RATE_CARD

Brainforge AI Rate Card

Purpose: Master pricing reference for all services and engagement models
Last Updated: 2026-01-26
Currency: USD
Contact: sales@brainforge.ai

---

📊 Quick Reference

Service Type	Starting Price	Typical Range
Hourly Consulting	$150/hr	$150-300/hr
Fixed Projects	$5,000	$5,000-200,000+
Monthly Retainers	$10,000/mo	$10,000-50,000/mo
Dedicated Resources	$20,000/mo	$20,000-50,000/mo

---

💼 Hourly Rates

Labor Categories

Role	Level	Hourly Rate	Typical Use Cases
Managing Data Lead	Executive	$300/hr	Architecture, strategy, executive advisory
Senior Data Engineer	Senior	$250/hr	Data pipelines, infrastructure, complex ETL
Senior Product Analyst	Senior	$250/hr	Product analytics, experimentation, insights
Technical Project Manager	Mid-Level	$150/hr	Project management, stakeholder coordination
Data Analyst	Mid-Level	$150/hr	Dashboards, reporting, analysis

Billing Rules

• Minimum Billing Unit: 1 hour
• Increments: 0.25 hours (15 minutes) after first hour
• Email/Phone Response: Free (if under 15 minutes)
• Meeting Time: Billable (including prep and follow-up)
• Travel Time: Billable at full rate

---

📦 Fixed-Fee Services

Entry Services ($5,000-$10,000)

Data Audit & Tracking Validation

Price: $5,000 (1-2 weeks)
What’s Included:

• Current state data model evaluation
• Event tracking review and validation
• Master tracking plan documentation
• Violation checklist for clean-up
• Recommendations report

Best For: Companies with existing tracking that needs validation

Note: Typically requires 5-10 hours of focused work

---

Data Tool Implementation

Price: $10,000+ (varies by complexity)
What’s Included:

• Tool selection and setup
• Integration with existing systems
• Instrumentation strategy and best practices
• User journey tracking configuration
• Basic team training

Adjustments:

• Discount if training not needed
• Discount if strategy/tool selection already determined
• Premium for additional tools: +$2,000-5,000 each
• Premium for custom dashboards: +$2,000-3,000

Best For: Companies implementing new analytics tools

---

AI Copilot Integration Sprint

Price: $7,500+ (1-2 weeks)
What’s Included:

• AI tool assessment and selection
• Integration architecture
• Pilot implementation
• Team enablement
• Best practices documentation

Adjustments:

• Custom AI workflows: +$3,000-5,000
• Extended support: +$2,000/month

Best For: Companies adopting AI tools for data/analytics teams

---

Core Services ($10,000-$30,000)

ETL Platform Assessment & Implementation

Price: $15,000-$30,000 (3-4 weeks)
What’s Included:

• Current data sources audit
• ETL tool recommendation (Fivetran, Polytomic, custom)
• Architecture design
• Implementation roadmap
• Vendor selection support
• Cost-benefit analysis

Pricing Factors:

• Number of data sources: +$2,000 per complex source
• Custom transformations: +$3,000-5,000
• Ongoing support: +$3,000/month

Best For: Companies scaling data infrastructure

---

Data Warehouse Setup & Modeling

Price: $20,000-$40,000 (4-6 weeks)
What’s Included:

• Warehouse setup (Snowflake, BigQuery, etc.)
• Data modeling (dimensional, fact tables)
• dbt transformation layer
• Data quality checks
• Documentation

Adjustments:

• Reverse ETL: +$5,000
• Advanced BI setup: +$5,000-10,000
• Team training: +$2,000

Best For: Companies building modern data stack

---

Product Analytics Platform Build

Price: $25,000-$50,000 (6-8 weeks)
What’s Included:

• Event taxonomy design
• Tracking implementation
• Analytics dashboards
• Experimentation framework
• Cohort analysis setup
• Team training

Best For: Product teams needing robust analytics

---

Edge-to-Activation (Attribution & Signal Recovery)

