IT Consulting Hourly Rates in 2023: Full Price Comparison
Updated 17 Mar 2023
8 Min
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The global IT consulting market was valued at $53.7 billion in 2020, and it’s expected to reach $383 billion by 2026. The growing adoption of technological trends and ever-rising investment in advanced technologies will increase the demand for IT consulting.
Businesses across the world rely on IT consultancy to keep pace with technological advancement in a cost-effective way.
IT consultants are experienced professionals in a particular field, and thus expensive ones. The IT consulting rates can vary between $25 and $150 per hour. In some regions, rates go up to $250/hour and over.
In this article, we’re covering average IT consulting rates, what factors impact the consulting service cost and how IT consultants set fees for their service.
Thing to Know About IT Consulting Rates
Some companies prefer working with software developers, others looking for professional IT consultants. Both of these options are fine, while you get a high-quality service that matches your requirement.
Though, if you need a high-level technical specialist, it’s better to work with IT consultants. They’re often more experienced and have in-depth tech expertise in specific areas. For example, fraud prevention by means of AI in the FinTech product.
Some IT consultants charge from $85-$125 per hour and up for their expert advice. Generally, IT consulting rates vary depending on the country, company size, industry specialization, experience, and other factors.
Rates by the Consulting Company Size
To stay competitive and turn technologies into a growth driver, companies of all sizes resort to software consulting.
Besides, they make a significant investment in software development services to optimize their workflows: reducing the time, focusing on the core business goals, and saving money on in-house staff.
Software consulting market share by enterprise
Since we’ve talked about companies that use consulting services, then it’s time to talk about IT providers. There’s a wide variety of consulting companies to choose from, and they all vary in rates.
Let’s consider three major types of IT consulting companies:
Enterprise-level consulting companies
Enterprise companies offer first-class development and consulting services that cover a wide range of industries. They interact with the government and work with Fortune Global 500 companies that can afford their rates that start from $500,000 to $100 million and up for the project.
Average IT consulting rates of those companies range between $250-$850/h, depending on the consultant's tech expertise, location, skills, and so on.
Large-size consulting companies
They also work with big industrial companies, but they’re not as expensive as enterprise-level ones. The project price starts from $125,000 and reaches $5+ million. “Big class” companies have 100 to 1,000 consultants on staff and headquarters in different countries.
Their IT consulting hourly rate is about $200 to 300.
Medium-size consulting companies
It’s a great option if you want to get an experienced consultant for a reasonable price. They have 10 to 100 developers and consultants in-house serving SMBs, but also occasionally work with Fortune 500 companies.
IT consulting prices start from $125 to $175 per hour, with the project cost from $50,000 to $5 million. Of course, different regions have different rates. While IT consultants in the United Kingdom charge $100 per hour, Ukranian specialists charge less for the same service. For instance, Cleveroad is also a medium-size software development company, but you will pay from $25 to $50.
Also, it’s better to check their portfolio on their website or read reviews on Clutch or GoodFirms to be sure that you’ll get a good service.
Wondering which company to choose: bigger or smaller? Read our article 15 software outsourcing companies by size and how to pick the right one.
Small-size agencies
These IT companies have from 2 to 10 consultants, including a CEO, and cooperate with startups, small businesses, and mid-size regional businesses.
Their hourly IT consulting rates start from $75 and go up to $175. The average project costs range from $10,000 to $500,000.
Usually, small outsourcing companies specialize in one specific area, like UI/UX design, mobile app development, or exact programming languages like Node.js, React Native, and so on.
Average IT Consulting Rates by Industry
IT consultants work within almost all industries and have deep domain expertise (healthcare, logistics, fintech, blockchain).
For instance, Cleveroad offers an IT consultation in the following industries:
IT consulting rates depend on the experience and stack of technologies consultants work with.
According to Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest job sites, Java consultants get $40/h on average. That’s $79,137/year. ZipRecruiter claims that Java consultants charge $62 per hour in the USA. While C# consultants charge $77,500 to $84,000. That’s from $30 to $50 per hour on average.
IT consultants' pay by experience level
IT Consulting Rates by Country
According to the Grand View Research report, the United States leads the consulting market in terms of providing IT consulting service. This is due to increased investment in ERP, CRM, IoT, Machine Learning, and data analytics.
That's why the US consultants charge one of the highest IT consulting fees per hour — $100-$250.
Software consulting market size
The Asia Pacific accounts for the second-largest consulting market and was forecasted to reach $106 billion in 2024. That’s associated with the growth of the ecommerce industry. Growing demand for e-commerce services leads to an increased requirement for mobile and web app development consultation.
