Compare twelve months of AI delivery cost across four routes
- The large consultancy's team is yours to enter, from the proposal you hold.
- Its day rates come from published G-Cloud 14 rate cards, each with its date and source.
- Tenhaw's line uses published prices only: the fixed 90-day programme, then handover or optional continuation.
Free · about three minutes · result on this page and by email
A chart, a table and every assumption in one place
The result is laid out so a finance colleague can check each line against the figures entered.
- 01
A line for each route
Cumulative cost at the end of each of twelve months, drawn from zero, with each line dashed differently as well as coloured differently. - 02
The figures as a table
The same numbers month by month, to read, copy or print. - 03
Month 12 totals
One figure per route, with the exact amount under each. - 04
The assumptions behind each line
The team, the rates, the months and the fees, in plain sentences. - 05
The rate card you chose
The supplier, the card, its date and a link to the supplier's own document, with the caveats the pricing page publishes beside it. - 06
When each route is the better buy
The circumstances that favour each route, in the words this site already uses, including the ones that favour a route other than Tenhaw.
Would a second pair of eyes on the result help? Bring it to a 30-minute call with James Rooney and go through each line together.
Talk it throughHow each line is worked out
There is no hidden formula. Each line adds up, month by month, the figures you enter and the prices published here.
The large consultancy's team is yours
A rate multiplied by a team size you have assumed is not a cost. The comparison takes people-days a month at each SFIA level from the proposal you hold and multiplies them by the rates on the published card you choose. The form starts with a two-person example for you to replace.
Contractors and the hire use your figures
Contractors are the number of people times the day rate times billable days, plus a monthly figure for directing them if you add one. The hire is salary plus employer on-costs, spread evenly over the year from the month the person starts, with the recruitment fee paid in that month. Where Tenhaw has its own estimate, the question offers it as a hint and labels it as an estimate.
Tenhaw's line is published prices
The 90-day outcome programme is £120,000 or £180,000 fixed, paid in three monthly instalments. A proof of concept, if you add one, takes month 1 at a figure you set inside its published £20k–£55k band. Continuation is optional, starts after day 90 only, and runs month to month with 30 days’ written notice either way.
A line stays level when its route stops
A cumulative line rises while money is being spent and stays level once it stops. The comparison draws months 1 to 12 and assumes nothing beyond the months you enter.
If you would buy one of these routes differently, ask James on a 30-minute call how that changes the arithmetic.
Talk it throughThe published rate cards behind the large consultancy line
These are the G-Cloud 14 rate cards the pricing page quotes, each linked to the supplier's own document. The comparison uses the one you choose.
| Supplier and card | Dated | Level 7 | Level 6 | Level 5 | Level 4 | Level 3 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA ConsultingUK co-located | September 2024 | £3,625 | £2,575 | £2,075 | £1,675 | £1,575 | Supplier document for PA Consulting, UK co-located (opens in a new tab) |
| KPMG LLPSFIA rate card, flat across categories | April 2024 | £2,855 | £2,400 | £2,150 | £1,625 | £1,230 | Supplier document for KPMG LLP, SFIA rate card, flat across categories (opens in a new tab) |
| PwCCloud Support Services, Strategy & architecture | Uploaded May 2024; document carries no publication date | £2,750 | £2,600 | £2,300 | £1,830 | £1,280 | Supplier document for PwC, Cloud Support Services, Strategy & architecture (opens in a new tab) |
| Deloitte LLPSpecialist rate card, flat across categories | May 2024 | £2,740 | £2,550 | £2,380 | £1,900 | £1,590 | Supplier document for Deloitte LLP, Specialist rate card, flat across categories (opens in a new tab) |
| EYOnshore | May 2024 | £2,600 | £1,925 | £1,575 | £1,300 | £1,050 | Supplier document for EY, Onshore (opens in a new tab) |
| Deloitte LLPStandard card, Strategy & architecture | May 2024 | £2,450 | £2,100 | £1,825 | £1,650 | £1,425 | Supplier document for Deloitte LLP, Standard card, Strategy & architecture (opens in a new tab) |
| AccentureStrategy & architecture | May 2024 | £2,240 | £1,880 | £1,580 | £1,040 | £760 | Supplier document for Accenture, Strategy & architecture (opens in a new tab) |
| TCSOnshore, Strategy & architecture | Uploaded March 2025; document carries no publication date | £2,050 | £1,750 | £1,330 | £1,070 | £680 | Supplier document for TCS, Onshore, Strategy & architecture (opens in a new tab) |
PA Consulting, UK co-located. Not a Big Four firm, and the highest published Level 7 rate we found on the framework.
