AI consulting that changes how a mid-market business works usually costs tens of thousands of dollars, and business-wide programmes cost more. Specialist providers that publish prices for that work list A$25,000 to A$250,000. Australian federal contracts with large firms price AI and data work from A$143,000 to A$1.68 million.
You'll also see AI consulting advertised from A$495. Those prices are real, but they buy something different: a readiness checklist, a short workshop or a small fixed engagement, often credited against a larger build. This survey sets out what each level of work costs and what the difference in price buys.
We checked provider websites and published contract analysis on 28 September 2026. ELab AI's own published prices are included and marked as ours.
How We Built This Survey
We included a price only when the provider publishes it for its own service, or when it comes from public contract data. Market ranges quoted without a source were left out, and so were hourly rates. An hourly rate says nothing about what you'll receive, and consultancies working with larger businesses price by scope. GST is shown as each provider states it; where a page doesn't say, we've written "not stated".
This isn't a representative sample. The providers most likely to publish prices are those selling small, fixed offers. Most consultancies that work with larger businesses quote each engagement instead, and Aivy's August 2026 survey found none of the nine largest Australian consulting providers publishes rates for AI services. Treat the figures as reference points, not a benchmark or an endorsement.
Prices change. Check the provider's current page before relying on any figure here.
The Short Answer: What You Buy Decides the Price
| What You're Buying | Published Range | Typical Output |
|---|---|---|
| Entry offer | Free to about A$5,500 | A readiness checklist, opportunity list, short workshop or prototype |
| Single-workflow project | NZ$12,000 to NZ$30,000; from A$25,000 | One capability built, tested and handed over |
| Business-wide programme | NZ$50,000+; A$50,000 to A$250,000 | Several workflows, knowledge and data work, integration, adoption and governance |
| Large-firm government contract | A$143,000 to A$1.68 million | Strategy, design or platform work for a federal department |
The gap between the first row and the rest isn't a markup. It reflects how much of the business the work touches, how senior the people doing it are and whether anything is built, integrated and adopted by your team.
Published Prices for Projects and Programmes
These are the published prices for work beyond a first step, largest first.
| Provider | Service | Published Price | GST as Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team 400 (AU) | Custom AI projects | Typically A$50,000 to A$250,000 | Not stated |
| Implement AI (NZ) | AI Transformation | NZ$50,000+ | Not stated |
| Team 400 (AU) | Fast Packages for focused AI solutions | From A$25,000 | Not stated |
| Implement AI (NZ) | AI Implementation | NZ$12,000 to NZ$30,000 | Not stated |
| FlowWorks (AU) | Implementations | A$3,500 to A$25,000+ | Not stated |
| Nexus Digital (AU) | Ongoing system management and one new workflow a quarter | From A$3,000 a month | Not stated |
Team 400 says its custom range depends on integration requirements, data complexity and scale. Those three factors explain most of the difference between a small and a large AI project in any market.
What Large Firms Charge
Large consulting firms don't publish AI rates, but Australian federal contracts are public. Aivy's analysis of AusTender contract notices lists AI, automation and data contracts with Deloitte, EY, Accenture and McKinsey from A$143,000 to A$1,683,000, including GST.
Dividing each contract by its working days, Aivy estimates whole-team day rates of about A$1,959 to A$20,524. AI strategy and planning contracts in its list range from A$148,500 to A$275,000.
Government work carries procurement, security and reporting requirements that most private businesses won't need. Treat these figures as the top of the market, not a mid-market price.
Entry Offers and Small Engagements
These are the low prices you're most likely to see advertised. Most are first steps: an assessment, a sprint or a prototype that leads into a larger scope.
| Provider | Service | Published Price | GST as Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Implement AI (NZ) | AI Readiness Assessment | NZ$3,500 to NZ$5,000 | Not stated |
| Free Me Up (AU) | 90-Day AI Pilot | From A$5,500 | Plus GST |
| FlowWorks (AU) | Assessments | From A$1,500 | Not stated |
| Kiwi AI (NZ) | Discovery and Prototype, credited against a build | NZ$990 (usually NZ$2,999) | Not stated |
Aivy also lists unnamed Australian specialists publishing a A$495 readiness blueprint, a A$1,999 discovery and roadmap and a two-week readiness sprint at A$4,950 plus GST.
An entry offer can be useful on its own if it leaves you with something you can act on. Ask what you'd hold at the end if you stopped there, and what the next stage would cost.
Why Advertised Prices Skew Low
Three things pull the visible prices down:
- Who publishes. Fixed, small offers are easy to price on a website. Work across several teams isn't, so it's quoted.
