AI services price index, October 2026.
Half of the AI service firms buyers find in search publish no price at all. We read the websites of 122 firms: 23% publish a fixed or “from” price for a defined offer, 27% only ranges or rates, 50% nothing. Where a price is published, the median entry price is $12,000 for a pilot and $20,000 for a production agent.
Who wrote this: Gigabit, an AI software firm that sells some of the services measured here and publishes its own prices. Our row is shown at the end of the firm table for transparency and is not counted in any share, median or chart. The data, the rules and the code are published so anyone can check them.
Six figures from the index.
Most firms make you ask.
Share of firms in each group, by the most specific price on their own website.
Show as a table
| Group | Fixed or from | Ranges or rates only | No price |
|---|---|---|---|
| All firms (122) | 28 | 33 | 61 |
| United States and Canada (35) | 4 | 11 | 20 |
| India (31) | 6 | 11 | 14 |
| UK and Europe (29) | 11 | 3 | 15 |
| Elsewhere or not stated (27) | 7 | 8 | 12 |
| Ranked in the top 10 (81) | 23 | 25 | 33 |
| Named only in lists (41) | 5 | 8 | 28 |
| Large IT and consulting firms (13) | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Entry prices for one-off work.
Each dot is one firm's lowest published figure for that kind of work, in US dollars. The shaded band is the middle half of firms; the line is the median.
Log scale. Firms that publish a range are placed at the bottom of it. A firm counts once per row however many packages it lists. Hover a dot for the firm.
Median entry price by kind of work.
| Kind of work | Unit | Median | Middle half | Firms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paid discovery or assessment | one-off | $4,500 | $2,130–$7,204 | 20 |
| Pilot, proof of concept or MVP sprint | one-off | $12,000 | $7,750–$18,500 | 22 |
| Production AI agent or feature build | one-off | $20,000 | $10,000–$32,000 | 30 |
| Workflow automation buildsmall sample | one-off | $5,000 | $2,000–$10,000 | 7 |
| Monthly run or support retainer | per month | $2,500 | $812–$11,250 | 13 |
| Dedicated AI engineersmall sample | per engineer per month | $3,520 | $2,880–$4,400 | 7 |
| Hourly rate | per hour | $30 | $25–$49 | 22 |
Five findings.
1. Half the market makes you ask.
61 of 122 firms (50%) show no price for AI work anywhere on their site: not on a pricing page, a service page, an FAQ or a cost guide. Another 33 publish only ranges, minimums or hourly rates. That leaves 28 firms (23%) where a buyer can see what a defined piece of work costs before the first call.
2. The largest firms publish nothing.
None of the 13 large IT services and consulting firms in the sample, including Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, Infosys and TCS, publishes a price for AI services. Capgemini’s only prices are for training courses, which the index does not count.
3. European firms publish fixed prices most often.
11 of 29 firms headquartered in the UK and Europe (38%) publish a fixed or “from” price, against 4 of 35 in the United States and Canada (11%) and 6 of 31 in India (19%). Indian firms are the most likely to publish ranges or rates only. The groups are small, so read this as a direction, not a measurement.
4. Firms that rank are more open about price.
Of the 81 firms whose own pages ranked in the top 10 for a buyer search, 59% publish some price. Of the 41 firms that appeared only as names in “best companies” lists, 32% do. Price pages and cost guides are among the pages that rank for buying searches, which is part of why.
5. Published figures are entry prices, and they spread wide.
The middle half of firms start a production agent build between $10,000 and $32,000, a pilot between $7,750 and $18,500, and a monthly retainer between $812 and $11,250. These are the lowest numbers each firm shows; what a buyer pays depends on integrations, data and how much the system is allowed to do. Hourly rates (median $30) come mostly from offshore staffing firms, so they say little about specialist AI consultancies, most of which publish none.
Every firm in the sample (134).
