" Mistral OCR or Google Document AI
"I want to build a client portal" Softr with built-in tables
"I want to stay GDPR-compliant" EUrouter or Requesty EU + Mistral
"I want to connect multiple AI models" Use an API router (see Section 02)