AI Development

What AI development actually costs in 2026.

Data complexity and integration depth drive AI project cost far more than the model itself. Here's the real breakdown by project tier.

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Single AI Feature

$5K – $15K

One focused AI capability added to an existing product — a copilot, summarizer, or search feature.

One well-defined AI feature (e.g. support copilot, content summarization)
Prompt design and basic evaluation criteria
Integration into your existing app and data
Basic guardrails and fallback behavior

Multi-Feature AI System

$15K – $30K

Multiple connected AI features, retrieval over your own data, and production monitoring.

RAG pipeline with vector search over your content
Multiple connected AI features sharing infrastructure
Production monitoring and evaluation dashboards
More robust guardrails and structured fallback logic

Full RAG / Automation Platform

$30K – $45K+

A complete AI-driven workflow automation system with multiple integrations and ongoing tuning.

Multi-step workflow automation with AI decision points
Complex retrieval across multiple data sources
Full observability, evaluation, and model/provider flexibility
Ongoing tuning infrastructure as usage and data grow
What Moves the Price

Factors that affect your cost

How much of your existing data needs to be ingested and made searchable (retrieval complexity)
Whether the feature is read-only (search, summarization) or takes actions in your systems (higher guardrail requirements)
How many integration points the AI needs to connect to
How much evaluation, monitoring, and fallback logic the use case requires before it's safe to ship
Whether you need a single feature or a connected system of multiple AI capabilities
FAQs

Questions about pricing

Is the AI model itself a major cost factor?

No — API costs for using an existing model (OpenAI, etc.) are usually a small ongoing operational cost, not a major part of the development price. The real cost driver is data integration, workflow design, and guardrails.

Do we need to fine-tune a model, or is that extra cost?

Most commercial use cases don't need fine-tuning — retrieval over your own data with a strong existing model is usually more cost-effective and easier to maintain. We'll tell you if your use case is one of the exceptions.

What's not included in these price ranges?

Ongoing model API usage costs (billed by the provider based on usage, not us), and vector database or infrastructure hosting costs beyond initial setup — these scale with usage and are typically modest relative to development cost.

Can we start with one AI feature and expand later?

Yes — this is the most common and lowest-risk path. Most clients validate one well-scoped AI feature before investing in a broader multi-feature system.

Want an exact number, not a range?

Tell us what you're building and we'll give you a scope-based quote after a free discovery call — no generic rate card.

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