Our Services & Professional Rate Structure
New rates take effect September 1, 2026.
At U.S. Digital Sciences Corporation, we provide professional engineering,
technology, research, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, infrastructure,
software development, and digital services for organizations of all sizes.
Our rates reflect the experience of our technical team, the professional
infrastructure used to deliver and support our work, and our continued
investment in modern engineering, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity,
development, testing, monitoring, and operational tooling.
Depending on the engagement, services may be provided on an hourly,
project-based, recurring, or retainer basis. We will recommend the pricing
structure that best aligns with the scope, complexity, risk, and ongoing
requirements of the engagement.
Research and Development (R&D) Rate Schedule
- Initial Consultation & Feasibility Study:
Assessing project goals, conducting technical research, evaluating
requirements, identifying risk, and determining project feasibility.
Rate: $325/hour - Prototyping & Concept Development:
Building initial prototypes, proofs of concept, technical demonstrations,
and experimental implementations used to validate ideas and functionality.
Rate: $225/hour - Software & Systems Architecture Design:
Designing application, infrastructure, data, integration, and system
architectures for scalable and maintainable technology solutions.
Rate: $325/hour - Custom Software Development:
End-to-end development of custom applications, APIs, middleware,
integrations, automation systems, and business software.
Rate: $325/hour or project-based pricing starting at $24,500 - Algorithm, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Development:
Development and integration of AI systems, machine-learning models,
intelligent workflows, autonomous agents, algorithms, and related
software systems.
Rate: $350/hour - Systems Integration & Middleware Development:
Integrating applications, platforms, APIs, communications systems,
databases, third-party services, and business systems.
Rate: $275/hour - Database Design & Optimization:
Database architecture, performance optimization, data modeling,
migrations, scalability planning, and reliability improvements.
Rate: $250/hour - Testing & Validation:
Functional testing, integration testing, validation, troubleshooting,
regression testing, and technical quality assurance.
Rate: $195/hour - Ongoing Engineering Support & Maintenance:
Post-launch engineering support, troubleshooting, updates,
maintenance, and technical administration for developed solutions.
Rate: $185/hour
Specialist Consultant & Engineering Hourly Rates
These rates are designed for clients requiring individual technical
specialists, targeted assignments, ongoing professional support, or
time-and-material engagements.
- Graphic Designer: $125/hour
- Junior Developer / Engineer: $135/hour
- Mid-Level Developer / Engineer: $185/hour
- Senior Developer / Engineer: $225/hour
- Project Manager: $195/hour
- UI/UX Designer: $175/hour
- Cloud / DevOps Specialist: $250/hour
- AI / Machine Learning Specialist: $300/hour
- Cybersecurity Engineer / Specialist: $300/hour
- General Shop Rate — Time & Materials: $325/hour
The General Shop Rate applies to unscoped technical work,
cross-disciplinary engineering, advanced troubleshooting, escalations,
remediation, and work not assigned to another contracted service category.
Rate Application & Priority Service
Rates may vary when an engagement requires advanced specialization,
regulatory or compliance requirements, unusually accelerated delivery,
dedicated personnel, after-hours response, or emergency remediation.
Emergency, after-hours, weekend, holiday, and priority-response work may be
billed at up to 1.5 times the applicable service rate unless otherwise
provided by an existing service agreement.
Contract or Project-Based Pricing
For full-scale projects with defined deliverables, U.S. Digital Sciences
Corporation provides project-based pricing based on the scope, complexity,
technical risk, anticipated resources, and delivery timeline.
Project-based pricing rewards efficient delivery and provides clients with
cost predictability. Project fees represent the value, expertise, systems,
intellectual property, infrastructure, professional tooling, and resources
required to successfully deliver the agreed-upon result and are not
calculated solely from the number of labor hours ultimately required.
Requests that materially change the approved scope, requirements,
functionality, integrations, timeline, or deliverables may require a
written change order or revised project agreement.
Work requested outside the approved scope may be quoted separately or
performed at the applicable professional rate, including the standard
$325/hour General Shop Rate where appropriate.
We encourage clients to communicate requested changes as early as possible
so that scope, cost, and scheduling adjustments can be mutually reviewed
and documented before additional work begins.