PwC, Cloud Support Services, Strategy & architecture. Unlike the others, this card varies sharply by category rather than running flat: the Level 7 figure is £2,750 under Strategy and architecture, which is the column quoted here and the one every other row uses, and £1,000 under Delivery and operation.
EY, Onshore. EY defines a working day as 7 hours where others use 8, roughly a 14% difference the headline rate does not show.
G-Cloud 14 rate cards, last checked against their source documents on 21 August 2026. These figures are a dated reference, not a G-Cloud 15 price list. Confirm the applicable framework, current rates and proposed scope with each supplier when buying.
These are published public-sector framework rates. Most of our work is in the private sector, and we do not have equivalent private quotes from these suppliers. The cards give you a reference point; they do not establish what another firm would charge for your scope.
SFIA levels describe responsibility, not job titles: Level 7 is defined as "set strategy, inspire, mobilise" and Level 3 as "apply". Working days also differ: EY specifies 7 hours where the other cards use 8, roughly a 14% difference when comparing hourly costs.
The comparison multiplies the rates on the card you choose by the team you enter. The same cards, with Tenhaw's partner rate shown as a reference, are on the pricing page.
Holding a proposal priced by grade? Take it to a 30-minute call with James Rooney and ask what to check before you compare it.
Talk it throughBring the comparison, or bring the proposal.
Thirty minutes with James Rooney. If you have run the comparison, your figures arrive with the booking and the call starts from them. If you hold a proposal from any supplier, bring it and go through what it includes and what it leaves out.
Free · 30 minutes · James confirms call requests personally.
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Describe the work
Describe the work in a paragraph. James replies with a rough scope and budget range within two working days.
Questions about the comparison
How does the AI delivery cost comparison work out each route's cost?
It multiplies the figures you enter by published rates and adds them up month by month for twelve months. The large consultancy line is people-days at each SFIA level times the day rate on the G-Cloud 14 card you choose. The contractor line is the number of contractors times a day rate times billable days, plus a monthly figure for directing them if you add one. The permanent hire line is salary plus employer on-costs from the month the person starts, with the recruitment fee in that month.
The Tenhaw line is the fixed 90-day outcome programme at £120,000 or £180,000 in three monthly instalments, with an optional proof of concept before it and optional continuation after it.
Why does the cost comparison ask me to enter the large consultancy's team?
Because only the supplier knows the mix it intends to staff, and a rate multiplied by a team size you have assumed is not a cost. The comparison asks for the team in the proposal you have been given, as people-days a month at up to three SFIA levels.
The form starts with an example of two people at 20 days a month each for three months. It is there to be replaced, and it says nothing about how any firm staffs its work.
Which consultancy rate cards does the cost comparison use?
Eight published G-Cloud 14 rate cards from seven suppliers: PA Consulting, KPMG, PwC, Deloitte (a specialist card and a standard card), EY, Accenture and TCS. You choose one, and the result shows its supplier, card name, date and a link to the supplier's own document, with the rates by SFIA level.
They are public-sector framework rates, last checked against their source documents on 21 August 2026. A private quote may carry different rates, and SFIA levels describe responsibility, not job titles.
Does the cost comparison assume Tenhaw keeps charging after day 90?
No. The starting assumption is handover at day 90, which is part of the programme, so the Tenhaw line stays level once the programme is paid. Continuation is an option you choose, for a number of months and a monthly figure inside the published £70k–£85k band.
The comparison never draws continuation before day 90, because Tenhaw offers it only after the 90-day programme. It runs month to month, with 30 days’ written notice either way.
Where does the cost comparison's contractor day rate come from?
From you. The question shows Tenhaw's own estimate as a hint: roughly £610 to £870 a day including agency margin, as at July 2026, for a senior contract delivery manager, AI engineer or solutions architect. It is an estimate, not an independently licensed benchmark.
The form starts at £740, the middle of that range, and the line uses whatever rate you enter, so replace it with your agency's quote.
Why does the permanent hire line stay at zero for the first few months?
Because a hire costs nothing in salary until the person starts. You set the months from opening the role to the person starting, and the comparison pays the recruitment fee in the month they start and salary plus employer on-costs from then on.
Tenhaw's own estimates for an AI leadership hire are six to nine months from opening the role to the person starting, a base salary of £180,000 to £350,000 plus equity, and recruitment fees often 25 to 30% of first-year salary. They are estimates for that kind of hire, not for engineers.
What does the AI delivery cost comparison leave out of each total?
Your own people's time, which no total captures and which varies more between suppliers than the fees do. The totals also leave out VAT, expenses and, for the hire, equity.
Run costs sit outside every line as well. Budget for five things: model inference, the platform, storage and search, evaluation and monitoring, and human review time.