What an AI consultant costs a business of 5 to 50 people
An AI consultant can charge by the hour, by the project or by the month. My prices are published: the first call is free, the assessment is $500, a first project is a fixed price from $10,000, and ongoing work starts at $5,000 a month. A care plan that only keeps the tools running is $500 a month.
I set those prices for owner-run businesses of about 5 to 50 staff with no engineering team of their own.
By Alex Smith, founder of spktr · Updated September 27, 2026
What I charge
I charge in four steps, and you can stop after any of them.
| Step | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Intro call | PriceFree · 45 minutes | What it coversA 45-minute call where I learn how your business runs and where to start. The next step is usually the assessment. |
| AI assessment | Price$500 · Fixed price | What it coversI spend up to half a day watching how the work runs, on site or over video. Within a week you get a written map of the workflows worth automating, ranked, with what each would take. The map becomes the proposal for your first project. The $500 is credited in full toward a first project signed within 30 days. |
| First project | PriceFrom $10,000 · Fixed price | What it coversOne workflow, a named result and a finish date. |
| Ongoing work | PriceFrom $5,000 · Per month | What it coversI work as your embedded AI lead: one three-hour session at your office each week, and remote building the rest of the week. I take on one workstream at a time and finish as many each month as the pace allows. Two workstreams in parallel is $10,000 a month. The first term is two months, then it runs month to month. |
| Or: care plan | Price$500 · Per month | What it coversAfter a first project, if all you need is upkeep, the care plan covers health checks on the tools I built, fixes when one breaks, updates when a vendor API or AI model changes, a 30-minute check-in each month and a reply the next business day. New work and changes to what a tool does are ongoing work. The care plan doesn’t cover systems I didn’t build or same-day response, and you pay AI usage and subscriptions directly. The first term is three months, then it runs month to month. |
Beside these steps, a team AI workshop costs $2,500 for up to 15 staff at one site, or $3,500 for 16 to 30.
Why a first project has a fixed price
A fixed price caps what you can lose while you find out whether AI works in your business. Owners worry, with reason, that an AI consultant will turn their confusion into an expensive project with no end.
So a first project covers one workflow, and the written proposal names the result, the price and the finish date before any work begins. I build the smallest version that does real work, usually running within a few weeks, and only the part that earns its place gets finished and scaled.
What moves the price of a first project
A first project starts at $10,000, and the scope sets where it lands: the points below are what make one workflow more work than another. Once the proposal names the price, it’s fixed, so the hours I spend don’t change it.
- How many systems the workflow touches. Work that stays inside one tool costs less to automate than work that carries data between your accounting software, your CRM and your inbox.
- Whether software can reach those systems. Many tools have an API, a documented way for other software to read and write their data. An older system without one takes more work, because the data has to come out through exports or off the screen.
- Where the information lives. Records kept in one system are quicker to work with than the same records spread across spreadsheets, inboxes and paper.
- How sensitive the data is. Client files, health records and financial data need handling rules agreed before I touch anything, and the tool has to follow them.
- How many people will use it. Every build ends with your team trained on it, and training twenty people takes longer than training two.
You get the number in the written proposal that comes out of the assessment, before you commit to a first project. The questions to ask any AI consultant cover the rest of what that proposal should say.
What ongoing work costs
Ongoing work costs $5,000 a month for one workstream and $10,000 a month for two in parallel. For that I work as your embedded AI lead: one three-hour session at your office each week and remote building the rest of the week, finishing as many pieces each month as the pace allows. The first term is two months, then it runs month to month.
What I build in a first project is yours either way. The code, the documentation and admin access are handed over as each piece ships, and everything lives in your own accounts. Ongoing work suits a business with more than one workflow worth automating, or one that wants someone adding to its tools as the business changes.
What upkeep costs after a first project
The care plan is $500 a month per organization, for a business that needs its tools kept running and nothing new built. It covers health checks on the tools I built, fixes when one breaks, updates when a vendor API or AI model changes, a 30-minute check-in each month and a reply the next business day.
New work and changes to what a tool does are ongoing work. The care plan doesn’t cover systems I didn’t build or same-day response, and you pay AI usage and subscriptions directly. The first term is three months, then it runs month to month.
What a tool costs to run after it’s built
A tool that uses AI has running costs on top of my fee: the AI provider bills for usage, and some tools need a software subscription. Because the tool runs in your own accounts, those bills come to you from the provider, and you can see every one.
Cost questions
Do you charge by the hour?
No. A first project is a fixed price and ongoing work is a flat monthly fee, both set in writing before work starts.
Is the intro call free?
Yes. It runs 45 minutes, and the next step after it is usually the $500 assessment.
Can I skip the assessment?
Yes. If you already know exactly what you need, you can skip the assessment and go straight to a proposal.
What does the $500 assessment cover?
I spend up to half a day watching how the work runs, on site or over video. Within a week I send a written map of the workflows worth automating, ranked, with what each would take, and the map becomes the proposal for your first project. The $500 is credited in full toward a first project signed within 30 days.
Do I have to sign up for ongoing work after the first project?
No. The first project stands on its own, and you own what it produces. Ongoing work is there if you want more built, and the care plan if you only need it kept running.
What does it cost to keep a tool running after the first project?
The care plan is $500 a month per organization. It covers health checks on the tools I built, fixes when one breaks, updates when a vendor API or AI model changes, a 30-minute check-in each month and a reply the next business day. The first term is three months, then it runs month to month. New work and changes to what a tool does are ongoing work, from $5,000 a month.
How long is the commitment for ongoing work?
The first term is two months. After that it runs month to month.
Do nonprofits pay the same?
For nonprofits and public offices I do fixed-fee projects in place of ongoing monthly work, sized to fit a board or council budget.
For a number on your own workflow, book the free call. The assessment after it ends in a written proposal with the price and a finish date.