Essentials
$2,500 / month
- Quarterly roadmap reviews
- On-call advisory for technology decisions
- Vendor and renewal sanity checks
- Annual budget input
Price list
Indicative pricing, published plainly.
We publish starting points so you can budget before the first call. Scope, environment complexity, and timeline move the number in both directions.
Indicative pricing. Figures below are starting points for typical engagements. A final fixed quote follows a scoping call and a brief review of your environment.
Consulting engagements
Project and advisory work.
| Engagement | Indicative price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| IT & Security Assessment | From $4,500 | Current-state review of infrastructure, cloud, and security posture against NIST CSF 2.0 or CIS Controls v8, with a prioritized findings report. |
| Technology Roadmap & Strategy | From $6,500 | Multi-year roadmap with sequencing, budget model, business case, and vendor evaluation — owned outright by the client. |
| Architecture & Design | From $8,500 or $150–$185/hr |
Target-state architecture, migration and security design, and an implementation plan you can execute or competitively bid. |
| Implementation & Delivery | $135–$175/hr or milestone-based |
Hands-on implementation, migration, integration, testing, cutover, and documented handover. Fixed-fee milestones available for defined scope. |
Advisory retainers
vCIO and vCISO leadership, monthly.
Continuous senior judgment instead of a one-off report. Three-month minimum; month-to-month thereafter.
Growth
$4,500 / month
- Monthly vCIO cadence with leadership
- Technology budget ownership and forecasting
- Vendor management and contract review
- Roadmap maintenance and project oversight
Enterprise
$7,500 / month
- Combined vCIO and vCISO coverage
- Board-level reporting and risk narrative
- Compliance program oversight
- Audit and cyber-insurance readiness support
Staffing
Placement and workforce pricing.
| Service | Indicative price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Contract staffing | Quoted per role | Competitive hourly bill rates set by role, seniority, and market. Acorn carries employment, payroll, and insurance. |
| Contract-to-hire | Hourly + reduced conversion fee | Evaluate in the real environment first; conversion fee steps down over the contract period. |
| Direct hire / permanent | 18–22% of first-year salary | Full-cycle sourcing, technical screening, and offer support, with a replacement guarantee. |
| Executive search | Retained engagement | Retained CIO, CTO, and CISO search with a structured milestone schedule and market mapping. |
| Fractional executive | From $3,500 / month | A fractional CIO, CTO, or CISO embedded on an agreed monthly cadence. |
Every number here is a starting point. Tell us the environment and the outcome you need, and we will send a fixed, written quote after the scoping call.
See how an engagement comes together
How these numbers combine over 18 months.
An illustrative composite walkthrough — assessment, architecture, 12 months of delivery, an Enterprise retainer, and two placements — adding up to a $513,240 program, with every line traced back to this page.
Start with a scoping call.
Thirty minutes, no obligation. We will tell you plainly whether we are the right partner for the work — and if we are not, who is.