Quick answer: Hire me as an AI developer for a defined AI product: an agent that takes real actions in your tools with approval steps and full logs, or a chatbot grounded in your content with citations, each from $1,999 in 21 days; an MCP server for your product, $1,999 in 14 days; or a full AI app from $2,500 in 30 days. Source code and prompts are yours.
Who this is for, and who it is not
This page is for hiring a ai developer for a defined piece of work. It is not a job listing.
- Teams with a repetitive loop in their tools. An agent takes the loop out, with a human approving anything consequential.
- Companies whose docs answer the same questions daily. A chatbot grounded in that content, with citations.
- Products that AI assistants should be able to use. An MCP server exposing the right tools safely.
It is the wrong buy in these cases:
- Fully autonomous agents acting on money or customers. Without a human checkpoint, I will not build it.
- Custom-trained or fine-tuned models. That is research with a research timeline.
- Regulated advice to consumers. Medical, legal or financial guidance carries real liability.
What the 21 days look like
The ai agent in 21 days sprint, from $1,999, runs on a schedule written down before you commit:
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Days 1 to 3 | Pick the task. The narrowest valuable loop, its inputs, and what a wrong answer costs. Agents fail when the task is vague, so most of the risk is removed here. |
| Days 4 to 9 | Design the loop. The decision points, the approval gates, and what the human sees. Designed on paper before anything is wired to a live system. |
| Days 10 to 16 | Build. Tool integrations, the agent loop, logging and the review interface. Run against real data in a sandbox where nothing it does is permanent. |
| Days 17 to 19 | Shadow mode. It runs on real work but only proposes: a human approves everything. This week tells you how often it is right before it can be wrong at your expense. |
| Days 20 to 21 | Launch. Selected actions unlocked with approval still in place on the rest, monitoring on, and a clear kill switch. |
What an AI agent build includes
- A narrowly defined task the agent is actually good at.
- Tool integrations: your CRM, sheets, inbox, database or internal API.
- An approval step on anything consequential, before it happens.
- Full run logs: what it saw, decided and changed.
- A review interface so a person can inspect, correct and re-run.
- Guardrails, cost controls and rate limits, so a loop cannot quietly spend thousands.
- Source code, prompts and configuration, yours at handover.
The other AI sprints: AI chatbot, MCP server and AI app. For design-only AI work, see AI agent design.
What hiring a ai developer costs
| Route | Typical price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| AI agent or chatbot | From $1,999 in 21 days | AI agent sprint |
| MCP server | $1,999 in 14 days | MCP server sprint |
| AI app | From $2,500 in 30 days | AI app sprint |
Model usage is billed by the provider you choose, such as Anthropic, OpenAI or Google, and every build includes cost controls. Contra's AI developer guide gave no freelance rate when I checked on 30 October 2026, so none is quoted here.
How to vet any ai developer
Whoever you hire, check these before you sign:
- Human checkpoints. Ask where a person approves before the AI acts.
- Logs you can read. What it saw, decided and changed, for every run.
- Measured quality. Prompts evaluated against real examples, not judged by feel.
- Cost controls. Rate limits and spend caps before launch, not after the first bill.
- Ownership. Code, prompts and configuration yours.
Agent, chatbot, MCP server or app?
A chatbot answers questions from your content. An agent takes actions in your tools, with approvals. An MCP server lets AI assistants such as Claude use your product. An AI app is a full product with AI at its core. What an MCP server is and one reversible job for AI agents help decide.
About me
I am a product designer and developer based in Dubai, working with teams in US, EU and GCC time zones. I spoke at GITEX Dubai 2023, and I hold Contra's Framer Expert badge. The work is in the case studies, and every role you can hire me for is on hire me. Outside prices on this page were checked on 29 October 2026 unless the table says otherwise.
AI developer questions
How much does an AI developer cost?
My prices are fixed: an AI agent or chatbot from $1,999 in 21 days, an MCP server $1,999 in 14 days, and an AI app from $2,500 in 30 days. Model usage is billed by the provider.
Which AI models do you use?
Claude, GPT or Gemini, whichever fits the job, chosen during the build.
Will the agent act without approval?
Not on anything consequential. Every agent has an approval step before actions that matter, and full logs.
Can you build an MCP server for our product?
Yes: tool design, authentication, validation and documentation, deployed in 14 days for $1,999.
Tell me what the AI should do
Book a 30-minute call or send a brief. You get a scope, a timeline and a fixed quote within 24 hours.