Pricing

What it costs.

The short answer

There are three ways to work with me. A Digital Audit starts at $8,500 and takes 2–3 weeks; a Fractional Head of Product retainer starts at $6,000 a month; Design & Build projects (prototypes, MVPs, production features, design) are scoped and priced per project. The final price depends on scope: platforms, brands, access, and how much of the week or how much building you need.

By Walter Colindres Updated
Engagement
Digital Audit
2–3 week engagement · Starting at $8,500

A focused review of your digital experience, delivered as a prioritized roadmap: what to fix, what to build, and what to stop doing.

What's included →
Retainer
Fractional Head of Product
Monthly retainer · Starting at $6,000/mo

Embedded product leadership without the full-time overhead: product strategy, conversion and sales-flow optimization, and building the team to sustain it.

What's included →
Project
Design & Build
Scoped per project

Design and working software, built with agentic AI tools: clickable prototypes, MVPs and pilots, production features, or design on its own. I lead and build, and bring in trusted designers and engineers when a project needs more hands.

What's included →

What drives the price

What a commerce app costs

Brands ask what it costs to build or rebuild an e-commerce, shopping or ordering app. There's no honest single number, because scope drives cost far more than the app does. These are the drivers I'd price against:

Agentic AI tools have lowered the cost of the custom options a lot, so building something that fits your operation is no longer only for the biggest brands. Off the shelf is still cheaper for common problems. But SaaS usually gets you about 80% of the way, and the last 20% costs more than the first 80 did: custom work billed by the vendor, workarounds your team maintains, and waiting on someone else's roadmap. Custom earns its keep there.

The most expensive version is the one built without knowing which problems it has to solve. A Digital Audit answers that first; rebuild or fix? covers the bigger decision.

Leadership, building, or both

The audit and the retainer are product leadership: deciding what to build and making sure it lands. Design & Build is the making: I design and build with agentic AI tools, and bring in trusted designers and engineers when a project needs more hands. Many clients combine them, or have me build alongside their own team or agency.

How it compares

A fractional leader costs less than a full-time executive and decides what to build, which an agency doesn't. The full comparison covers when each is the better choice.

Questions people ask

How much does a digital product consultant cost?

With me, a Digital Audit starts at $8,500 for 2–3 weeks, a Fractional Head of Product retainer starts at $6,000 a month, and Design & Build projects are scoped and priced per project. Scope, platforms, brands and team size set the final price.

How much does a fractional head of product cost?

My retainer starts at $6,000 a month.

How much does it cost to build or rebuild a commerce app?

There’s no honest single number, because scope drives cost far more than the app does. The big drivers: how many platforms (iOS, Android, web, kiosk); whether you build on a commerce or ordering platform or go custom; which systems it connects to (POS, inventory and order management, payments, loyalty, ERP); how complex the catalog is; how many brands and markets share it; and who builds and runs it afterward. The expensive mistake is building or rebuilding without knowing which problems it has to solve. Rebuild or fix? →

Do your fees include design or engineering work?

The audit and the retainer are product leadership. Design and engineering are a separate Design & Build engagement, scoped per project: I design and build with agentic AI tools and bring in trusted designers and engineers when a project needs more hands. Design & Build →

Not sure where to start?

30 minutes. No deck. Just an honest conversation about where you are and what’s in the way.

Let's talk