Alphabetical, not a ranking. Up to four counted prices per firm, in its own currency, each linked to the page it was read on. Firms that could not be counted are listed with the reason.
| Firm | HQ | Status | What its site shows (source) |
|---|---|---|---|
| &above | GB | No price | No price found on its site. |
| 10Clouds | PL | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Accenture | IE | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Acquaint Softtech | IN | Fixed or from |
|
| Ademero | US | Not counted | Not counted: sells software, not services. |
| Alice Labs | SE | Fixed or from |
|
| Anicca Digital | GB | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for work that is not specific to AI and training courses. |
| Appinventiv | IN | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for market averages rather than its own prices. |
| Autymate | US | Not counted | Not counted: sells software, not services. |
| Azilen Technologies | IN | Ranges or rates |
|
| Azumo | US | Ranges or rates |
|
| b.telligent | DE | No price | No price found on its site. |
| BairesDev | — | Not counted | Not counted: the site blocked automated reading on 22 October 2026. |
| Beetroot | SE | Fixed or from |
|
| Big Data Boutique | — | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Biz4Group | US | Ranges or rates |
|
| BotsCrew | US | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for market averages rather than its own prices. |
| Capgemini (Invent) | FR | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for training courses. |
| Classic Informatics | IN | No price | No price found on its site. |
| ClearObject | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| CMARIX | IN | Fixed or from |
|
| Codewave | IN | Fixed or from |
|
| Cognizant | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Computas | NO | Fixed or from |
|
| Context Studios | DE | Fixed or from |
|
| Cprime | US | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for training courses. |
| Data Monsters | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| DataRoot Labs | UA | No price | No price found on its site. |
| DBB Software | PL | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for work that is not specific to AI. |
| Debut Infotech | — | Fixed or from |
|
| Deloitte | GB | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Designveloper | VN | Ranges or rates |
|
| Deviniti | PL | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Elegant Media | AU | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for work that is not specific to AI. |
| Enterprise DNA | — | Ranges or rates |
|
| EPC Group | US | Fixed or from | |
| eSparkBiz | IN | Ranges or rates |
|
| F22 Labs | IN | Ranges or rates |
|
| Faculty | GB | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for training courses. |
| Fingent | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Full Scale | US | Ranges or rates |
|
| GeekyAnts | IN | Fixed or from |
|
| GetWidget | IN | Ranges or rates |
|
| Goodspeed | GB | Fixed or from |
|
| Groovy Web | IN | Fixed or from |
|
| GrowwStacks | IN | Ranges or rates |
|
| Guru TechnoLabs | — | Not counted | Not counted: the site blocked automated reading on 22 October 2026. |
| Happiest Minds | — | Not counted | Not counted: the site blocked automated reading on 22 October 2026. |
| HatchWorks AI | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| HCLTech | IN | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Hyperlink InfoSystem | IN | Fixed or from |
|
| IBM Consulting | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Idea Usher | IN | Ranges or rates |
|
| Imobisoft | GB | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for work that is not specific to AI. |
| Improving | US | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for training courses. |
| InData Labs | CY | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for market averages rather than its own prices. |
| Infosys (Topaz) | IN | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Innowise | — | Fixed or from |
|
| INSIDEA | — | Fixed or from |
|
| Intelegain Technologies | — | No price | No price found on its site. |
| iQuasar | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| ITRex Group | — | Ranges or rates |
|
| Kanerika | US | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for work that is not specific to AI. |
| Layer3 Labs | — | Fixed or from |
|
| Lazarev.agency | US | Ranges or rates |
|
| Leanware | — | Not counted | Not counted: the site blocked automated reading on 22 October 2026. |
| LeewayHertz | — | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Lilach Bullock (AI consulting) | GB | Ranges or rates |
|
| LTIMindtree (Mindtree) | IN | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Main & Machine | US | Fixed or from |
|
| Markovate | US | Ranges or rates |
|
| Master of Code Global | US | Ranges or rates |
|
