What the work costs
Published because you should be able to tell whether this is worth a conversation without having to book one. What sets the number is how replaceable the work is — not how hard I find it, and not how large your company is.
| Service | Relative rate Share of the $250 top rate · gridlines every 25% | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency security response Active incident, drop-everything response — PHP2Shell, CMS compromise, live exploitation. | $250 /hr | |
| AI strategy & architecture Deciding what to build, what not to build, and what it will cost to run. | $220 /hr | |
| AI engineering RAG pipelines, agentic workflows, LLM features and the evaluation harnesses behind them. | $195 /hr | |
| Cloud architecture & DevOps AWS, GCP and Azure design, infrastructure as code, pipelines and observability. | $180 /hr | |
| Product & SaaS engineering Multi-tenancy, billing, APIs and integration work on a product already in production. | $180 /hr | |
| Enterprise Drupal & WordPress Architecture, custom modules, version migrations and large-platform delivery. | $160 /hr | |
| Ongoing support & maintenance Retained monthly block: updates, security patching, performance and the occasional fire. | $140 /hr |
USD, excluding tax. See working with clients for contracting, data residency and payment terms. Agency and white-label rates are quoted separately and are not published.
How an engagement is structured
Four shapes, one rate card. Which one fits depends on how clear the scope is — and if it is not clear yet, that is itself the answer.
Hourly
Billed against tracked time, invoiced monthly. Suits advisory work and anything whose shape is not yet clear.
Fixed-scope project
A statement of work with a defined outcome and date, quoted from the rates below and paid in stages.
Monthly retainer
A reserved block of senior hours each month at a reduced rate, with unused hours rolling one month forward.
Architecture review
A bounded engagement ending in a written recommendation you can act on without me. Quoted as a fixed fee.
Why the rate varies by service
Not because some of it is harder. Because the supply is different. A great many people can build a Drupal site competently; far fewer can architect a retrieval system that respects a CMS permission model and prove it does; fewer still will answer the phone during an active exploitation window and know what to do. The rate tracks how replaceable the work is.
What the rate includes
- Direct work with me — no account manager, no handover to a bench
- Code delivered into your repositories as it is written
- Written handover notes and architecture decisions
- IP assigned to you on payment, stated in the contract
- Your MSA, NDA and GDPR data processing agreement signed
What I do not bill for
- The first conversation, including scoping and a rough estimate
- Time spent correcting my own mistakes
- Routine invoicing and administration
That third one is worth stating plainly: if I build something wrong, fixing it is my cost, not yours. It is the normal professional standard and it is surprising how rarely anyone writes it down.
If the budget does not reach the work
Say so early. The useful conversation is about scope, not discount — which phase to do now, what can wait, what your team can carry themselves with a handover. I would rather plan a smaller piece of work properly than quietly cut corners to hit a number, and I will tell you when a cheaper supplier is genuinely the right answer.
Common questions
What is your hourly rate?
Rates run from $140 to $250 per hour in USD, depending on the work. Advisory, architecture and emergency security response sit at the top; ongoing maintenance on a retainer sits at the bottom. The full breakdown by service is published at manouwer.com/rates/.
Why does the rate differ by service?
Because the scarcity differs. Plenty of competent people can build a Drupal site; far fewer can architect a retrieval system that respects a CMS permission model, and fewer still are available at short notice during an active security incident. The rate reflects how replaceable the work is, not how hard I find it.
Do you offer a discount for longer engagements?
Yes. A monthly retainer — a reserved block of senior hours — is charged below the equivalent hourly rate, because reserved time is easier to plan around than ad-hoc requests. Unused hours roll forward one month. Fixed-scope projects are quoted from the same rates with the estimate carrying the risk rather than you.
Can you work to a fixed price instead?
For work whose scope is genuinely clear, yes, quoted from these rates. For discovery, rescue work or anything where the shape is unknown, a fixed price just means I price in the uncertainty and you pay for it whether or not it materialises. In those cases hourly is cheaper for you, and I will say so.
Which currencies can you invoice in?
Rates are set in USD. Invoices can be issued in GBP, EUR, USD, CAD or AUD at the prevailing rate, paid by international bank transfer or Wise. Indian export-of-service rules mean no VAT or GST is charged to overseas clients; your own reverse-charge treatment applies as usual.
Are these rates negotiable?
The rate is not, but the scope is. If the budget does not reach the work, the productive conversation is about doing less rather than doing the same thing for less — and I would rather tell you that than quietly cut corners to hit a number.
Do agencies pay the same rate?
White-label and subcontract rates are quoted separately and are not published, since an agency reselling my time should not have its margin visible to its own client. Ask and I will send them.
Know roughly what you need?
Describe it and I will give you an estimate in hours, and tell you honestly if it should cost less than you think.
Get an estimate