How much does it cost to hire an AI engineer?

It depends on the route. With the defaults, an in-house engineer costs about $17,636 a month with benefits, a contractor about $19,500 a month, and an embedded AY Automate engineer from $3K a month, live in 10 days. Change any number in the calculator.

How much does it cost to hire an AI engineer in-house?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a mean of $148,100 a year for software developers (OEWS, May 2025). Add the 42.9% BLS benefits average and loaded pay is about $211,635 a year, before recruiting. This tool adds a recruiting cost you can change and counts only the months after the hire starts.

Is a contractor cheaper than an employee?

Not by the month. At the default $112.50 an hour and 40 hours a week, a contractor costs about $19,500 a month, against about $17,636 for the BLS mean employee with benefits. With the defaults the contractor's 12-month total is higher ($225,025 against $157,272), because the in-house seat sits empty for 4.5 months. The contractor starts sooner, so the cost per productive month comes out lower ($23,202 against $27,792).

What does an AY Automate embedded engineer cost?

From $3K a month. Live in 10 days. Starting price, your quote may be higher. There is a 90-day replacement guarantee and no long-term contract. The price is editable in the calculator.

How is cost per productive month calculated?

Total cost over 12 months divided by the months left after the first shipped work. Months spent searching, starting and ramping up count as cost but not as productive time. You can change every start and ramp-up number.

Which numbers are placeholders?

The recruiting cost ($25,000), the in-house time to fill (4.5 months), the contractor rate ($112.50 an hour), the contractor start time (2 weeks), the 8 ramp-up weeks for in-house and contractor. Each has a label saying where it comes from. Replace them with your own.

Does the comparison account for skill or seniority?

No. It prices one full-time engineer in each option. BLS pay is a US mean across all levels, and an AY engineer may be at a different level or in a different location. Read the result as a cost and speed comparison, not a verdict on quality.

AI Engineer Hiring Cost Calculator

What one AI engineer costs in-house, as a contractor or embedded from AY Automate, and how soon each ships work

FreeNo credit cardResults in 2 minutes

One full-time AI engineer, counted over 12 months from the day you decide to hire. Every number is a default you can change in the inputs below.

Results

Over 12 months the ay embedded engineer costs least ($35,014), and the ay embedded engineer ships first work soonest (24 days).

12-month total costLower is better

In-house hire$157,272
Contractor or freelancer$225,025
AY embedded engineer$35,014

Cost per productive monthTotal cost divided by months after first shipped work

In-house hire$27,792
Contractor or freelancer$23,202
AY embedded engineer$3,123

Time to first shipped workFrom the day you decide to hire

In-house hire193 days
Contractor or freelancer70 days
AY embedded engineer24 days

Hiring options compared
Measure	In-house hire	Contractor or freelancer	AY embedded engineer
Recruiting or vetting cost	$25,000	$0	$0
Monthly cost once started	$17,636	$19,500	$3,000
Months billed in 12	7.5	11.5	11.7
12-month total	$157,272	$225,025	$35,014
Productive months	5.7	9.7	11.2
Cost per productive month	$27,792	$23,202	$3,123
Days until the person starts	137 days	14 days	10 days
Days until first shipped work	193 days	70 days	24 days

In-house hire

Recruiting or vetting cost: $25,000
Monthly cost once started: $17,636
Months billed in 12: 7.5
12-month total: $157,272
Productive months: 5.7
Cost per productive month: $27,792
Days until the person starts: 137 days
Days until first shipped work: 193 days

Contractor or freelancer

Recruiting or vetting cost: $0
Monthly cost once started: $19,500
Months billed in 12: 11.5
12-month total: $225,025
Productive months: 9.7
Cost per productive month: $23,202
Days until the person starts: 14 days
Days until first shipped work: 70 days

AY embedded engineer

Recruiting or vetting cost: $0
Monthly cost once started: $3,000
Months billed in 12: 11.7
12-month total: $35,014
Productive months: 11.2
Cost per productive month: $3,123
Days until the person starts: 10 days
Days until first shipped work: 24 days

AY Automate: From $3K a month. Live in 10 days. Starting price, your quote may be higher. 90-day replacement guarantee, no long-term contracts. The in-house and contractor rows use US pay data, so the three rows are not the same seniority or location.

