What it costs to hire an AI engineer
Our rates are published, so you can work out the cost before you talk to anyone. This page shows hourly, monthly and UK day rates, what they include, and how they compare with published market rates.
Published prices
$25 to $60 an hour in USD, or £20 to £48 in GBP.
Monthly costs about 15% less
A 160-hour monthly plan costs about 15% less than paying by the hour.
One optional extra
The US Eastern-time evening shift costs 15% more. Nothing else is added unless agreed.
How much does it cost to hire an AI engineer?
An AI / LLM engineer from Webify.AI costs $45 an hour, or $6,100 a month for 160 hours. A senior AI engineer costs $60 an hour, or $8,150 a month. UK clients pay £36 and £48 an hour in pounds. Mid-level and senior developers cost less.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Role | Experience | Hourly (USD) | Monthly, 160 hours (USD) | Hourly (GBP) | Day, 8 hours (GBP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-level developer | 3 to 5 years | $25 | $3,400 | £20 | £160 |
| Senior developer | 6 or more years | $35 | $4,750 | £28 | £224 |
| AI / LLM engineer | Agents, RAG, IBM watsonx | $45 | $6,100 | £36 | £288 |
| Senior AI engineer | Leads AI architecture and delivery | $60 | $8,150 | £48 | £384 |
US clients pay in USD and UK clients in GBP. UK clients can also take a 160-hour monthly plan in GBP; ask us for the figure.
- Mid-level developer: Features, fixes and integrations in React, Next.js, Node.js, Python or mobile, inside your team's process.
- Senior developer: Owns a feature or service end to end: design, build, code review and handover.
- AI / LLM engineer: AI agents, retrieval (RAG) and LLM integration, including deployments on IBM watsonx and open-weight models.
- Senior AI engineer: Designs the AI system end to end: model and retrieval choices, evaluation, guardrails, cost and the path to production.
Not sure which tier you need? Our guide to hiring AI engineers explains the roles, and hiring LLM engineers covers agent and retrieval work in more depth.
What does a machine learning engineer or a small AI team cost per month?
Machine learning and LLM work is done by our AI / LLM engineers, at $6,100 a month for 160 hours. A senior AI engineer, who leads the design, costs $8,150 a month. Most AI products also need ordinary development around the model, so you may want to pair an AI engineer with a developer.
| Team | Monthly cost |
|---|---|
| One AI / LLM engineer, 80 hours a month on an hourly plan | $3,600 |
| One AI / LLM engineer, full time | $6,100 |
| One senior ai engineer, full time | $8,150 |
| Senior AI engineer and a mid-level developer | $11,550 |
| Senior AI engineer, AI / LLM engineer and senior developer | $19,000 |
These are worked examples from the published rates, not package prices. Each person is named in the contract and billed at their own rate.
For the skills a machine learning hire needs, see hire machine learning engineers.
What is the hourly rate for a developer who isn't an AI specialist?
A mid-level developer, with three to five years' experience, costs $25 an hour. A senior developer, with six or more years, costs $35. They build the product around an AI feature: web front ends, APIs, integrations and mobile apps. UK clients pay £20 and £28 an hour.
The same terms apply to every tier: a two-week trial, free replacement and IP assigned to you. The full list of technologies is on hire dedicated developers.
What is included in the hourly rate?
The hourly rate covers the named developer's working time and what Webify.AI handles behind it: their pay and equipment. It also includes the trial terms, free replacement within five working days, your NDA and the IP assignment. Hourly plans come with timesheets for every hour billed.
- The developer's time, on your work, inside your team and your tools.
- Their pay and equipment, handled by Webify.AI.
- Two-week trial with the developer you choose. No charge if you stop within the first five working days.
- Free replacement within five working days, with a handover overlap, for as long as the contract runs.
- UK overlap from 09:00 to 13:00 UK time, at no extra cost.
- We sign your NDA before the first call, and the IP in all the code is assigned to you.
- Timesheets for every hour on hourly plans, billed every two weeks.
The rate doesn't cover the running costs of your own systems, such as cloud hosting, model API usage or software licences. Those depend on what you build and the providers you choose.
Hourly vs monthly: which is cheaper?
Monthly is cheaper if you need the developer for most of a full-time month. A 160-hour monthly plan costs about 15% less than 160 hours billed hourly. The break-even point is about 136 hours a month. Below that, hourly is cheaper, and hourly plans start at 80 hours a month.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Role | 160 hours billed hourly | Monthly plan | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-level developer | $4,000 | $3,400 | $600 |
| Senior developer | $5,600 | $4,750 | $850 |
| AI / LLM engineer | $7,200 | $6,100 | $1,100 |
| Senior AI engineer | $9,600 | $8,150 | $1,450 |
- Choose hourly for a backlog, a part-time need, or work you can't size yet. It's billed every two weeks against timesheets.
- Choose monthly for ongoing roadmap work with one developer full time. It's billed in advance.
- After the two-week trial, you can carry on hourly or move to a monthly plan.
How do your rates compare with US, UK, European and Latin American rates?
