Packages
All prices in USD. Choose a fixed-scope package or hourly advisory.
Sprint
1โ2 weeks
- One well-defined feature or fix
- Daily async updates
- Single milestone delivery
Build
4โ8 weeks
- A full voice or agent system, end to end
- Multiple visible milestones
- Deployment included
- Post-delivery support window
Retainer
Ongoing
- Continuous feature work
- Priority response time
- Monthly scope check-in
Paid pilot milestone
The first milestone is scoped small enough to prove fit before either side commits further.
Unstarted work refundable
Any milestone not yet begun is refunded in full, no questions asked.
You own the code
Full IP transfers to you on completion โ no licensing, no lock-in.
Named support window
A fixed post-delivery window for fixes is included, not left implicit.
Hourly advisory
$65/hour, minimum 5 hours. For architecture review, latency audits, or a second opinion on an existing build.
Payment terms
| Pricing | Priced and settled in USD |
| Schedule | 50% upfront, 50% on delivery |
| Refunds | Unstarted milestones are fully refundable |
Payment methods
Bank transfer and freelance-platform contracts (e.g. Upwork) are both available โ mention your preference on the scoping call.
| Method | Speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Freelance platform escrow | Standard platform timing | A first engagement with a cautious client, or where procurement requires an intermediary |
| Bank transfer | 2โ5 business days | Companies with procurement rules that require a wire |
A fixed price is quoted per scope, not per hour โ the client carries no risk of an overrun. An hourly figure is available for reference on request during the scoping call.
Working with an existing team
For clients with more than one project, the retainer above covers ongoing work at a fixed monthly rate. He also works inside an existing team's repository, tooling and process when that is the better fit โ engagement doesn't require a fully standalone handoff.
Questions about the money
The main variables are integration surface (how many existing systems the work has to talk to), whether real-time audio or low-latency requirements are involved, and how well-defined the scope is going into the scoping call. A greenfield feature with a clear spec estimates tighter than a retrofit into an unfamiliar codebase. Ambiguity is the single biggest cost driver โ most of the scoping call is spent removing it before a number is quoted.
Small clarifications inside the original intent are absorbed at no charge โ that's normal for any real project. A genuine scope change (a new feature, a different integration, a materially larger surface) is quoted as a separate milestone with its own price and timeline, agreed before work starts on it. The original milestones are never renegotiated after the fact.
The fixed price holds. Estimating is his job, not the client's risk โ if a milestone runs long on the build side, that's absorbed rather than re-billed. This is also why scope is defined tightly before a price is quoted: a fixed price only works when both sides agree on what's actually being built.
Hourly billing puts the overrun risk on the client and rewards slower work, even unintentionally. Fixed scope means the incentives point the same direction: finishing well and on time is what gets paid. Hourly advisory is still offered separately, but only for review and audit work where there is no fixed deliverable to scope against.
Third-party costs โ model inference, hosting, telephony minutes, paid APIs โ are billed directly to the client's own accounts, not marked up or bundled into the quote. Ongoing infrastructure operation after the support window ends is covered under the retainer, not the original project price. Anything outside the agreed milestone scope is quoted separately, as above.
The same terms apply regardless of history: 50% upfront, 50% on delivery, and any unstarted milestone is fully refundable. For a first engagement, the Sprint tier or a single Build milestone works well as a low-commitment way to establish trust before a larger scope of work is agreed.