A plain, honest breakdown of what custom AI actually costs to build in the Netherlands in 2026 — fixed prices per stage, realistic ranges by build type, and where the numbers really come from.
Last updated: 11 June 2026
In the Netherlands, a custom AI project typically runs in three stages: an AI Audit & Strategy at around €2,500, a working Proof of Concept at about €20,000, and a production launch from €50,000 (all excl. VAT). Hourly consulting is available at €150/hour. A first MVP usually lands in the €20,000–€60,000 band, while a full enterprise programme can run well into six figures depending on scope, data readiness and integration depth — so treat any single number as a starting point, not a quote. Much of the development spend on custom AI qualifies for the Dutch WBSO R&D tax credit, which lowers the net cost.
Crux Digits publishes fixed prices so you know the cost before you commit — no open-ended day rates. Each stage is a self-contained step you can stop after. Prices exclude VAT.
| Stage | What you get | Fixed price |
|---|---|---|
| AI Audit & Strategy | Prioritised opportunity list with ROI and risk per use case | €2,500 |
| Proof of Concept | A working proof on your own data, in weeks | €20,000 |
| Production launch | Full system — integrated, monitored and maintained | from €50,000 |
| Hourly consulting | Ad-hoc advice, architecture review or staff augmentation | €150 / hour |
Cost depends far more on scope than on the label you give the project. The ranges below are typical for a Dutch build and assume reasonably clean data — messy or scattered data pushes costs up, because data engineering is often the real work. Treat these as honest ballparks to sanity-check a quote, not fixed prices; an audit turns them into a real number.
| Build type | What it involves | Typical NL range (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Custom AI web/app | Bespoke app with an AI feature at its core | €40,000–€120,000+ |
| AI agent / workflow automation | Multi-step agent that takes actions across tools | €25,000–€90,000 |
| RAG / LLM assistant | Assistant grounded in your own documents & data | €20,000–€70,000 |
| ML model (predictive) | Forecasting, scoring or classification on your data | €30,000–€100,000 |
| Computer vision | Image/video detection, quality or OCR pipelines | €35,000–€120,000 |
| Data engineering (foundation) | Pipelines & clean datasets to make AI possible | €15,000–€60,000 |
Two very different questions get lumped together as 'what does AI cost'. An MVP — one use case, proven and shipped narrowly — usually lands in the €20,000–€60,000 range: enough to prove value and start earning return, not a full platform. An enterprise programme — several use cases, deep integration, governance, ongoing model operations — is a different animal and can run from six figures upward over a year or more. Anyone quoting a single crisp number for 'enterprise AI' without asking about your scope, data and systems is guessing. Honestly, if you only need one workflow automated, don't buy an enterprise programme; start with a PoC. See what a proof of concept costs.
Custom AI development is R&D, and most of it qualifies for the Dutch WBSO tax credit (and sometimes MIT or SLIM). WBSO gives roughly a 36% deduction on the eligible R&D wage base via reduced payroll tax — so a large slice of your build comes back. Because our pricing is fixed and milestone-based, the R&D portion is easy to ring-fence and document. Always confirm current rates with RVO or your advisor. Full detail in the AI subsidy & WBSO 2026 guide.
Fixed price per stage shifts delivery risk to the supplier and gives you a hard number up front; it suits most well-defined AI builds. Hourly (our €150/hour rate) is honestly the better fit when the work is genuinely open-ended — early exploration, an architecture review, or topping up your own team's capacity — where writing a fixed scope would just be guesswork. If the outcome is clear, take the fixed price; if the question itself is still fuzzy, buy a few hours first. We walk through the trade-off in fixed price vs hourly AI development.
A typical path is an AI Audit & Strategy at ~€2,500, a Proof of Concept at ~€20,000, and a production launch from €50,000 (excl. VAT). Hourly consulting is €150/hour. Your final number depends on scope, data readiness and integration depth.
An MVP — one use case, proven and shipped narrowly — usually lands in the €20,000–€60,000 range. That's enough to prove value and start earning a return, not a full platform. A €20,000 proof of concept is often the right first MVP.
It varies a lot. A full enterprise programme — several use cases, deep integration, governance and ongoing model operations — can run from six figures upward over a year or more. Anyone quoting a single crisp number without asking about your scope and systems is guessing; start with an audit to get a real figure.
The biggest drivers are scope (one use case vs a programme), data readiness (clean data is cheaper to build on), integration depth, and provider overhead. Data engineering is frequently the hidden bulk of the work — if your data is scattered, expect the foundation to cost more than the model.
Yes. Custom AI development usually qualifies for the Dutch WBSO R&D tax credit (and sometimes MIT or SLIM), which can meaningfully cut the net cost. See our AI subsidy & WBSO 2026 guide and confirm current rates with RVO.
€150/hour. Hourly works best for open-ended exploration, architecture reviews or capacity top-ups. When the outcome is well-defined, fixed price per stage is usually the lower-risk choice — see fixed price vs hourly.
For SME-scale work, usually yes — a boutique can deliver comparable engineering without enterprise rates and minimums. But when you need a very large multi-country programme with heavy change management, a larger firm may genuinely be the better fit. We're honest about where each wins.
A €2,500 AI Audit & Strategy turns these ballparks into a costed plan for your use case — with ROI, risk and a fixed price for the next step. Book a free 30-minute consult to see if it's worth it first.
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