A Financial Comparison · Without spin
Pricing, actually compared.
Most agencies bury pricing on a "contact us" form. We don't. Here's our pricing next to the realistic market alternatives — agencies, freelancers, and DIY tools. Numbers are typical ranges as of 2026. No spin, no "starting from" tricks.
Digital Services (subscription tools)
| What you need | Purcell Ventures | Typical Agency | Freelancer | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website build (multi-page, modern) | $400 setup + $99/mo | $5,000-15,000 + $200-500/mo hosting | $1,500-4,000 one-time | $0-29/mo (Wix/Squarespace) |
| AI chatbot trained on your business | Included in Starter+ | $2,000-5,000 build + $50-150/mo | $500-2,000 + you maintain it | Free with limits / $20/mo for premium |
| Online booking system | Included in Growth+ | $3,000 build + $0 (Calendly $12/mo separately) | $800-2,000 custom | $12-15/mo (Calendly/Acuity) |
| Email marketing platform | Included in Growth+ | $0 platform fee + $500-1,500/mo management | $300-800/mo retainer | $10-100/mo (Mailchimp/ConvertKit) |
| CRM with pipeline tracking | Included in Full | $5,000 HubSpot setup + $150-1,800/mo | $1,000 setup + DIY | $0-50/user/mo (HubSpot free / Pipedrive) |
| Social media scheduling | Included in Growth+ | $1,500-3,000/mo full management | $500-1,500/mo content + posting | $15-99/mo (Buffer/Later) |
| Review management + responses | Included in Growth+ | $300-800/mo | Per-response | Manual / $30-100/mo tools |
| Setup time to live | 5-7 business days | 8-16 weeks | 2-6 weeks | Hours-to-weeks depending on you |
| Maintenance + updates | Always included | Hourly $150-300 | Hourly $50-150 | Your time |
| Direct access to the owner | Always (Elijah, same day) | Never (account managers) | Yes (one person) | N/A |
Digital total cost of ownership for year 1: PV Growth ~$2,848 (700 setup + 179×12) · Agency equivalent ~$30,000-80,000 bundled · Freelancer ~$5,000-12,000 + your time stitching tools together.
AI Consulting
| What you need | Purcell Ventures | Typical Agency | Freelancer | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-on-1 AI consulting (1 hour) | $175/hr (2-hr min) | $250-500/hr enterprise consulting | $100-200/hr Upwork-tier | Free (your time learning) |
| Small group AI training (8 people) | $1,000 (8 × $125) | $3,000-8,000 corporate workshop | $800-2,000 group session | Free + group YouTube |
| Half-day workshop (up to 20) | $2,500 flat | $8,000-25,000 corporate training | $2,000-5,000 group facilitator | N/A practical at this scale |
| Comes to your office | Yes (Metro Atlanta) or remote | Yes with travel fees | Sometimes | — |
| Curriculum customized to your industry | Always | Sometimes + add-on cost | Depends on freelancer | You do it |
Workshop math: PV $2,500 for 20 people = $125/person. Enterprise training: typically $400-1,500/person. Your team learns the same things either way.
Custom Software
| What you need | Purcell Ventures | Typical Agency | Freelancer | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small project (single tool/script) | $1,500-3,500 | $8,000-25,000 minimum engagement | $2,000-8,000 | $0 + weeks of your time |
| Full mobile/web app | $5,000-15,000+ | $25,000-150,000+ | $10,000-50,000 | Months + significant skill required |
| AI integration | Included scope | Specialty add-on $5k+ | Depends on skill | Self-taught |
| Code ownership + transfer | Always 100% yours | Often source-code-restricted contracts | Usually yours | Yours |
| Owner on the build call | Always (Elijah scopes) | Never (project manager) | One person + maybe contractors | — |
| Discovery call before commitment | Free, 30 min | Free but high-pressure | Free usually | — |
Custom software is where the spread is widest. A $25k agency project and a $5k PV project can produce the same working app — the difference is the agency's overhead, project managers, and slide decks, not the code.
Why we can charge less (and why that's sustainable)
- Solo operator, low overhead. No salespeople (well — now we have a few), no office, no middle management. Every dollar that's not building or supporting goes back into lower pricing.
- Modular, reusable systems. Our Digital Services skeletons are templates we adapt — not bespoke builds from scratch. That cuts hours without cutting quality.
- AI in our workflow. We use AI heavily for first drafts of code, content, and structure — then human-review every output. Speeds the work, doesn't reduce care.
- Long-term relationships pay back. A $99/mo subscription customer who stays 3 years pays us $3,564. That's why we don't need to extract maximum value from each engagement.
- Owner-direct, no commission stack. Most agencies pay a sales team 15-25% commission, an account manager, a project manager, plus margin. We pay sales reps a commission (now), but the owner is still on every important call.
When you should hire someone else (and who)
Not every prospect is a fit. Here's when we'll point you elsewhere:
If
You need a 50+ person platform with enterprise compliance (SOC 2, HIPAA, etc.)
Then
Big agency (Accenture, Deloitte Digital) or a specialized firm in your vertical. We're not built for that scale of compliance overhead.
If
You have a $200-500 monthly budget and you JUST want a website
Then
Squarespace or Wix with one of their built-in templates. PV is overkill if you don't need AI tools, booking, CRM, or ongoing maintenance.
If
You want a one-time build with no ongoing relationship
Then
Hire a freelancer through Upwork or Toptal. Our model is built on retainer relationships; one-and-done isn't where we shine.
If
You need physical store-front retail POS / inventory at scale
Then
Shopify POS or Square. Specialty tools beat our generalist approach here.
If
Your problem is genuinely 'I'm overwhelmed and don't know where to start'
Then
Take our free AI Readiness Test first. If you score in the bottom tier, save your money and read for 6 months before buying anything from anyone.
Want the math for YOUR business?
Try our free AI Cost Calculator — plug in your team size, hourly rate, and current manual hours. Get a projected ROI + payback period in 30 seconds.
The math checks out?
Start with a free 30-min conversation. We'll honestly tell you which tier fits or whether you need us at all.
See how we workEmail Elijah