| Metizsoft Solutions | IN | Ranges or rates |
|
| MindInventory | IN | Ranges or rates |
|
| Miquido | PL | Fixed or from |
|
| Mobisoft Infotech | US | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for work that is not specific to AI. |
| N-iX | MT | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Neoteric | PL | Fixed or from |
|
| Netguru | PL | Fixed or from |
|
| Netrio | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| NineTwoThree | US | Fixed or from |
|
| OpenXcell | — | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Passionates | — | Fixed or from |
|
| Patoliya Infotech | IN | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for work that is not specific to AI. |
| Perceptive Analytics | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Petronella Technology Group | — | Not counted | Not counted: the site blocked automated reading on 22 October 2026. |
| Phos AI Labs | — | Fixed or from |
|
| PixelCrayons | IN | Ranges or rates |
|
| Primal | TH | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Prioxis | IN | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for market averages rather than its own prices. |
| Purrweb | US | Ranges or rates |
|
| Qubit Labs | — | No price | No price found on its site. |
| RaftLabs | — | Fixed or from |
|
| Redwerk | UA | Ranges or rates |
|
| Riseup Labs | BD | Ranges or rates |
|
| Rishabh Software | IN | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Rising Max | US | Ranges or rates |
|
| Rootstack | — | Not counted | Not counted: the site blocked automated reading on 22 October 2026. |
| Scaleup Consulting | AU | Ranges or rates |
|
| SCAND | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Simform | US | Ranges or rates |
|
| SmartDev | — | Ranges or rates |
|
| SoftTeco | — | Not counted | Not counted: the site blocked automated reading on 22 October 2026. |
| Softude | IN | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for market averages rather than its own prices. |
| SoluLab | — | Ranges or rates |
|
| Space-O Technologies | IN | Ranges or rates |
|
| SparkoutTech | IN | Ranges or rates |
|
| statworx | DE | Fixed or from | |
| Stepwise | PL | No price | No price found on its site. |
| STX Next | PL | Fixed or from |
|
| SunTec India | IN | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for work that is not specific to AI. |
| Supportsoft Technologies | AU | No price | No price found on its site. |
| SysGroup | GB | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Systango | — | Not counted | Not counted: the site blocked automated reading on 22 October 2026. |
| TalentMSH | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Tata Consultancy Services | IN | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Tech Mahindra | IN | No price | No price found on its site. |
| TechNow | DE | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for market averages rather than its own prices. |
| ThirdEye Data | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Thoughtworks | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Turing | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Uptech | UA | Ranges or rates |
|
| Vantagepoint | US | Fixed or from |
|
| Vasundhara Infotech | IN | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for work that is not specific to AI. |
| Vention | US | No price | No price found on its site. |
| VOCSO | — | Ranges or rates |
|
| Wave Digital | AU | No price | No AI service price. The only figures on its site are for work that is not specific to AI. |
| Wildnet Edge | US | Ranges or rates |
|
| Wipro | IN | No price | No price found on its site. |
| WorkingMouse | AU | Not counted | Not counted: the site has closed. |
| X-Team | US | Ranges or rates |
|
| XAM Consulting | — | Not counted | Not counted: the site blocked automated reading on 22 October 2026. |
| XH Group | DE | Fixed or from |
|
| Zensar Technologies | — | No price | No price found on its site. |
| Gigabit | US | Author, not counted |
|
Every price, including the ones not shown here, is in the offers CSV with the exact words on the page. A firm that believes its row is wrong can send the page with the correct price to hello@gigabit.agency; corrections are logged on this page.
How the index was made.
The sample
On 22 October 2026 we ran 24 fixed buyer searches in English, such as “ai agent development cost”, “ai pilot program consulting price”, “n8n automation agency pricing” and “ai development company uk”. A firm entered the sample if its own page ranked in the top 10 for any search, or if it was named in at least two “best companies” lists or searches. Firms named in a single list were left out, because many of those lists are written by vendors ranking themselves. Directories, marketplaces, software vendors and model providers were excluded. That gave 134 firms; 12 could not be counted (9 blocked automated reading, 2 turned out to sell software, 1 had closed), leaving 122.
