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Cost guide · 2026

How much does an AI consultant cost in Ontario?

Short answer: in Ontario in 2026, expect a fixed-fee AI diagnostic from $3,500, single-workflow builds from $4,500, and ongoing optimization from $695/month. Unlike most firms, we publish our starting prices.

Our published prices

Fixed by company size, set before work starts

PackageStarting price
Agentic AI Quick Start — one working agent + privacy-safe setup, 2 weeks$2,495 fixed — every size
AI Opportunity Diagnostic — ranked 90-day plan + inventory, risks, scorecardsfrom $3,500
Outcome Build Sprint — one named outcome shipped & trainedfrom $4,500
AI Operating Partner — monthly tuning, governance, legislative watchfrom $695/mo
Paying for it: the work is built to pay for itself out of the time and money it frees up; BDC's Data-to-AI loan can finance your whole project so you spread the cost.
Market context

What others charge

ServiceTypical range (CAD)Notes
AI diagnostic / adoption plan$1,500 – $15,000+Toronto boutiques publish $2,500 assessments; full plans run higher
Single workflow build$3,000 – $15,000Depends on channels and tools
Multi-workflow implementation$10,000 – $25,000Published GTA comparables
Team training (workshop)$1,500 – $3,500 / sessionInsist on follow-through, not just a seminar
Monthly optimization retainer$500 – $3,000 / moThe small-business-sized band
Hourly consulting$125 – $300 / hrCommon, but fixed-fee aligns incentives better
What moves the price

Up or down

Red flags

Worth more than any price comparison

Questions owners actually ask

Straight answers

Why do you publish your prices when no one else does?

Because guessing games waste your time and ours. Packages are fixed-price by company size — Quick Start $2,495, Diagnostic from $3,500, sprints from $4,500, retainer from $695/mo — and the exact fee is set by headcount, so price never becomes a negotiation.

Is $3,500 for a diagnostic worth it for a 10-person business?

If it targets a real bottleneck, yes: Canadian small businesses using generative AI save about 1.08 hours/day (CFIB, 2025). A diagnostic that finds two such workflows pays for itself in weeks.

Why do Toronto consultancies quote $25k–$75k minimums?

Most are development shops built for enterprise. A 5–50 person business needs adoption consulting — smaller builds, training, follow-through — a different service at a different price.

Can I just do it myself with ChatGPT for $30/month?

You can start there. The measured gap: projects done with a partner reach deployment about twice as often (~67% vs 33%, MIT 2025). The tool is cheap; workflow design, integration and adoption are what consultants sell.

Can funding help pay for the Diagnostic?

BDC financing can fund your whole project so you spread the cost. Ontario's DMAP reimburses up to 50% (max $15,000) for a plan by an OCI-rostered consultant; we're not on that roster by choice, so we build, not just plan.

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