Pricing
Flexible ways to build with PlugWheel.
From one-time development projects to long-term technical partnerships, we help businesses build, operate and scale their technology.
All prices in US dollars. Starting prices are minimums, not quotes.
Engagement models
Three ways to build together.
A defined project, an ongoing technical team or a product we build with you. Each starts with a written proposal.
- One-time project fee
Project-based development
From$1,500per project
For businesses with specific technical requirements and defined deliverables. $1,500 is our smallest project; apps and larger systems are quoted to their scope.
Includes
- Workflow and business automation
- AI agents and integrations
- Custom web and iOS applications
- Internal tools and dashboards
- Data extraction and processing systems
- Fixed-scope implementation
Managed support after handover is optional and billed separately, from $499 a month.
Discuss your project - Monthly retainerOur flagship
Technical partnership
From$2,500per month
Part of our team’s month, with us leading the technical work, so your systems are planned, built and looked after without hiring an engineering department.
Includes
- An agreed share of our team’s time each month, not a full-time engineer
- Engineering every month, within the agreed capacity
- Technical planning and architecture
- Automation and AI implementation
- Infrastructure and integrations
- System maintenance and optimization
- Product improvements and new features
- Direct collaboration with your team
The price rises with the share of capacity you agree. Billed monthly in advance and renews each month until you cancel by email, with 30 days’ notice.
Discuss a technical partnership - Negotiated individually
Product & venture partnership
Custom
For founders and industry experts with a new product, where the terms may include revenue sharing or equity alongside fees.
Includes
- SaaS product development
- Web and iOS applications
- MVP development and launch
- Long-term product engineering
- Technical co-development
- Revenue sharing, only if agreed in a signed contract
- Joint venture or equity terms, only if agreed in a signed contract
Commercial structures are negotiated individually and may combine development fees, retainers, revenue sharing or equity.
Explore a partnership
Choosing between them
A partner team, or an engineer of your own?
Both are monthly. A technical partnership buys a part-time share of the specialists who plan and lead your work. Dedicated engineering buys one engineer’s full working month, directed by your team. That’s why the partnership costs less in total: you get less time, but that time includes the technical lead.
- Monthly retainer
Technical partnership
From$2,500per month
- Your share of our time
- Part-time: less than one engineer’s full month, shared across specialists and set in your proposal
- Who works on it
- Several specialists as the work needs them: architecture, automation, AI and infrastructure
- Who leads
- We lead the technical direction, with you
- Best for
- Businesses without technical leadership of their own that need their systems run and improved
- Monthly retainer
Dedicated engineering
From$3,500per month, per engineer
- Your share of our time
- One engineer, full-time on your work
- Who works on it
- The same engineer every day, in your tools and routines, named in your proposal with their experience and the working hours you share
- Who leads
- You set the priorities; we manage the engineer
- Best for
- Teams that already have technical leadership and need more hands
Other ways to work with us
Support, advice and specialist work.
Managed technology & support
Monitoring, updates, fixes and small changes to your systems, within an agreed monthly allowance.
Ask about this: Managed technology & supportFrom$499per month
MonthlyFractional CTO & technical leadership
Senior technical leadership without the building: architecture, vendor choices, roadmaps and hiring support, for agreed hours each month.
Ask about this: Fractional CTO & technical leadershipCustom
MonthlyWhite-label engineering for agencies
We design, build and run systems for your clients under your brand, scoped and priced per client like our projects and partnerships, with confidentiality agreed in writing.
Ask about this: White-label engineering for agenciesCustom
Per client, project or monthlyTechnical consulting & audits
A review of your automations, stack or code, with a written report and a prioritized plan.
Ask about this: Technical consulting & auditsFrom$500per project
One-time project fee
How we work
Four stages, whichever way you start.
Discover
We learn your objectives, the technology you already run and what you need from it.
Scope
We agree the deliverables, engineering capacity, timeline and commercial terms in writing.
Build
We develop, integrate, test and deploy, with monitoring from the first run.
Evolve
We maintain, improve and expand the system, or hand it over to your team.
Why PlugWheel
One partner for the whole system.
End-to-end execution
From mapping the process to running the system in production, one team carries it through.
Engineering and process expertise
We start with how the work moves, then choose the technology.
Alongside your team
In your tools and repositories, with your people, at the pace you set.
