About this guide

Contents

1. Who it is for
2. Where the numbers come from
3. Ownership
4. Corrections

Most articles about AI consulting cost are written by firms selling it, and their ranges are rarely sourced. This guide uses only prices someone has published: federal schedules, directories, marketplaces and the few firms that print their rates.

Who it is for

Finance leads, operations leaders and owners at companies weighing an AI consulting purchase, who need a benchmark to judge a rate, a project price or a monthly running cost.

Where the numbers come from

Every figure links to its source and the date we read it. Where we calculated a figure ourselves, such as the distribution of AI labour rates on GSA schedules, the methodology page explains how. Firm prices are quoted as the firm publishes them, and survey or directory figures are labelled with what they measure.

The guide is reviewed at least once a quarter. Rates change, and each page records when it was last updated.

Ownership

This guide is owned by the company that makes OpenLazarus, one of the six providers it reviews. OpenLazarus is assessed against the same criteria as the others, and its unpublished prices are named as such.

Corrections

If a price has changed or a figure is wrong, tell the editors with a link to the source.

Further reading

• Guide · Hourly ratesAI consultant hourly rates in 2026, from 256 published rate linesWe analysed every AI and machine-learning labour rate on federal GSA schedules and set it beside directory, marketplace and wage data. The middle of the US market sits between $149 and $241 an hour.
• Guide · Projects and retainersAI consulting project and retainer pricing in 2026Hourly rates describe labour; projects and retainers are how AI work is actually bought. The published prices for each stage, what they include and the running cost that follows.
• Guide · ROIThe ROI of AI consulting, worked out with federal wage dataA return is hours removed times the true cost of an hour, set against the first-year price including running costs. Three worked examples with federal wage data, and the inputs to measure yourself.