Pricing
What working with the network costs
Getting matched is free. Engagements are priced in a written proposal where the talent’s rate and our fee appear separately — because in this industry, the fee you cannot see is the one you should worry about.
The short version: the brief, scoping call, and introductions cost nothing. Senior contract engineers run $150–300/hr, scoped project builds start at $25k, fractional AI leadership runs $4k–15k/month, and training programs start with a fixed-fee pilot. Our match fee is stated in the proposal, not hidden in the rate. If your budget is below these ranges, the free resources are the right starting point — and we will tell you so rather than take the brief.
Free before you engage
The project brief
Two minutes to describe what you want to build. Every brief is read by a person.
The scoping call
Fifteen minutes to understand the project properly — including an honest "we are not the right route" when that is true.
Curated introductions
Two to three hand-picked matches with verified production work. No charge to meet them.
The readiness tools
The assessment, checklist, ROI calculator, prompt library, and policy template are free with no gate on usefulness.
The mechanics of the process — brief to scoping call to curated introductions — are walked through step by step on the how-it-works page.
Four engagement models, priced honestly
Every engagement is priced per proposal — these are the published ranges the proposals land in, consistent with the market data in our AI consulting rates guide and salary bands.
Contract AI engineers
$150–300/hrSenior independent engineers embedded with your team by the week or month. Rates vary with specialty and seniority — infrastructure and GPU work sits at the top of the band. You see the engineer’s rate and our fee separately; nothing is blended into an invisible markup.
Compare hiring routes→Project-based builds
From $25kA defined system delivered against milestones — retrieval pipelines, agents and copilots, LLM integrations. Small, well-scoped builds run $25k–75k; substantial systems $75k–250k. The proposal fixes scope, milestones, and price before work starts.
AI implementation services→Fractional AI leadership
$4k–15k/monthAn experienced AI leader one to two days a week — strategy, build-vs-buy decisions, vendor accountability, and hiring support. A fraction of the $250k+ cost of a full-time executive, cancellable with notice.
Fractional AI leadership→Team training programs
Fixed-fee pilotWorkforce AI training through vetted training partners: the readiness assessment is free, a single-team pilot is a fixed fee, and company-wide programs are priced to the rollout — mid-market priced, well below a consulting-firm engagement.
Corporate AI training→How the fee compares to the alternatives
Every sourcing route charges for access to talent — the difference is whether you can see the fee. The full comparison, including the questions that expose weak vetting, is in our guide to AI staffing agencies.
| Route | Typical fee | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Contingency recruiter | 20–30% of first-year salary | A $40k–60k fee on a $200k engineer, paid on placement — screening depth varies wildly |
| Retained search | 30–35% of first-year comp | Thorough but slow and expensive; built for executive hires |
| Staffing agency | 40–80% markup on pay rate | The markup is folded into the bill rate — you rarely learn the split |
| Open marketplace | 10–20% platform fee | Cheap access to a huge pool; the real screening cost lands on you |
| Neuronify network | Transparent match fee, stated in the proposal | You see the talent’s rate and our fee separately, before you commit |
The number matters less than the structure. A visible fee creates the right incentive: we only earn it when the match works, which is why rematching a wrong fit costs you nothing. An invisible markup creates the opposite one — the agency earns most when you never learn the split.
Get a real number for your project
Ranges are ranges. A two-minute brief and one scoping call get you a scoped proposal with an actual price — and the matching costs nothing.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to get matched with AI talent?+
Nothing until you engage someone. The brief, the scoping call, and two to three curated introductions are free with no obligation. Costs begin only when you sign an engagement proposal, which states the talent’s rate and our fee separately.
How does Neuronify make money?+
A match fee on engagements, stated transparently in the proposal — not a hidden markup blended into an hourly rate. We publish this because the alternative is the industry norm: staffing agencies routinely mark up contractor pay 40–80% without disclosing the split.
What do AI engineers cost in 2026?+
Senior contract AI engineers run $150–300/hr depending on specialty, with infrastructure and GPU work at the top of the band. Full-time, US AI engineers run $150k–220k base at mid-level and $220k–300k senior before equity and benefits. For a first project, contract talent is usually the lower-regret route — you pay for exactly the weeks you need.
What is the minimum project size?+
The network is the right fit for projects of $25k and up, or ongoing contract and fractional engagements. Below that, the free tools and guides on this site are the honest place to start — a match fee on a tiny project would not pay for the vetting behind it, so we would rather point you at resources than take the brief.
Are there retainers, subscriptions, or exclusivity requirements?+
No. Project builds are priced per proposal, contract engineers bill for time worked, and fractional leadership runs month to month at $4k–15k depending on cadence — cancellable with notice. You are never locked into the network for future work.
What does converting a contractor to a full-time hire cost?+
Conversion terms are agreed upfront in the engagement proposal, so there is no surprise negotiation at the moment you want to hire. This is the opposite of the typical staffing-agency model, where conversion fees surface only when you ask — compare fee structures across all five sourcing models in our staffing guide.