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Pricing

Priced aroundthe gap

What an engagement looks like. What it costs to start the conversation.

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Three shapesNo rate card

01. The frame

How engagements are priced

Every engagement is shaped around the operating gap and the work that closes it. We do not price by hour, by deliverable, or by template.

How the number is built

The number on the proposal reflects the time spent on architecture, writing, and craft before any code ships, plus the build itself, plus the stretch the firm gives the engagement. Three shapes cover most of what we do.

02. The shapes

Three engagementshapes

  1. 01ProjectFixed scope, fixed fee, paid at milestones.
  2. 02RetainerA monthly partnership. Three-month minimum.
  3. 03DiagnosticTwo to four weeks. A written possibility document.
Project, in full

Project engagements are fixed-scope, fixed-fee builds. Custom websites, web applications, internal tools, brand work, and most Build stage engagements. We agree exactly what gets built before anything starts. The fee is paid across milestones tied to delivery, not time. The relationship can roll into a Retainer at the end if both sides agree.

Typical timeline
Six to twenty weeks from kickoff.
You get
Architecture, design, build, launch, and the handoff.
Engagement fee
Contact us for pricing. It depends on scope.
Retainer, in full

Retainer engagements are monthly partnerships covering ongoing work after the initial build. Feature work, design iteration, content production, performance, and the strategic conversations that come up when the business changes. Most clients move into a Retainer at the end of their first build. The retainer scales up and down with the work in play.

Typical timeline
Twelve to thirty-six months. Three-month minimum.
You get
Capabilities and hours sized to the engagement tier.
Engagement fee
Contact us for pricing. It depends on scope.
Diagnostic, in full

Diagnostic engagements are short paid audits. Two to four weeks of structured work that maps the operating gap, the current stack, the constraints, and the build that should actually happen. The deliverable is a written possibility document. About half the time it rolls into a Project; the other half it ends with a recommendation the client can act on independently.

Typical timeline
Two to four weeks.
You get
Stack and workflow audit, stakeholder interviews, written possibility document with options and tradeoffs.
Engagement fee
Contact us for pricing. It depends on scope.

03. The context

What changesthe number

Five factors move the number. We name them so price is a conversation about scope.

The five factors

Scope. Bigger surface, bigger number. The number of pages, screens, workflows, or integrations sets the floor.

Stack complexity. Building on a clean slate is one shape. Building inside a stack with legacy constraints, regulatory checks, or unusual integrations is another.

Compliance constraints. Regulated industries (capital markets, healthcare, certain hospitality contexts) carry overhead in architecture, documentation, and audit readiness.

Timeline pressure. Six weeks costs more than twelve. Same scope, different shape of week.

Operating geography. Cross-border work involves currency handling, contract structure, and timezone coordination that adds to the engagement shape.

Price the gap,not the hours

The first conversation is thirty minutes and free. Bring the problem and we will tell you which shape it fits and what drives the number.

Start a build david@dotxlabs.com