How much does Artificial Intelligence actually cost?
Most AI firms hide their pricing behind a "contact us" wall. We think you deserve numbers before a sales call. Below you will find real ranges, the factors that shift them, and a way to request a tailored estimate in under two minutes.
Trusted by 23 organisations across healthcare, logistics, and financial services since 2021.
Transparent price ranges
We do not sell fixed packages because every AI project has different data, compliance requirements, and integration depth. Instead, here is what each type of engagement typically costs, based on our last 18 months of delivered work.
AI readiness assessment
£2,400 – £6,500A two-to-four-week audit of your data estate, existing tooling, and team capability. Deliverable: a scored readiness report with a prioritised action list. Most clients finish this phase in under 20 working days.
Custom model development
£12,000 – £65,000Covers problem framing, dataset preparation, model training, validation, and a deployment-ready artefact. The range depends on data volume and whether the model needs to run on-premise or in cloud. A demand-forecasting model for a mid-size retailer sat at £18,000; a medical imaging classifier reached £58,000 due to regulatory documentation.
Integration and deployment
£8,000 – £35,000Getting a trained model into your production systems: API wrappers, monitoring dashboards, retraining pipelines, and staff training sessions. We hand over full ownership of the code.
Ongoing advisory retainer
£1,800 – £4,200 per monthMonthly model-performance reviews, drift detection, quarterly strategy sessions, and priority access to our engineering team. Minimum commitment is three months.
What moves the price up or down
Data quality
Clean, labelled data can cut model-development time by 40%. If we need to build a labelling pipeline from scratch, expect the upper end of the range.
Regulatory environment
Healthcare, finance, and public-sector projects require bias audits, explainability reports, and sometimes third-party certification. That adds documentation cost.
Integration complexity
A single REST endpoint is straightforward. Connecting to legacy ERP systems, on-premise servers, or multi-cloud environments takes more engineering hours.
Model type
Tabular prediction models are faster to build than computer-vision or natural-language systems. Large language model fine-tuning sits at the higher end because of GPU compute costs.
Team involvement
If your in-house developers handle deployment and we only deliver the model, the total drops. Full turnkey delivery means we carry more of the engineering load.
Timeline pressure
A six-month timeline lets us batch work efficiently. Compressing to eight weeks means parallel workstreams and a premium of roughly 15%.
What happens after you reach out
Scoping call (free, 30 minutes)
We listen to what you want AI to do, ask about your data, and give you an honest opinion on feasibility. No slides, no pitch deck.
Written estimate within five business days
A one-page document with scope, timeline, cost range, and assumptions. You can share it with your finance team without needing us in the room.
Paid discovery sprint (if needed)
For complex projects we run a two-week discovery sprint at a fixed fee. At the end you get a technical design document, a refined budget, and the option to walk away with no further obligation.
Build, test, deploy
Fortnightly demos so you see progress. We track hours against the agreed budget and flag deviations early, not at invoice time.
Handover and optional retainer
Full code transfer, documentation, and a training session for your team. If you want ongoing support, we agree a retainer scope separately.
Why we publish our prices
The AI industry has a transparency problem. Vendors quote wildly different numbers for similar work, and buyers have no baseline to judge whether a proposal is reasonable.
Publishing ranges costs us some negotiating leverage. We accept that trade-off because it attracts clients who value honesty over theatre. It also filters out projects where the budget and the ambition are too far apart, saving everyone time.
Our ranges are updated every January based on the previous year's actuals. The figures on this page reflect work delivered between January 2024 and December 2025.
Are we a good fit?
Not every project needs us, and not every client suits our way of working. Here is an honest breakdown.
We work well with you if
- You have at least some structured data already
- Your budget starts at £10,000 for development work
- You can assign an internal point of contact
- You want to own the resulting code and models
We are probably not the right choice if
- You need an off-the-shelf chatbot installed in a day
- The project has no measurable success criterion
- You expect a fixed price before any scoping
- Data access is blocked by internal politics with no resolution path
How our pricing compares
We surveyed published rates and anonymised quotes from UK-based AI consultancies in late 2025. This table reflects the median ranges we found.
| Engagement type | Large consultancy | Freelance specialist | AI Trust Institute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readiness assessment | £8,000 – £25,000 | £1,500 – £4,000 | £2,400 – £6,500 |
| Custom model (mid-complexity) | £40,000 – £120,000 | £8,000 – £30,000 | £12,000 – £65,000 |
| Integration and deployment | £20,000 – £80,000 | £5,000 – £15,000 | £8,000 – £35,000 |
| Monthly retainer | £6,000 – £15,000 | £800 – £2,500 | £1,800 – £4,200 |
Large consultancies bring brand credibility and deep benches. Freelancers offer speed and low overhead. We sit in between: a small, senior team with enough process to handle regulated industries but without the layers that inflate cost.
Common questions about cost
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Request a tailored estimate
Fill in what you can. We will reply within two business days with a scoping call invitation or, if the details are clear enough, a preliminary cost range.
Prefer to talk first?
Call us on +44 70 8812 6434 weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm.
Or email [email protected] any time.
Our office
7 Kling Crescent, New MacGyver Park, Northern Ireland, DJ8 3NG, United Kingdom
Last updated: 3 March 2026
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Last updated: 3 March 2026
By using this website you agree to these terms. The content on this site is provided for general information. Price ranges are indicative and do not constitute a binding offer. A binding agreement arises only when both parties sign a statement of work.
All intellectual property created during an engagement is assigned to the client upon full payment, unless a separate licence agreement is signed. We retain the right to reference the engagement anonymously in marketing materials unless you opt out in writing.
Our liability for any claim arising from our services is limited to the fees paid for the specific engagement that gave rise to the claim. We are not liable for indirect, consequential, or incidental damages.
These terms are governed by the laws of Northern Ireland. Any dispute shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Northern Ireland.
Last updated: 3 March 2026
The price ranges, timelines, and comparisons on this page are based on our experience and publicly available market data. They are not guarantees. Actual project costs depend on factors specific to your organisation, data, and requirements.
Third-party pricing data is presented in good faith but may not reflect current rates. We encourage you to obtain multiple quotes before making a purchasing decision.
AI models carry inherent uncertainty. We do not guarantee specific accuracy levels, business outcomes, or return on investment. Performance metrics are validated during the project and documented transparently.