- Basic Web Application Development:
Starting at $22,500 - Mobile Application Development:
Starting at $35,000 - Enterprise Software Development:
Starting at $75,000 - Cloud Infrastructure Setup & Deployment:
Starting at $18,500
Professional Services Retainer Packages
Retainers are designed for organizations requiring predictable access to
development, technical support, maintenance, consulting, and engineering
resources.
- Basic Retainer — Up to 20 standard service hours/month:
Starting at $3,900/month - Standard Retainer — Up to 40 standard service hours/month:
Starting at $7,400/month - Premium Retainer — Up to 80 standard service hours/month:
Starting at $14,000/month - Custom Retainer:
Tailored to organizational requirements, service levels, and resource needs.
Retainer pricing is based primarily on standard engineering, development,
maintenance, consulting, and support services.
Advanced architecture, artificial intelligence, machine learning,
cybersecurity, Cloud/DevOps, R&D, emergency response, and other
specialist services may consume retainer capacity at a weighted rate or
may be billed at the applicable specialist rate depending on the engagement.
Retainer hours represent reserved professional capacity and are subject to
the terms of the applicable service agreement.
Custom & Enterprise Solutions
For unique, large-scale, high-risk, regulated, or highly specialized
projects, we provide custom pricing based on technical requirements,
architecture, integrations, service levels, security requirements,
infrastructure, project risk, and required resources.
Multi-disciplinary engagements involving software engineering,
infrastructure, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, telecommunications,
data systems, or ongoing managed services are generally quoted individually.
Additional Professional Services
- Consulting & Technology Strategy:
$275/hour - Code Review, Technical Audit & Engineering Assessment:
$300/hour - Cybersecurity Assessment, Audit & Training:
$325/hour
Marketing Services Rate Schedule
- Marketing Consultation & Strategy:
Business analysis, campaign planning, digital strategy, market
positioning, SEO strategy, conversion strategy, and related consulting.
Rate: $185/hour - SEO — Search Engine Optimization:
Technical SEO, local and organic search optimization, keyword and
competitive research, content optimization, authority development,
analytics, reporting, and ongoing search strategy.
Rate: Starting at $1,750/month - Content Creation:
Professional blog posts, articles, website content, landing-page copy,
social content, case studies, and press materials.
Rate: Starting at $0.25/word or $250/article - Social Media Management:
Strategy, content scheduling, posting, engagement, optimization,
monitoring, and performance reporting.
Rate: Starting at $2,500/month/platform - Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Management:
Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Meta advertising, campaign setup,
conversion tracking, optimization, testing, and ongoing management.
Rate: Starting at $1,500 setup plus 12% of managed ad spend,
with a minimum management fee of $1,250/month - Influencer Marketing:
Campaign planning, outreach, coordination, agreements, tracking,
and performance management.
Rate: Starting at $1,750/campaign plus influencer fees - Analytics & Reporting:
Ongoing analysis of marketing campaigns, search performance,
website traffic, conversions, customer acquisition, and other
agreed-upon performance indicators.
Rate: Starting at $500/month
Why Choose U.S. Digital Sciences Corporation?
- Proven Expertise:
More than 30 years of software development and technology experience
supporting businesses and organizations with complex digital systems. - Engineering-Driven Approach:
Our services combine experienced technical professionals with modern
development, AI, automation, security, infrastructure, and operational tooling. - Flexible Engagement Models:
Hourly, project-based, recurring, and retainer arrangements allow us
to structure engagements around each organization's requirements. - Customer-Centric Delivery:
We emphasize communication, transparency, quality, maintainability,
and long-term customer success. - Scalable Solutions:
From targeted technical assignments to enterprise applications,
infrastructure, AI systems, and managed services, our resources can
scale with the project.
Refund Policy
Professional services, engineering time, consulting, reserved resource
capacity, and completed project work are generally non-refundable once
performed or allocated in accordance with an approved agreement or customer acceptance.
Clients are encouraged to review all proposals, scopes of work,
specifications, estimates, and service agreements before authorizing work.
If concerns arise during an engagement, please contact us promptly so that
the project team can review the issue, clarify requirements, and determine
the appropriate next steps.