What Do AI Consultants Charge in 2026?
AI consulting prices swing wildly because “AI consultant” covers everyone from a solo freelancer to a Big 4 firm. Here’s what consultants and agencies were publishing as of October 2026.
| What you’re buying | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Independent consultant, by the hour | $150 to $350 an hour | Ryan Doser; Leanware |
| Boutique firm, by the hour | $250 to $500 an hour | Ryan Doser |
| First project for a business under 10 staff | $4,000 to $10,000 | Lilach Bullock |
| Small fixed project or strategy assessment | $5,000 to $25,000 | Ryan Doser; Leanware |
| Advisory retainer | $2,000 to $5,000 a month | Ryan Doser; Leanware |
| Tools and AI usage after the build | $50 to $500 a month | Main & Machine |
Closer to home, there’s CodeWCG, an agency with pages for Durham businesses. It says simple automations like a chatbot or a content workflow start around $2,500 to $5,000. It says complex multi-system builds run higher, and it gives a fixed price after scoping.
One fair caveat. Most of these numbers come from consultants publishing their own rates and what they see around them. None of them is a formal survey, so treat them as a ballpark.
What Porch Light Charges
I price by package, and the first conversation is free. Here’s exactly what each one includes.
Teardown: From $5,000
One month. I follow one real job start to finish and score every chore. Then I build one custom tool for the chore that hurts most, with up to about eight hours of build time.
It starts with an Online Presence Report on how you show up online and who you’re losing jobs to. It ends with the tool installed in your day and a short written playbook. Your research, plan and tools live in a private client workspace on my site. The full breakdown is on the Teardown page.
Teardown + Tools: From $8,000
The Teardown plus two ready-made tools from the shelf, each installed in two 90-minute sessions on the same foundation.
Ongoing: $800 a Month
Three-month minimum. I keep the tools tuned as the business changes, add one a quarter, and the social manager keeps posting.
Bigger builds or more custom tools get quoted after week two of a Teardown, once we know what’s worth building.
What Will I Pay Each Month for Tools?
Once it’s built, most small businesses I work with land between $100 and $250 a month in tools. The pieces are ordinary:
- Claude or ChatGPT, about $20 a month. As of October 2026, Claude Pro and ChatGPT Plus are each $20 a month on monthly billing.
- A work line like Quo, $15 to $30 a month. Quo’s plans start at $15 per user a month on yearly billing.
- Metricool for social, $20 to $50 a month. Metricool’s Starter plan starts at $20 a month on yearly billing.
- Whatever you already pay for your website and your books.
These are your tools, not mine. I build on what you already pay for and add only what the job needs.
How the Options Compare
| Option | Up front | Monthly | What you get | Good fit when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY with tools only | $0 | About $20 per AI assistant, plus anything you add | The tools, and your own evenings to set them up | You have one clear chore and you like tinkering |
| Ready-made tool install | The Tone of Voice tool is free. Two ready-made tools come with Teardown + Tools, from $8,000. | Your tool costs, usually $100 to $250 all in | Tools piloted with real owners, installed in two sessions, in your voice | Your chore matches something already on the shelf |
| Custom Teardown | From $5,000 | Your tool costs, usually $100 to $250 all in | Online Presence Report, one real job followed, one custom tool, a playbook, a private workspace | Your list doesn’t match the shelf |
| Ongoing | $800 a month, three-month minimum | Plus your own tool subscriptions | Tools kept tuned, one new tool a quarter, social posting that keeps going | The business keeps changing and you want the tools to keep up |
What Makes It Cost More or Less?
A few things move the number, whoever you hire.
How many systems have to talk to each other. One tool doing one job is the cheap end. Wiring a work line into your project software takes more build time. CodeWCG says the same: complex multi-system builds run higher.
Ready-made or custom. A ready-made tool is already built and piloted, so the work is the install. A custom tool gets built from scratch for your business. That’s why the Teardown includes up to about eight hours of build time and quotes anything bigger after week two.
What you already pay for. I build on Claude, ChatGPT, Quo, Metricool, JobTread, Wix and whatever else is already in your shop. Fewer new subscriptions means a smaller monthly bill.
Who you hire. Ryan Doser’s 2026 guide lists $150 to $350 an hour for independents. Big 4 and top strategy firms run $500 to $1,000 or more an hour.
Hourly or fixed. An hourly quote can grow as the work does. If someone bills by the hour, Main & Machine suggests asking for estimated hours and a spending cap. I’d do the same.
Where your texts live. Apple doesn’t let outside tools read or send iMessages. If your business runs on your personal phone, a work line like Quo becomes part of the build. It’s part of the monthly bill, too.
When Are the Tools Alone Enough?
Sometimes you don’t need me. Say the chore is one clear thing, like writing captions or answering the same customer question every week. A $20 assistant with a good voice file can carry a lot of that.
Start with the free Tone of Voice tool on my ready-made tools page. It turns how you actually talk to customers into a voice file every other tool reads from.
If you’re not sure which chore to hand off, run the scoring method in how to find the chore AI should take first. All it takes is a notepad and one real job.
I think a consultant earns the fee when the chore crosses several tools. Or when you’ve tried it yourself and it’s sitting half set up, like a cabinet with no doors. And if we talk and the tools alone would get you there, I’ll tell you.
Where to Start
Bring me the job that eats your week, and we’ll figure out which option fits. The first conversation is free.