AI Consulting Compared: Every Option, Priced Honestly
Every route to AI capability has a price, a timeline, and a failure mode. This hub compares them so you can pick deliberately instead of by whoever answered the phone.
What are the real options for getting AI capability?
There are five routes. A Big Four or strategy firm, at $400 to $1,000 or more per hour, for enterprise governance and board-level programmes. A fractional AI executive, at $2,500 to $25,000 per month, for ongoing leadership without a full-time hire. A freelance consultant, at $75 to $350 per hour, for narrow tasks. Building it internally, which costs salary, time, and the cost of getting it wrong first. Or a diagnostic-led engagement that costs under $2,500 to establish where the money is, then about $10,000 per month to build.
For a company doing $10M to $50M in revenue, the diagnostic-led route is the only one where the first decision is cheap enough to be genuinely reversible.
Compare the five routes
| Route | Typical cost | Timeline | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Four or strategy firm | $400-$1,000+/hour | Multi-year programmes | Multi-entity governance, regulated sign-off |
| Fractional AI executive | $2,500-$25,000/month | Weeks to start | Ongoing leadership without a permanent hire |
| Freelance consultant | $75-$350/hour | Days to start | A defined, contained task |
| Build internally | Loaded staff hours | Two quarters+ | You already know exactly what to build |
| Diagnostic-led engagement | Under $2,500, then about $10,000/month | 90 days to a measured result | You do not yet know where AI pays |
Which option should a $10M-$50M company choose?
Start with the diagnostic. Its purpose is to tell you which of your workflows is expensive to run manually before you commit to any build, and it should be priced so declining everything afterward is easy. Everything else on this list is easier to evaluate once you know your own number.
Most companies doing $10M to $50M find between $200,000 and $500,000 of annual automatable workflow cost during a single diagnostic. Measured against that, a fee under $2,500 is repaid by the ranking alone.
What does each route cost, in one line?
| Route | Entry price | What you get first |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy firm | Hourly from $400 | A strategy document |
| Fractional executive | From $2,500/month | Ongoing leadership |
| Freelancer | From $75/hour | A delivered task |
| Internal | Staff time | Whatever the team works out |
| Diagnostic-led | $1,999 | A costed ranking of automatable workflows |
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the options for hiring AI consulting help?
- Five: a Big Four or strategy firm at $400 to $1,000+ per hour; a fractional AI executive at $2,500 to $25,000 per month; a freelance consultant at $75 to $350 per hour; building internally with existing staff; or a diagnostic-led engagement at under $2,500 to start and about $10,000 per month to build.
- Which AI consulting option is best for a company doing $10M to $50M?
- A diagnostic-led engagement. The entry cost should be small enough that declining the rest is easy, and it should produce a costed ranking of your automatable workflows before you commit to a build. Most companies at this size find $200,000 to $500,000 of annual automatable cost in one diagnostic.
- Is a Big Four firm ever the right choice?
- Yes, for regulated enterprises needing global delivery and board-level governance across many business units. A company doing $10M to $50M is paying for overhead it does not use. The analytical work of ranking workflows and automating them is a short, focused engagement, not a multi-year programme.