Fast, iterative delivery
Working software early, improved in short cycles you can see.
Breadth where systems meet
AI, automation, software, data and infrastructure, so nothing falls between vendors.
Relationships that fit
From a single project to ongoing technical ownership, and back again.
Systems we run ourselves
We build and operate production systems, including our own product, WTB Radar.
See WTB Radar
Questions about pricing
If yours isn’t here, ask us on a call or in a short brief.
What is the minimum project budget?
Projects start at $1,500 and technical consulting and audits at $500. Monthly, managed support starts at $499, technical partnerships at $2,500 and dedicated engineering at $3,500 per engineer. Your exact price is set in a written proposal before any work begins.
How does project-based pricing work?
We agree the scope and deliverables first, then quote one price for that scope in US dollars, with a payment schedule. If you want something the scope doesn’t cover, we price it and agree it in writing before doing it.
What’s included in a technical partnership?
An agreed share of our team’s time each month, across planning, architecture, building and maintenance, with us leading the technical direction alongside you. Capacity, priorities and responsibilities are set before we start and reviewed as your needs change. It isn’t unlimited development: if you need more, we agree more capacity in your proposal. If you already have someone to direct an engineer full-time, dedicated engineering fits better.
Can PlugWheel work alongside our existing technical team?
Yes. We can work inside your tools, repositories and routines, take on a defined part of the system or support your engineers on automation and AI work. If you already have engineers and technical leadership, dedicated engineering or a defined project usually fits best.
Can we hire dedicated engineers?
Yes. Dedicated engineering starts at $3,500 a month per engineer, for one engineer on your work full-time, in your tools and on your priorities. The engineer works through PlugWheel, so you don’t take on recruiting or management. The proposal names the engineer, their experience and the working hours you share. A technical partnership costs less in total because you get part of our team’s month rather than one person’s full month; what it adds is the technical lead.
Can a one-time project become a monthly partnership?
Yes. After handover, a project can move into managed support or a technical partnership on a new written agreement. You can also take the system in-house; it’s yours either way.
Do you provide ongoing maintenance and support?
Yes. Managed technology and support starts at $499 a month for monitoring, updates and fixes within an agreed monthly allowance. Larger or changing needs fit a technical partnership.
Who owns the software and intellectual property?
You do, once the work is paid for: the code, workflows, configuration and documentation we make for you. We keep the tools and know-how we had before, and give you a permanent license to any that are part of your system. A venture partnership may set different terms, agreed in writing. For white-label work, the agreement says whether ownership passes to your agency or to your client.
Are hosting, API and third-party costs included?
Not unless the proposal says so. Hosting, AI usage and software subscriptions are usually billed to your own accounts (or your client’s), so you see every cost and keep everything if we part ways.
Do you offer revenue-sharing or equity partnerships?
Sometimes, for product and venture partnerships where it suits both sides. Each arrangement is negotiated individually and only exists in a signed agreement. Nothing on this page is an offer of one.
Can PlugWheel act as a white-label development partner?
Yes. We can build and run systems for your agency’s clients under your brand, with confidentiality agreed in writing.
How do payments and contracts work?
Every engagement starts with a written proposal or agreement. Project fees are invoiced on the agreed schedule, usually with a deposit; monthly engagements are invoiced in advance each month and renew until you cancel by email. Invoices are in US dollars and can be paid by card on our payment provider’s secure page.
Pricing terms
- All prices are in US dollars (USD).
- Starting prices are the minimum for each engagement, not fixed quotes. Your price is set in a written proposal.
- Project fees are one-time. Technical partnerships, dedicated engineering, fractional leadership and managed support are monthly retainers, billed in advance.
- Monthly retainers renew automatically each month until you cancel by email. Technical partnerships, dedicated engineering, fractional leadership and monthly white-label work end 30 days after notice; managed support ends with the paid month.
- Scope, engineering capacity and responsibilities are agreed in writing before work starts. No engagement includes unlimited development or support.
- Hosting, API and other third-party costs are separate unless the proposal includes them.
- Revenue sharing and equity are only ever agreed case by case, in a signed contract.
Start here
Let’s build what your business needs next.
Tell us about the challenge, the product idea or the partnership you have in mind. We’ll tell you which way of working fits, and what it would take.