API integrations are considered a strategic solution for enhancing internal processes and product value, but they involve significant costs, ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 per year due to personnel, partnership, and opportunity costs. Engineers and customer success managers (CSMs) invest substantial time in building and maintaining these integrations, with engineers often dedicating hundreds of hours annually to troubleshooting issues, while CSMs handle numerous related tickets, impacting their ability to focus on other business-critical tasks. Partnership agreements with enterprise organizations can also add to the financial burden, as they often require formal agreements with varying costs. An opportunity cost arises from the time engineers and CSMs spend on integrations, potentially limiting their capacity to address bugs, develop new features, or manage customer relationships effectively. To aid in cost estimation, Merge offers an API integration calculator to help organizations determine their specific expenses based on various inputs like the number of integrations and team salaries.