Europe keeps the third position in the Global IT Consulting Market. Such factors as fast investments in development programs and government support define the European consulting market's growth.
For example, if you’re looking for a cost-effective offshore destination Central Europe could be the right solution. They offer a high-quality service for a competitive price.
If you want to know more about software development costs in Europe, check our article reviewing it in detail.
We’ve analyzed IT consulting billing rates in different countries, including in-demand outsourcing destinations like Western and Central Europe. Prices are taken from UpWork, Clutch, and GoodFirms platforms.
| Region | Avarage rate/h |
|---|---|
United States | $100-$175 |
Canada | $100-$130 |
Western Europe | $100-$150 |
Australia | $80-$120 |
Eastern Europe | $25-$50 |
Latin America | $20-$50 |
Asia | $20-$40 |
India | $20-$30 |
IT Consulting Fee Structure
When it comes to hiring a consultant, the first question is how much they charge for their services. IT consultants use different billing strategies to be as flexible for customers as possible.
Consulting Fee Models
IT consulting pricing and fees can be submitted in several ways:
- Hourly or daily rate
- Monthly retainer
- Value-based
- Project-based
Let’s consider each fee strategy in detail.
Hourly or Daily Rate
Many IT consultants use hourly fees to value their services. They charge for the number of working hours they’ve spent to carry out the project. It’s a demanded option in projects where it’s challenging to set a fixed timeline. Basically, IT consulting fees per hour vary depending on location.
The daily rate is just an hourly rate multiplied by the number of hours the consultant will spend working on the project. Typically, IT consultants work average between 12 and 14 hours a day and charge from $1,500 to $3000 and up.
One of the issues with hourly rates is that you don’t know how much you’ll pay in the end.
Monthly Retainer
You pay a monthly fee in advance to have consultants on your team anytime you need them and ensure they help make the right decisions during some risky project.
It’s a good choice once you’ve worked with a consulting company for some time and ready to continue month-to-month cooperation.
Project-Based
The consultant needs to fulfill the project in a given time frame. Most projects go through several stages such as:
- Project assessment
- Deep research
- Analysis
- Development
- Implementation
- Assessment
Don’t know how to estimate a project? We have an in-depth article describing major types of appraisement.
You may not need expert advice in all of those stages, but they’re still a part of IT consultant costs.
The project-based model is more complicated than the hourly model, but you know exactly how much you pay upfront.
Value-Based
The value-based method is a high-level pricing model. Consultants get paid based on the tangible value of the project. In other words, you pay for the result and outcomes the consulting company creates for you. Generally, IT consultants charge 10% of the value of what they’re providing.
Let’s consider the most commonly use pricing strategies:
How consultants set their fees
Why Choose Cleveroad as Your IT Consulting Company
Multiple factors are affecting IT consultants' costs. However, this depends mostly on the average hourly rates in the region and the consultants’ expertise. To save time and money, you can work with a reliable outsourcing company like Cleveroad. We offer IT consultation from our senior specialists that’ll help you choose the best tech solution for your specific case.
Сleveroad in numbers:
- 10+ years on the market
- 120+ in-house engineers
- 170+ successful projects
- 8+ expertise industries
We provide a full cycle of software development and its subsequent maintenance, which will allow your digital product to always stay ahead of the competition and surprise your customers with new functionality.
Our Business Analysts will define your requirements. Meanwhile, solution architects analyze requirements to help clients deliver relevant tech solutions and choose the best-fitting development tools.
Take a look at the projects we’ve developed in our portfolio.
Looking for an IT consultant?
Tell us more about your project, and we’ll help you to develop a successful IT strategy.
IT consultant rates often depend on location, company size, experience, and many other factors. For instance, the USA holds the highest IT consulting rate—$100-$250 per hour compared to $50/h for the same service in Estonia.
There are 4 major pricing fee models:
- Hourly or daily rate. An IT consultant gets paid for the number of hours they've spent working on your project.
- Monthly retainers. You pay a monthly fee upfront to get consultant’s advice wherever you need it
- Project-based. You pay money after the work is done.
- Value-based. Consultant get paid based on the results of the project.
The average IT consulting rates vary depending on location, from $20 to $250, and more per hour. For instance, the average IT consulting rates in Central Europe is $25-$50/h.
The “consulting rate” is the average price owners will pay for the consulting service.
Hourly rate: billing by the number of working hours IT consultants need to fulfill the project.
Сonsulting companies usually have deep domain industry experience. Average IT consulting industry rates range between $50-250/h, depending on the consultant's tech expertise and location.