1. In-house hire

Closest BLS job groupBLS has no AI engineer group. US mean pay, May 2025: $148,100 a year.Annual pay (USD)Replace with the pay you would advertise.Benefits (% of pay)BLS private-industry average, June 2026.Recruiting cost (USD)Example figure from our staffing model calculator FAQ. Work out your own with the cost per hire calculator.Months to fill the roleOur hire pages publish 3-6 months for an in-house hire. Prefilled with the midpoint.Weeks from first day to first shipped workPlaceholder: the ramp-up weeks in our engineer onboarding cost calculator.

2. Contractor or freelancer

Hourly rate (USD)Midpoint of the $75-$150 an hour we publish for independent freelancers in our AI consultant hourly rate guide.Hours per weekFull time. A contractor has no paid leave or benefits in this model.Sourcing or marketplace fee (USD)Left at 0. We have no published figure, so add yours.Weeks to find and start a contractorOur assumption, not a published figure.Weeks from first day to first shipped workSame placeholder as the in-house hire. We have no published figure for contractors.

3. AY embedded engineer

Price per month (USD)Starting price, your quote may be higher.Days until the engineer is live in your teamAY Automate publishes: live in 10 days.Weeks from first day to first shipped workOur hire pages say the first working automation ships in week two.

The formulas

Start day              = months to fill x 30.4 (in-house), weeks to start x 7 (contractor), days live (AY)
Months billed          = 12 - start day / 30.4
In-house monthly cost  = annual pay x (1 + benefits %) / 12
Contractor monthly     = hourly rate x hours per week x 52 / 12
12-month total         = recruiting or sourcing cost + monthly cost x months billed
AY 12-month total      = monthly price x months billed
First shipped work     = start day + weeks to first shipped work x 7
Productive months      = 12 - first shipped work day / 30.4
Cost per productive month = 12-month total / productive months

What this number does not include. Differences in seniority and skill between the three, management time, equipment, tax and legal set-up for contractors, severance, the cost of a bad hire, and any output during the ramp-up weeks. Productive months count only the time after first shipped work.

How we calculate

The tool prices one full-time engineer for 12 months, counted from the day you decide to hire. You pay nothing for an in-house seat until the person starts, so a slow search shortens the paid months and the productive months.

In-house pay is the BLS mean for software developers plus the 42.9% BLS benefits average, divided by 12, plus a recruiting cost. A contractor is hourly rate times hours per week times 52, divided by 12. AY Automate is the published offer: From $3K a month. Live in 10 days.

Worked example with the defaults: the in-house hire starts after 4.5 months, so 7.5 months are billed and the 12-month total is $157,272. The contractor starts after 2 weeks, 11.5 months are billed and the total is $225,025. The AY engineer is live in 10 days, 11.7 months are billed and the total is $35,014. Cost per productive month comes to $27,792, $23,202 and $3,123.

The AY price is a starting price and your quote may be higher. The in-house and contractor rows use US pay data. For your own dates and recruiting spend, use the time to fill calculator and the cost per hire calculator.

Hiring a forward deployed engineer specifically? Read where to hire forward deployed engineers, see the forward deployed engineer service and the plain offer facts.

Sources (read November 14, 2026)

Frequently Asked Questions

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AI Engineer Hiring Cost Calculator

Results

In-house hire

Contractor or freelancer

AY embedded engineer

1. In-house hire

2. Contractor or freelancer

3. AY embedded engineer

The formulas

How we calculate

Sources (read November 14, 2026)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Tools

Time to Fill Calculator

Cost per Hire Calculator

Engineer Onboarding Cost Calculator

Want expert help implementing this?