How much does an AI readiness assessment cost?
The direct answer most consulting firms won't give you: the AI Stack Audit is $15,000 fixed price. Two weeks. Published. No "contact us to find out if you can afford it."
$15,000. Fixed. No surprises.
Every competitor makes you schedule a discovery call before they'll tell you what their AI readiness assessment costs. MLDeep publishes the number because the scope is fixed -- same deliverables, same timeline, same price for every engagement.
$15,000 flat
No hourly billing. No scope creep. No invoices you didn't approve. If scope changes during the engagement, it gets re-priced before work continues.
2 weeks, start to finish
Not a 3-day workshop that creates more workshops. A scored assessment of your actual systems, delivered with a 90-day roadmap in two calendar weeks.
Senior-only delivery
The same practitioner who runs the assessment delivers the findings. No hand-offs to junior analysts, no bait-and-switch after the proposal is signed.
Six deliverables. Zero fluff.
Every item below is delivered as a working document -- not a slide deck summary. Scored assessments, evidence-backed gap analysis, and a roadmap with actual cost estimates.
AI Readiness Scorecard
A scored assessment (1-5) across 5 dimensions: data foundation, infrastructure maturity, data quality, org readiness, and use-case viability. Backed by evidence from your actual systems.
Gap Analysis
Every gap identified with a severity rating. You'll know exactly what's blocking your AI initiatives and how critical each issue is to fix before you can move forward.
90-Day Roadmap
Prioritized action plan: what to fix first, what each fix costs, and what AI capabilities each action unlocks. Scoped, priced, and sequenced -- not a vague priority list.
Use-Case Prioritization
Your AI wish list ranked by feasibility and impact. Know which agents to build now, which need foundation work first, and which aren't worth building at your current stage.
Honest Verdict
A direct answer: ready or not ready. If ready, the next step is scoping the first build. If not, you get exactly what to fix and in what order -- no upsell pressure.
Board-Ready Executive Summary
A presentation your leadership team can act on. Plain language, business impact framing, clear next steps. Built for decision-makers, not just engineers.
$15,000 versus the alternatives
The right question isn't whether $15,000 is expensive. It's expensive compared to what?
vs. A mid-level data hire
A mid-level data engineer costs $120,000-$160,000 per year in salary, benefits, and onboarding. The AI Stack Audit costs less than one month of that hire -- and you get answers in 2 weeks instead of waiting 6 months for someone to ramp up and form an opinion.
vs. A failed AI initiative
42% of companies abandoned most of their AI initiatives in 2025 (S&P Global). A failed initiative typically consumes 3-6 months of engineering time. At $200/hour loaded cost, that's $96,000-$192,000 in wasted effort -- on a project the data stack couldn't support from the start.
vs. A large consulting firm
Large consulting firms don't publish pricing, but an AI readiness assessment from a Big Four practice typically runs $50,000-$150,000. You'll get a polished presentation created by junior analysts and reviewed by a partner who joined the call for the last 10 minutes.
vs. Doing nothing
96% of organizations admit their data isn't ready for AI -- but most are deploying anyway (Gartner). Doing nothing means another quarter of engineering resources spent on AI initiatives that stall when they hit data quality issues. The audit costs less than one sprint of wasted work.
Pricing questions, answered directly
Why is the price fixed and not hourly?
Fixed price means aligned incentives. Hourly billing gives consultants a financial incentive to slow down. Fixed price means there's no reason to drag it out -- the scope is defined, the timeline is 2 weeks, the price is $15,000 regardless of how many hours it takes.
Are there any additional costs?
No. The $15,000 includes assessment, gap analysis, roadmap, use-case prioritization, executive summary, and the leadership presentation. Travel is not required -- the assessment is conducted remotely. No change orders unless the scope changes, and scope changes are repriced before work continues.
What if we're based in India?
INR pricing is available for India-based teams. Reach out directly at info@mldeep.io to discuss INR pricing before booking.
Is there a deposit or full upfront payment?
Payment terms are discussed during the discovery call. The standard structure is 50% at engagement start and 50% at delivery of the final presentation. Invoicing is through standard B2B channels -- wire transfer or ACH.
Book a 15-minute discovery call
No commitment required. I'll tell you honestly whether the AI Stack Audit is the right next step for your team -- or whether something else makes more sense first.
$15,000 fixed price · 2-week delivery · Senior-only delivery · Published pricing