Compare · vs AI Consultancy
An AI consultancy advises you on what AI to use. Prudence installs the operational layer that runs. Here is the honest difference, including when each is genuinely the right answer.
| Prudence | AI Consultancy | |
|---|---|---|
| What they deliver | An operational layer that runs both ends of the job. Estimates drafted from your rate card at the pitch side. Supplier costs caught and tagged, recharges drafted at the pay side. All for sign-off in the native tools you already use. | Strategy deck. Roadmap. Vendor recommendations. Risk framework. Sometimes a proof-of-concept. |
| Cost | Discovery free. Setup £995. Then £1,195 a month, one flat fee for both modules, including ongoing operation. Bespoke POA. | Day rate £1,000 to £3,000. Scoped project £15,000 to £50,000 over 3 to 6 months. Retainers £5,000 to £15,000/mo. |
| Time to value | Two weeks from Discovery to live. Operational from day one of Setup completion. | Three to six months of assessment and roadmapping before anything operational happens. Often longer. |
| Who does the building afterwards | We do. Prudence is the productised service. The same multi-tenant platform configured to your business. | You. Or a delivery partner they recommend. The consultancy walks away with the deck. |
| When the AI landscape moves | The platform evolves underneath you. AI model updates, new tool integrations, improved drafts. Included in the monthly fee. | The recommendations age. Six months in, some of the vendor recommendations are outdated and you are paying to revise. |
| Best for | 5 to 50 person UK service businesses where the problem is well understood (margin leaks between pitch and pay) and you want it solved. | Larger organisations with strategic uncertainty. Multi-unit AI exposure. Regulated industries needing risk frameworks. Board-level positioning. |
| What it does not do | Prudence does not write AI strategy. It does not advise on vendor selection. It does not run workshops. It does the operational running. | A consultancy does not run operations. Once the project ends, the work of making it happen is yours. |