Price: Phase 0: $8,000\ast \ast (2weeks).\ast \ast Phase1:\ast \ast \ast \ast$18,000–$25,000\ast \ast (4–6weeks).\ast \ast Phase2:\ast \ast \ast \ast$20,000/month (retainer; min. 3–6 months). Upfront (Audit + Pilot): $26,000–$33,000; then $20,000/mo for full rollout and maintenance.
What’s Included:

• Phase 0: CDN/Edge deploy in parallel; discrepancy report (client vs. Edge); gap by source; scope for pilot. Low-cost wedge.
• Phase 1: Tangible pilot on most important channels only; Edge → warehouse → reverse ETL or CDP; end-to-end testing framework and validation; clear success criteria for Phase 2. Not full affiliate rollout — that’s Phase 2.
• Phase 2 (retainer): Rollout across all other channels (including affiliate); ongoing maintenance (publishers and requirements change); reporting integration; runbooks; support. Retainer is the only way full rollout and affiliate make sense.

Pricing Factors: Phase 1: number of key channels in pilot; warehouse already in place; integrations. Phase 2: fixed at $20K/mo retainer.

Adjustments: Compliance (PII): +$5,000–$10,000. Bot filtering: +$3,000–$5,000. Audit + Pilot + 6‑month retainer upfront: 5% off Phase 0 + Phase 1.

Best For: Marketing leaders (CMO, Head of Growth) with meaningful paid/acquisition spend; E‑commerce, CPG, B2B SaaS. Edge for affiliate in e‑commerce is high-maintenance — Phase 2 retainer aligns with that reality.

Detail: offer.md

---

Premium Services ($50,000+)

Tech-Enabled Platform Build

Price: $75,000-$200,000+ (8-16 weeks)
What’s Included:

• Platform architecture
• Full-stack development
• AI integration
• Data pipeline setup
• Deployment & hosting
• Ongoing support

Best For: Agencies, enterprises building custom platforms

---

🔄 Monthly Retainer Models

Full-Service Data Management

Price: $10,000/month minimum
What’s Included:

• Ongoing data modeling
• Pipeline maintenance
• BI tool management
• Data quality monitoring
• CRM integration
• Monthly reporting

Typical Team:

• Senior Data Engineer: 30 hours/month
• Data Analyst: 20 hours/month
• Technical Project Manager: 6 hours/month

Volume Tiers:

• Basic ($10,000/mo): 50-60 hours/month
• Standard ($20,000/mo): 100-120 hours/month
• Premium ($30,000/mo): 150-180 hours/month

Best For: Companies needing ongoing data support

---

Dedicated Resource Retainers

Part-Time Engineer (20 hrs/week)

Price: **$20,000/month\ast \ast \ast \ast Calculation\ast \ast :80hours/month\times$250/hr What You Get: Senior Data Engineer, 4 days/week

Full-Time Engineer (40 hrs/week)

Price: **$40,000/month\ast \ast \ast \ast Calculation\ast \ast :160hours/month\times$250/hr What You Get: Senior Data Engineer, full-time

Managing Data Lead (10 hrs/week)

Price: **$12,000/month\ast \ast \ast \ast Calculation\ast \ast :40hours/month\times$300/hr What You Get: Executive-level advisor, 2 hours/day

Mixed Team Retainer

Price: $30,000-$50,000/month
What You Get:

• Senior Engineer (30 hrs/week)
• Data Analyst (15 hrs/week)
• Managing Lead (4 hrs/week)
• PM Support (as needed)

Volume Discounts:

• 3-month commitment: 5% discount
• 6-month commitment: 10% discount
• 12-month commitment: 15% discount

---

📈 Pricing Calculator

Project Estimation Formula

Base Price = (Hours × Hourly Rate) × Complexity Multiplier

Complexity Multipliers:
- Simple (well-defined, standard tools): 1.0x
- Moderate (some customization): 1.2x
- Complex (significant custom work): 1.5x
- Very Complex (novel architecture): 2.0x

Examples

Example 1: Simple Data Audit

• Senior Analyst: 20 hours × $250=$5,000
• Managing Lead: 4 hours × $300=$1,200
• Complexity: 1.0x (standard audit)
• Total: $6,200\to Roundto$6,000 or package at $5,000

