AI Rates Calculator
AI Hourly Rate Distribution
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How Much Do AI Engineers Charge?
AI engineers are in the business of making your data work for you — delivering real machine learning, automation, and advanced analytics that separate hype from actual results. Demand is exploding, and the talent pool is as elite (and expensive) as you’d expect. The market is not for bargain hunters.
The Market Landscape: A Breakdown by Seniority
For middle-level AI engineers, the vast majority (over 80%) charge $61–100/hr, split mainly between $61–80/hr and $81–100/hr. A small segment is available at $41–60/hr, but that’s disappearing. Only a handful reach up to $101–120/hr, and above that? Nobody. If you want an AI engineer with proven delivery, the sweet spot is $61–100/hr.
Senior AI engineers move higher. Most are concentrated in the $81–140/hr range, with a major cluster at $81–100/hr, but plenty at $101–120/hr and $121–140/hr. Sub-$80/hr seniors are a shrinking minority, and anything above $140/hr is a true outlier reserved for the highest-impact profiles.
Strong senior AI engineers are almost all found in the $81–140/hr band, with the biggest single group at $101–120/hr. The top outliers push to $141–160/hr, but below $80/hr you simply won’t find true senior AI talent. If you want an architect, advisor, or lead for mission-critical AI, you’re going to pay top-of-market rates.
The Global Talent Map: Regional Variation
The USA is far and away the top source for AI engineering talent across every seniority — no contest. Australia, Germany, Romania, France, and the UK also show up, but in much smaller numbers and mostly at the senior or strong senior levels.
Singapore, Denmark, Austria, and Switzerland contribute a handful of specialists. Canada, Poland, Turkey, and Ukraine have representation, but the depth is nothing like the US. Spain, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina round out the pool, typically for mids and some seniors. If you’re shopping for price, you’re not getting an AI engineer. The pool is too thin, the market too hot, and the stakes too high.
What Actually Matters: Value, Not Just Price
AI is a force multiplier — if you hire right. Cut corners, and you’ll end up paying to rebuild. Lemon.io’s Rate Calculator puts the numbers up front, so you’re investing in AI engineers with a track record, not just big promises.