How to price and govern an AI agent rollout

Published 2026 bands for small and mid-size companies cluster in three places. A strategy or readiness engagement is commonly $5,000 to $15,000. A first production implementation — one agent, a handful of workflows, or a serious automation — is commonly $15,000 to $35,000, stretching to $60,000 or $75,000 when several systems or tighter review are involved. Ongoing advisory without operations is often $2,000 to $5,000 a month.

Boutique specialists who actually ship agents often land around $20,000 to $80,000 and two to four months. Large firms quote several times that, which is why they rarely take mid-market work. Hourly rates from $150 to $500 still appear on rate cards; they punish anyone who gets faster, which is exactly what a good agent practice does.

Helixfield prices in the middle of those bands on purpose. A Field Survey is $9,500. A single production agent is $24,000. A shared Loop & Graph with several agents is $36,000. A multi-system install is $48,000. Instruction is sold as a studio, not as a webinar. Operations retainers are $3,800, $6,800, or $11,500 a month because an unmaintained agent is a liability. Circuit, the default retainer, is a three-month minimum, then month to month.

Govern the spend the same way you govern the graph. Client pays vendor seats and tokens. The practice bills for design, install, teaching, and operations. If a proposal hides API cost inside a low monthly number, ask what happens when usage doubles.