Insights

What an AI consultant costs in Minneapolis, with our actual price

Ben McDermott · September 2, 2026 · 4 min read

Google's top suggestion when you type "AI consultant" is "AI consultant hourly rate." Nobody in Minneapolis publishes one. Here are the numbers we see in the market, what's behind them, and what we charge.

The four ways AI consulting gets priced here

Every AI consultant in the Twin Cities sells one of four things, and the price follows the model more than the skill.

1. Hourly

Independent consultants in Minneapolis quote $150 to $300 an hour for hands-on AI work. Senior people with an enterprise background go higher. Hourly is honest and flexible, and it's the worst deal for an owner who doesn't know how many hours the job needs, because nobody does until it's done. A "quick automation" at $200 an hour that takes twelve hours is $2,400 with nothing to show for the estimate.

2. Project fees

Agencies scope a fixed build. In the Minneapolis results for AI automation, the common shape is a one-time build fee of $2,500 to $10,000 plus a monthly platform fee of $99 to $399, plus the AI usage itself, typically $50 to $200 a month paid to the model provider. A single AI receptionist is the standard $2,500 entry product. Some firms start lower: one Twin Cities web shop lists AI consulting "from $747."

Project pricing is predictable, which owners like. The catch is what happens after delivery. The build runs on the agency's platform, so changes go through them, and the monthly fee continues whether or not you're getting value.

3. Audits and roadmaps

Strategy-first firms open with a one-to-two-week "AI workflow audit" and hand you a plan. Prices for these are rarely published; from what we hear, $3,000 to $8,000 is normal in this market, and private AI hosting on top of it starts around $1,500 a month. The plan is often good. It's also a plan, and someone still has to build it. (Our own audit is $995, takes two weeks, and ends in a plan with our prices on it, because we're the ones who build it next.)

4. Fractional AI officers

For companies with 50 to 500 people, a fractional Chief AI Officer works two days a month to three days a week for $5,000 to $30,000 a month. That's leadership, governance, and vendor selection. If you're an owner-led business, this is the wrong product at any price.

What we charge

1771 starts with a $995 AI audit: an AI search baseline, a workflow review, a team readiness check, and a written plan with prices on it, in about two weeks. Then it's a fixed-price project from $1,995 (a half-day session to get the team on Claude is $1,995 for up to ten people) or the AI retainer at $1,995 a month, billed monthly: two 30-minute working sessions, unlimited iMessage between them, and a shared Notion hub that logs everything built. The audit fee comes off whichever you choose. Every price is on the website because you shouldn't have to sit through a call to learn them.

The reason we don't price by the hour is simple: the useful work is a series of small builds, and the value compounds. Some owners need one build and are done, so that's a project with a number on it. Others want a proposal generator in month one, an after-hours responder in month two, a weekly reporting note in month three, and that rhythm is the retainer. The audit is how we find out which one you are before either of us commits.

What actually drives the price

  • Who does the work. A partner at $250 an hour and a junior at $250 an hour cost the same and are not the same. Ask who will be on the screen share.
  • Where the result lives. If it runs on the consultant's platform, you're renting. If it runs in your Google Workspace, your CRM, and your own AI account, you own it and can stop paying whenever you like.
  • Scope creep. Hourly and project models both drift. A retainer with a fixed session count can't.
  • Hosting and usage. Model usage for an owner-led business is usually $20 to $100 a month in total. If a quote has hundreds a month in "AI costs," ask what's in it.
  • The first win. Some firms need six weeks of discovery before anything runs. We think the first session should end with something working, and that's a reasonable thing to demand of anyone.

A fair way to compare quotes

Take any quote and ask two questions: what will be running in my business thirty days from now, and what do I keep if I stop paying? A $2,500 receptionist you rent and a $1,995 project that leaves you with an automation you own are not the same purchase, even though the numbers look close.

If you want to see where your business lands, the 30-minute call is free and we'll tell you honestly whether the audit, a project, the retainer, or somebody else's product is the right fit.

Sources

About the author

Ben McDermott · Founder, 1771 Co

Ben started 1771 in Minneapolis in 2013 and has spent the years since making software do what businesses actually need: 50+ Salesforce projects for organizations like Cargill, Optum, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Adobe, NetApp, and Snap-on, alongside dozens of small Minnesota companies.

More about Ben · LinkedIn

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