What UX work costs: audits, research sprints and full engagements
A packaged UX review or a single round of usability testing starts in the high four figures at firms that publish prices. Custom research programmes reach six figures. The numbers below come from the firms' own websites, followed by the pricing models and the factors that push a quote up or down.
Typical UX engagements and published prices
Only a few UX firms state prices. These are the public reference points we found, checked in November 2026.
| Engagement | What it includes | Duration | Published example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expert review or audit | Specialists assess key journeys against known usability principles and report prioritised fixes | About two weeks | Clearleft: £7,475 excl. VAT, two senior consultants, up to three journeys |
| Usability test round | Recruited participants attempt real tasks in moderated sessions, with a findings report | About three weeks | Clearleft: £9,990 excl. VAT for six moderated one-to-one sessions |
| Benchmark audit for e-commerce | Site scored against a research database, with a scorecard and ranked improvements | 15 to 25 business days | Baymard Institute: price tailored to the site |
| Custom research or consulting project | Study design, fieldwork, analysis and recommendations for a specific product question | Weeks to months | Nielsen Norman Group: typically $40,000 to $200,000 |
| Full UX engagement | Research, information architecture, prototypes, testing and final designs | Several months | Quoted individually by nearly all firms |
The pricing models you will meet
- Fixed-price package. A set scope, a set fee and a set timeline. Good for a first project because the risk is known in advance.
- Phased project fee. Discovery, design and validation are each priced separately, and later phases are re-estimated once the first is done.
- Research retainer. A monthly fee for a continuous programme, such as a test round every few weeks.
- Day rates or embedded staff. Researchers or designers join your team for a period. Blink, for example, offers embedded UX staffing next to project work.
What moves a UX quote up or down
- Participants. How many, and how hard they are to find. Surgeons and procurement managers cost more to recruit than general consumers.
- Method. Moderated interviews and lab sessions take more researcher time than unmoderated tests or surveys.
- Markets and languages. Each country adds recruitment, translation and often a local moderator.
- Scope of journeys. Three journeys can be reviewed in two weeks. A whole platform cannot.
- Depth of deliverables. A findings deck is cheaper than tested prototypes and a redesigned information architecture.
- Seniority. Senior consultants cost more per day and usually reach conclusions faster.
Costs that are easy to overlook
A quote for research rarely covers everything you will spend. Check whether these items are inside or outside the fee.
- Participant incentives and recruiter fees
- Lab hire, testing tools and transcription
- Translation of materials and reports
- Travel for on-site research
- Your own team's time for interviews, workshops and reviews
- The work of implementing the recommendations
How to get evidence on a smaller budget
Begin with an expert review. It is the cheapest way to find obvious problems, and it sharpens the questions for any later testing.
Test in small rounds. Clearleft's package uses six sessions, which is enough to expose the main obstacles in a journey. Two small rounds, with fixes in between, usually teach more than one large study.
Use what you already have. Analytics, support tickets and sales call notes are free evidence, and a good agency will ask for them before proposing new fieldwork.
If findings need to become software, consider a studio that does both. BlackCard and Ergosign sit in that group, and a combined engagement avoids paying a second team to relearn what the research showed.
Common questions
Is a UX audit cheaper than usability testing?
Usually, because an audit needs no participants. At Clearleft the expert review is £7,475 and the testing package £9,990, both excluding VAT. The two answer different questions: an audit applies expert judgement, while testing shows what real users do.
Why do most UX agencies not list prices?
Research scope depends on the audience, the number of markets and the question being asked. Firms that publish a price have packaged a fixed scope, such as three journeys or six sessions. Anything broader is estimated per project.
Are participant incentives included in the fee?
It varies. Some packages include recruitment and incentives, and others bill them at cost. Ask for this in writing, because specialist audiences can add a noticeable amount to the total.