By the hour
You pay for time, and the meter runs whether or not anything ships. It fits a narrow question you want answered by an expert. It fits badly when you need something built and running.
Zygo Local ยท Pricing
What AI help costs a small business
The short answer
Zygo Consulting publishes its prices. Ben Johnson's 30-day AI sprint for a local business costs $2,000 at the founding rate, then $1,500 a month if you keep him on (regular $2,500). For comparison, AI development firms on Clutch most often bill $25 to $49 an hour, and their most common project runs $10,000 to $49,999.
01
My prices, in full
| What | Price | The details |
|---|---|---|
| 30-day founding sprint | $2,000 | Five spots this fall: two start in November, three in December. About four hours of your time. I pay for the tools during the sprint. |
| Keep me on after day 30 | $1,500/mo | Founding rate (regular $2,500 a month), locked for a year, month to month. Optional. I keep everything running and add the next fix each month. |
| 30-day sprint, once founding spots fill | $5,000 | Same 30 days, same written guarantee in your one-page plan. |
Everything I build is set up in your business name and stays yours. Every sprint comes with a written guarantee, spelled out in the one-page plan I make for your business before you decide. How the 30 days run.
02
What the market charges
Clutch, the B2B review site, publishes pricing drawn from verified client reviews. For AI development companies listed there, its guide (updated September 21, 2026) says the most common rate is $25 to $49 an hour and the most common project size is $10,000 to $49,999. The average project it reports is $120,594.55. That average sits far above the most common range, which tells you a few very large builds pull it up.1
Those are mostly firms with staff, writing software. A local business usually needs something smaller: a few systems wired into the phone, the inbox and the scheduling tool it already pays for.
If you'd rather hire someone to own this work in-house, the closest federal job category is management analyst. Its median wage was $101,860 a year, or $48.97 an hour, in May 2025, before benefits and payroll taxes.2
What about independent AI consultants? I couldn't find a public survey of their hourly rates that I'd trust. Most figures online come from firms selling the service, so I left them off this page. Ask anyone you're considering for a fixed price in writing.
Pricing out help with the phones? What an AI receptionist costs next to an answering service or a person at the front desk.
03
Four ways to pay for it
By the project
A fixed price for a defined result. Ask what "done" means in writing, and what happens if the result doesn't work as promised.
Monthly retainer
A set fee each month to keep systems running and add new ones. Worth it once something is already paying for itself. Ask whether you can leave month to month.
Do it yourself
Off-the-shelf AI tools on a monthly subscription. The cheapest way in, and the hours to set it up and keep it working come out of your week.
04
Ask before you hire anyone
- Whose name are the accounts in? If the answer isn't yours, you're renting your own system.
- What will be working by the end of week one? A good answer names a specific thing you'll see.
- What does it cost after the project ends? Tools, hosting and support all have monthly bills. Get them in writing.
- What happens if it doesn't work? Ask for the guarantee on paper before you pay.
- Who does the work? The person on the sales call and the person building it should be the same, or you should meet both.
Next step
Get a one-page plan with the price on it.
Pick a time on my calendar, or email me and ask for a one-page plan for your business. I'll write down what I'd fix first, what it costs, and the guarantee that comes with it.
Zygo Consulting, Ben Johnson, Montgomery, TX. AI implementation for local businesses in Montgomery, The Woodlands, Conroe, Spring, Magnolia and north Houston.