What counts as a price
- Only the firm’s own website, read directly. No directory profiles, no third-party estimates.
- Only AI work: discovery, pilots, agent and AI feature builds, automation, run retainers, embedded engineers, AI security and hourly rates for AI engineers. Training courses, general app development, and product subscriptions were recorded but not counted.
- A figure in a cost guide on the firm’s own site counts as the firm’s range, unless the text presents it as a market average or attributes it to someone else.
- Fixed or “from” means at least one single figure for a defined scope: a package, a sprint, an assessment, an agent, a retainer tier, or a monthly fee per engineer. Approximate figures (“around”, “~”) count as ranges.
- Entry price is a firm’s lowest figure for a kind of work (its “from” price or the bottom of its range), so each firm counts once per category.
- Prices in other currencies are converted to US dollars at the European Central Bank reference rates of 22 October 2026. Taxes are as the firm shows them.
Checks
Every price was recorded with its page URL and an exact quote. After collection, every figure behind a fixed or “from” classification was re-read on the live page, along with a random sample of 20 range and rate figures, and all were confirmed. Each firm classed as publishing no price had its home page and common pricing addresses scanned again for any price; none was found.
Limits
- One day, one search engine, English searches. Rankings differ by place and by person.
- The sample favours firms that are visible in search, which likely raises the share that publish prices.
- Headquarters come from each firm’s own site; 27 firms are elsewhere or do not say.
- Pages change. The data is a snapshot of 22 October 2026; the quotes show what each page said.
- Reading and recording were done with AI research assistants working to written rules; the rules, the classification and every check above were applied by us, and the raw records are published.
Data and reuse
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Download every published price (one row per price, with source URL and quote) or every firm (one row per firm, with its tier and the searches it came from). Please cite: “Source: Gigabit, AI services price index, October 2026, CC BY 4.0” with a link to this page. Firms that believe a row is wrong can write to hello@gigabit.agency with the page that shows the correct price; corrections are logged here.
Buyers of AI work are told “it depends” before they are told a number. We publish our own prices, so we wanted to know how unusual that is, and what the firms that do publish actually charge. The next edition is planned for January 2027, with the same searches and the same rules.
AI service prices, answered from the data
How much does an AI pilot or proof of concept cost in 2026?
Among the 22 firms in our October 2026 index that publish a price for one, the median entry price for a pilot, proof of concept or MVP sprint is $12,000, and the middle half of firms start between $7,750 and $18,500. These are the lowest figures each firm publishes, so a real project with integrations usually costs more.
How much does it cost to build an AI agent?
Across the 30 firms that publish a figure for a production AI agent or AI feature, the median entry price is $20,000; the middle half start between $10,000 and $32,000. Published figures run from $625 for a simple chatbot to $150,000 as the starting point for enterprise systems.
Do AI development companies publish their prices?
Most do not publish a usable one. Of 122 AI service firms we read on 22 October 2026, 23% publish a fixed or “from” price for a defined offer, 27% publish only ranges, minimums or hourly rates, and 50% publish no price at all. None of the 13 large IT and consulting firms in the sample publishes an AI service price.
What is the typical hourly rate for AI developers at an agency?
The median published hourly rate among the 22 firms that show one is $30 an hour, with the middle half between $25 and $49. The firms that publish hourly rates are mostly offshore staffing and development companies; most specialist AI consultancies do not publish one.
How was the AI services price index made?
We ran 24 fixed buyer searches on 22 October 2026, took every AI service firm in the top 10 results or named in at least two lists, and read each firm's own website for prices. 134 firms entered the sample and 122 could be read. Every price is recorded with its source page and an exact quote, and the data is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Gigabit wrote the study and is not counted in any figure.
Ours are on the page.
Every fixed price we sell, with what it includes. Thirty minutes to scope yours.


