Guides / Cost
Cost
How much does an AI consultant cost?
2026 ranges: independents run $150-350/hr. An opportunity audit runs $1,500-5,000. A done-for-you build runs $5,000-20,000. Retainers run $2,500-15,000/mo. Agencies commonly add a $3,000-10,000 setup fee before monthly work begins.
The market, in one table.
| Engagement | Typical 2026 range | What you should get |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly advice | $150-350/hr | Answers, direction, no build |
| Opportunity audit | $1,500-5,000 | Workflow map + prioritized roadmap |
| Setup / foundation month | $2,500-10,000 | Working system + documentation you own |
| Done-for-you build | $5,000-20,000 | Fixed-scope automations + SOPs |
| Ongoing retainer | $2,500-15,000/mo | Monitoring, tuning, new builds |
Ranges from published 2026 market benchmarks for independent and boutique AI consulting; large-firm pricing runs far higher.
The number that matters more than the fee.
Price the problem before you price the consultant. Busywork math: hrs/wk x your $/hr x 52. An owner spending 10 hrs/wk at $100/hr is burning $52,000/yr. Against that, the difference between a $3,000 setup and an $8,000 setup matters much less than whether the hours actually come back. Run your numbers.
What to refuse to pay for.
- Black boxes. If you cannot run the system without the consultant, you bought a dependency, not an asset.
- Platform hostages. Your knowledge base and workflows should live in files you own, not in a tool that charges to export.
- Undefined retainers. "Ongoing AI support" with no deliverables is a subscription to hope.
- Undocumented work. If it is not written down, it walks out the door with the consultant.
Where we sit, for transparency.
Bamboo Digital runs founding engagements priced by fit, structured to answer every refuse-to-pay item above by design.
You own the files, there is no lock-in, the first month is documented and yours to keep, and later phases are scoped one at a time with fixed prices in writing. The number is set on the call, against what the problem actually costs you.
Apply it
Price it against your own busywork.
The calculator takes 30 seconds. The call takes 30 minutes.