The price for the services of consultants may vary dramatically, depending on the experience, expertise, project scope, and whether you are partnering with freelancers or a deeply specialized company. You can find freelancers for $150/hour or less, but they will lack cross-functional skills required for data engineering, deployment, architecture, and long-term support.
The cost of a professional consulting firm will be higher; however, they typically offer a customized pricing approach with tailored engagement models for each case. With the bigger initial investment, joining forces with professional vendors unlocks the power of versatile, dedicated teams. Vendors have at their disposal strategists, data engineers, ML experts, QA, and other specialists required to ensure reliability, faster delivery, and significantly lower risk. For most organizations, hiring a consulting company provides the best balance of speed, quality, and long-term success.