Example 2: Complex ETL Setup

• Managing Lead: 20 hours × $300=$6,000
• Senior Engineer: 60 hours × $250=$15,000
• PM: 16 hours × $150=$2,400
• Complexity: 1.3x (moderate custom work)
• Total: ($23,400\times 1.3)=$30,420 → Round to $30,000

Example 3: Platform Build

• Senior Engineers: 400 hours × $250=$100,000
• Managing Lead: 60 hours × $300=$18,000
• PM: 60 hours × $150=$9,000
• Complexity: 1.5x (significant custom work)
• Total: ($127,000\times 1.5)=$190,500 → Round to $190,000

---

💰 Additional Fees

Travel & Expenses

Fee Type	Rate
Local Travel (within city)	$100/hror$5/mile
Out-of-town Travel	Daily/weekly rate (negotiated)
Accommodation	Actual cost (reasonable)
Meals	Actual cost (per diem basis)

Rush Fees

Timeline	Premium
Standard	No premium
Expedited (50% faster)	+25%
Rush (75% faster)	+50%

Support & Maintenance

Service	Price
Monthly Support	$2,000-5,000/month
On-Call Support	$5,000/month + hourly
Emergency Support	$500/incident + hourly

---

📋 Billing & Payment Terms

Invoicing Schedule

• Hourly Work: Bi-weekly or monthly
• Fixed Projects:
  • 50% upfront
  • 25% at midpoint
  • 25% at completion
• Retainers: Monthly in advance

Payment Terms

• Net 15 (standard)
• Net 30 (for established clients)
• Net 7 (for rush work)

Accepted Payment Methods

• Wire transfer (preferred)
• ACH
• Check
• Credit card (+3% processing fee)

---

🎯 Volume & Commitment Discounts

Retainer Discounts

• 3-month commitment: 5% off hourly rates
• 6-month commitment: 10% off hourly rates
• 12-month commitment: 15% off hourly rates

Project Bundling

• 2-3 projects: 5% off total
• 4-5 projects: 10% off total
• 6+ projects: 15% off total

Referral Credits

• First referral: 5% off next project
• Second referral: 10% off next project
• Three+ referrals: 15% off next project

---

📝 Assumptions & Terms

Remote Delivery

• All work is remote unless otherwise agreed
• Client to provide necessary tool access
• Client to provide timely feedback and approvals

Time Definitions

• Day Rate: 8 hours within one calendar day
• Week Rate: 40 hours within one calendar week (5 days)
• Month Rate: 160 hours (4 weeks)

Project Kickoff Requirements

• Signed SOW or Purchase Order
• 50% deposit (for fixed projects)
• Tool access provisioned
• Stakeholder availability confirmed

Change Orders

• Scope changes require written approval
• Priced at standard hourly rates
• Delivered under separate agreement

---

🔄 Service Customization

Building Custom Packages

Step 1: Define scope and deliverables
Step 2: Estimate hours by role
Step 3: Apply complexity multiplier
Step 4: Add any additional fees
Step 5: Apply volume discounts if applicable

Example Custom Package:

Project: Custom Analytics Dashboard + ETL Setup

Deliverables:
- 3 data sources connected
- Snowflake warehouse setup
- dbt transformations
- 5 custom dashboards
- Team training

Labor:
- Managing Lead: 16 hours × $250 = $4,000
- Senior Engineer: 80 hours × $200 = $16,000
- Senior Analyst: 40 hours × $200 = $8,000
- PM: 20 hours × $150 = $3,000
Subtotal: 156 hours = $31,000

Complexity: 1.2x (moderate custom)
Total: $31,000 × 1.2 = $37,200

6-month support: +$3,000/month
Rush delivery: +25% = +$9,300

Final Price: $46,500 + $18,000 (support) = $64,500

---

📞 Contact & Questions

Sales Inquiries: sales@brainforge.ai
Existing Clients: [account manager email]
General Questions: info@brainforge.ai

Need a custom quote? Email us with:

1. Project description
2. Timeline requirements
3. Team/stakeholders involved
4. Budget range (if applicable)

---

Last Updated: January 26, 2026
Version: 2.0
Next Review: Quarterly (April 2026)