Our senior developer rate of $35 an hour sits inside Accelerance's 2026 range for senior developers in Asia. Accelerance puts Latin America at $60 to $75 and Central and Eastern Europe at $64 to $76. KORE1 puts US agency AI / ML engineers at $140 to $240. UK contract developers' median is £525 a day.
| Option | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Webify.AI Senior developer | $35 an hour | Our published price |
| Webify.AI AI / LLM engineer | $45 an hour | Our published price |
| Webify.AI Senior AI engineer | $60 an hour | Our published price |
| Senior developer, Asia | $31 to $41 an hour | Accelerance, 2026 |
| Senior developer, Latin America | $60 to $75 an hour | Accelerance, 2026 |
| Senior developer, Central and Eastern Europe | $64 to $76 an hour | Accelerance, 2026 |
| US software developer, staffing agency | $72 to $115 an hour | KORE1, 2026 |
| US senior software developer, staffing agency | $108 to $160 an hour | KORE1, 2026 |
| US AI / ML engineer, staffing agency | $140 to $240 an hour | KORE1, 2026 |
| UK contract software developer, median | £525 a day | IT Jobs Watch, October 2026 |
| Webify.AI Senior developer, UK | £224 a day | Our published price |
| Webify.AI Senior AI engineer, UK | £384 a day | Our published price |
Market figures are published ranges and medians, not quotes. They are not like for like: agency bill rates include the agency's margin, and the regional ranges cover general software developers.
Sources: Accelerance, 2026 outsourcing rates, KORE1, 2026 contractor bill rates and IT Jobs Watch, UK contract software developer rates.
We only show figures we could check at the source. We don't have a verified figure for Western Europe, so we don't quote one.
A lower hourly rate only saves money if the developer is productive. That is why every engagement starts with a two-week trial on your real work.
AI contractor day rates for UK teams, in GBP
UK clients pay in pounds. Based on an eight-hour day, a mid-level developer costs £160 and a senior developer £224. An AI / LLM engineer costs £288 and a senior AI engineer £384. IT Jobs Watch puts the UK contract software developer median at £525 a day.
UK teams get the 09:00 to 13:00 overlap at no extra cost. IR35, UK GDPR and working hours are covered on AI engineers for UK companies.
Are there any extra costs?
One optional extra: the US Eastern-time evening shift, which costs 15% on top of the hourly rate. Nothing else is added unless we agree it with you first. A replacement developer and the UK overlap window carry no extra charge. If you stop within the first five working days, you pay nothing.
| Role | Standard hourly | Evening shift, 09:00 to 12:00 ET (+15%) |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-level developer | $25 | $28.75 |
| Senior developer | $35 | $40.25 |
| AI / LLM engineer | $45 | $51.75 |
| Senior AI engineer | $60 | $69 |
The evening shift gives 09:00 to 12:00 Eastern, 08:00 to 11:00 Central or 06:00 to 09:00 Pacific.
- No charge if you stop within the first five working days of the trial.
- No charge for a replacement developer, with a handover overlap.
- No charge for the UK overlap window, 09:00 to 13:00 UK time.
US teams that skip the evening shift work asynchronously at the standard rate. See AI engineers for US companies for how that works.
How does billing work?
Hourly plans start at 80 hours a month and are billed every two weeks against timesheets. Monthly plans of 160 hours are billed in advance. US clients pay in US dollars and UK clients in pounds sterling. US accounts teams can ask us for a W-8BEN-E form.
- 1
Choose the plan
Hourly from 80 hours a month, or monthly at 160 hours.
- 2
Work is logged
On hourly plans, every hour goes on a timesheet you can check.
- 3
Invoices go out
Every two weeks on hourly plans; in advance each month on monthly plans.
- 4
Adjust month to month
You can change the hours you buy from month to month.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a setup or recruitment fee?
There is none on our price list. Beyond the hourly or monthly rate, the only extra is the optional US evening shift. Anything else would need your agreement first.
What is the least I can buy?
An hourly plan of 80 hours a month. For an AI / LLM engineer that is $3,600 a month at the standard rate.
Do AI agent and RAG developers cost the same?
Yes. Agent, RAG and LLM work is done by AI / LLM engineers at $45 an hour. Senior AI engineers, at $60, lead the design.
Why do AI engineers cost more than other developers?
AI and LLM work is a specialism. It needs experience with agents, retrieval, evaluation and deployment that general developers don't usually have.
Can I mix tiers in one team?
Yes. Each person is named in the contract and billed at their own rate. A team can combine AI engineers with mid-level and senior developers.
How do I know the hours billed are real?
Hourly plans are billed every two weeks against timesheets. You also see the work itself, because it is committed to your repositories.
Do I pay for a replacement developer?
No. We replace a developer within five working days, with a handover overlap, at no extra cost.
Which currency will I be invoiced in?
US clients are invoiced in US dollars and UK clients in pounds sterling. If you are based elsewhere, ask us.
Are the market rates on this page quotes?
No. They are published 2026 ranges and medians from Accelerance, KORE1 and IT Jobs Watch, each linked to its source.
Does the price change for the US evening shift?
Yes. The evening shift, 09:00 to 12:00 Eastern, costs 15% extra. An AI / LLM engineer is $51.75 an hour on that shift.
Tell us what you need and get two profiles within 48 hours
Tell us the role and when you need someone. We'll email two named engineers with their experience and availability within 48 hours, and you choose who to interview.
- No cost to receive profiles
- Two-week trial with the developer you choose. No charge if you stop within the first five working days.
- Invoiced in USD or GBP; IP assigned to you.