- Who they're for. Many published offers are aimed at small businesses, where a single automation or a workshop is the right scope.
- What they leave out. An entry price rarely includes integration with your systems, preparing your knowledge and data, governance or the time it takes for a team to change how it works.
Aivy found AI strategy deliverables with similar names priced at A$495 from a specialist and A$275,000 in a federal contract. The label is the same; the work isn't.
What a Mid-Market Engagement Includes
For a business of 20 to 500 people, the cost of AI work sits mostly in the parts an entry offer doesn't cover:
- Knowledge and data. Access, quality checks, permissions and structure for the documents, systems and records the work depends on. This is often the largest single piece of work.
- Integration. Connecting AI to your CRM, finance, maintenance or practice systems, with testing and security review.
- Several teams. Workshops, process mapping and decisions across the people who do and review the work.
- Governance. Owners, review points, privacy checks and the controls your board or clients will expect.
- Adoption. Training, operating procedures and support while people change how they work.
- Ongoing management. Monitoring, updates and changes after launch.
That's the difference between a tool a few people try and a capability the business runs on. Our comparison of advisory, consultancy and enablement explains the scopes in more detail, and our AI enablement page sets out how we deliver the full programme.
AI Training for Leadership Teams
Training is where published prices are most common, because the scope is easier to define. Open courses teach general skills to individuals. Private programmes work on your own business with your leadership team.
| Provider | Programme | Published Price | GST as Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELab AI | Management programmes, 12 taught hours, one to five participants | NZ$10,000 per business | Plus GST |
| ELab AI | AI for Owner Operators, six taught hours, private | NZ$5,000 per business | Plus GST |
| GenAI Training | Two-week team workshop programme, up to seven people | NZ$6,000 | Plus GST |
| GenAI Training | AI Roadmap Workshop for Leaders, two hours, up to 15 people | NZ$1,500 | Plus GST |
| University of Auckland | AI Essentials, one day, open enrolment | NZ$1,259 a person | Including GST |
ELab AI's programmes include preparation, learning materials, applied exercises and a capability review. Software, travel and implementation are excluded.
Co-Funding Can Change the Net Cost
New Zealand. MBIE's AI Advisory Pilot co-funds up to 50% of eligible advisory costs, capped at NZ$15,000, and runs to 31 January 2027. Eligibility for the business, provider and engagement is confirmed through the Regional Business Partner Network. ELab AI isn't a selected provider for the current pilot.
Australia. The Australian Government's AI Adopt Centres offer free specialist services to eligible SMEs, including training, consultations and roadmaps. That support is delivered through the centres and doesn't fund a private consulting engagement.
Funding should support a decision you'd make anyway. It shouldn't decide which project you buy.
How to Compare AI Consulting Quotes
Ask every provider to price the same brief, then check these points:
- Deliverables. What will you receive, and how will you know it's finished?
- Who does the work. Which senior people are involved, and for how much of the engagement?
- Knowledge and data work. Who prepares, checks and maintains the sources the work depends on?
- Your team's time. Who needs to be involved, for how long and when?
- First-year total. Add the upfront fee, 12 months of any monthly fees, licences and usage. Confirm currency and GST in writing.
- The path to production. If the quote is an entry offer, what does the next stage cost?
If you're not sure what to brief yet, our AI Readiness Assessment gives you a starting view across people, process, knowledge and data, then technology. Our Australian and New Zealand consulting guides cover scope, evidence and funding in more detail.
Where ELab AI Sits
We work with mid-market businesses in New Zealand and Australia, mainly in general business and professional services, as well as industrial operators and investment managers. In New Zealand, most start at around 20 people. Our engagements start from NZ$5,000 plus GST and are scoped for that kind of business, so most are priced well above the entry offers in this survey. We agree the scope and fees before work starts.
We publish our training prices because the scope is fixed. Consulting and implementation are quoted, because the right scope depends on the workflows, the knowledge and data involved and how much your team wants to own. An engagement can finish with a plan your team carries forward, or continue through implementation and ongoing management. See AI consulting in New Zealand or AI consulting in Australia for how we work.
Citing This Survey
You're welcome to quote or cite these figures. Please link to this page and credit "ELab AI, AI Consulting Price Survey, checked 28 September 2026". If you publish prices for your own AI consulting or training services in Australia or New Zealand and would like them considered for the next update, send us the page.
Getting Started
If you're comparing quotes or working out what to brief, take our AI Readiness Assessment first. It helps you define the work before you price it.
If you'd like a scoped quote for your own business, tell us about your business. You don't need a complete brief. If you'd prefer to choose a time, book a conversation.
