# AI build costs by industry

Sector changes the price of an AI build more than most buyers expect. Medians run from $1,000 in art and design to $8,160 in crypto and Web3, and regulated sectors have a typical median of $3,000 against $2,400 elsewhere.

Updated 2026-11-04. Published by VIZIO AI. Page: https://aibuildindex.com/industries. Data: https://aibuildindex.com/industries/data.json.

## Key findings

- Crypto and Web3 has the highest median build, $8,160, and art and design the lowest, $1,000.
- Regulated and public sectors have a typical median of $3,000 against $2,400 for other sectors, and name compliance in 15.8% of posts.
- Healthcare names compliance most often, in 25.3% of posts.
- Between January to March and May to July, SaaS gained the most share of posts (+30%), and marketing and sales lost the most (-24%).
- Technology and IT is the largest sector we can identify, with 4,443 posts.

## Sector groups

| Group | Industries | Posts | Typical median | Compliance named |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Regulated and public | 9 | 4,503 | $3,000 | 15.8% |
| People and services | 4 | 2,590 | $2,840 | 4.5% |
| Digital and media | 7 | 10,918 | $2,700 | 5.3% |
| Property and industry | 9 | 3,679 | $2,650 | 5.7% |
| Commerce and consumer | 8 | 4,245 | $2,130 | 4.4% |

## Industries

| Industry | Group | Posts | Median cost | Rate | Applicants | Compliance | Rank by median |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Technology and IT](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/technology) | Digital and media | 4,443 | $2,700 | $29.50 | 12 | 5.0% | 17 |
| [SaaS](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/saas) | Digital and media | 2,577 | $4,000 | $30 | 20 | 9.1% | 5 |
| [Marketing and sales](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/marketing-agency) | Digital and media | 2,434 | $2,800 | $25 | 13 | 3.6% | 15 |
| [E-commerce](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/ecommerce) | Commerce and consumer | 2,002 | $2,400 | $22.50 | 10 | 4.6% | 21 |
| [Healthcare](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/healthcare) | Regulated and public | 1,724 | $4,000 | $30 | 15.5 | 25.3% | 5 |
| [Financial services](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/financial-services) | Regulated and public | 1,548 | $3,000 | $30 | 11 | 7.4% | 11 |
| [Real estate](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/real-estate) | Property and industry | 1,517 | $2,780 | $25 | 14 | 7.1% | 16 |
| [Education](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/education) | People and services | 1,430 | $2,000 | $27.50 | 10 | 3.7% | 26 |
| [Media and entertainment](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/media-entertainment) | Digital and media | 882 | $2,400 | $29.50 | 13 | 3.3% | 21 |
| [Business services](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/business-services) | People and services | 629 | $2,840 | $27.50 | 10 | 3.1% | 14 |
| [Retail](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/retail) | Commerce and consumer | 520 | $2,400 | $29 | 14 | 4.2% | 21 |
| [Recruiting and HR](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/recruiting-hr) | People and services | 460 | $3,100 | $25 | 10 | 9.1% | 10 |
| [Legal](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/legal) | Regulated and public | 459 | $3,000 | $30 | 15 | 16.0% | 11 |
| [Manufacturing](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/manufacturing) | Property and industry | 441 | $3,600 | $29.50 | 13 | 5.4% | 9 |
| [Travel](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/travel) | Commerce and consumer | 440 | $2,160 | $25 | 11 | 5.2% | 24 |
| [Fashion and beauty](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/fashion-beauty) | Commerce and consumer | 414 | $2,000 | $25 | 12 | 3.3% | 26 |
| [Engineering and architecture](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/engineering) | Property and industry | 355 | $2,000 | $27.50 | 11 | 5.5% | 26 |
| [Automotive](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/automotive) | Property and industry | 340 | $2,500 | $25 | 14 | 1.4% | 20 |
| [Restaurants and hospitality](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/restaurants-hospitality) | Commerce and consumer | 325 | $2,000 | $29.50 | 14 | 5.2% | 26 |
| [Art and design](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/art-design) | Digital and media | 317 | $1,000 | $27.50 | 12 | 0.9% | 36 |
| [Sports](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/sports) | Commerce and consumer | 302 | $2,100 | $29.50 | 13 | 3.3% | 25 |
| [Accounting and tax](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/accounting-tax) | Regulated and public | 300 | $2,000 | $30 | 12 | 6.6% | 26 |
| [Logistics](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/logistics) | Property and industry | 287 | $3,680 | $30 | 15 | 6.5% | 8 |
| [Home services](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/home-services) | Property and industry | 242 | $2,000 | $22.50 | 14 | 5.8% | 26 |
| [Energy and utilities](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/energy) | Property and industry | 238 | $1,500 | $30 | 13 | 4.6% | 32 |
| [Fitness and wellness](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/fitness-wellness) | Commerce and consumer | 189 | $2,900 | $27.50 | 17.5 | 4.2% | 13 |
| [Crypto and Web3](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/crypto-web3) | Digital and media | 164 | $8,160 | $42.50 | 9 | 3.0% | 1 |
| [Construction](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/construction) | Property and industry | 155 | $4,720 | $35 | 15 | 5.2% | 2 |
| [Insurance](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/insurance) | Regulated and public | 129 | $4,320 | $32 | 13 | 18.5% | 4 |
| [Dental](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/dental) | Regulated and public | 120 | $1,380 | $30 | 14 | 20.7% | 34 |
| [Agriculture](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/agriculture) | Property and industry | 104 | $2,650 | $29.50 | 12 | 3.8% | 18 |
| [Gaming](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/gaming) | Digital and media | 101 | $1,200 | $26 | 7 | 0.0% | 35 |
| [Science and biotech](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/science-biotech) | Regulated and public | 96 | $4,000 | $30 | 11 | 11.1% | 5 |
| [Aerospace and defense](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/aerospace-defense) | Regulated and public | 71 | $4,720 | $35 | 13 | 5.5% | 2 |
| [Nonprofit](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/nonprofit) | People and services | 71 | $2,490 | $29.50 | 10 | 4.2% | Not ranked |
| [Government](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/government) | Regulated and public | 56 | $2,650 | $25 | 11 | 3.5% | 18 |
| [Pets and veterinary](https://aibuildindex.com/industries/pets-veterinary) | Commerce and consumer | 53 | $1,500 | $25 | 12 | 5.7% | 32 |

## Questions

### Which industry pays the most for AI builds?

Among ranked industries, crypto and Web3 has the highest median at $8,160, followed by construction at $4,720 and aerospace and defense at $4,720.

### Do regulated industries pay more for AI?

Yes, on these figures. Regulated and public sectors have a typical median of $3,000 against $2,400 for other sectors. Compliance is only one reason; these sectors also ask for more senior talent.

### Which industries are adopting AI fastest?

We can only compare share of posts. From January to March to May to July, SaaS, restaurants and hospitality, healthcare gained the most share. This is not a measure of total adoption.

### How complete is the industry data?

About 45% of posts can be placed in an industry, from the title or the buyer's stated industry. The rest name none, so read these figures as a large sample, not a census.

## How to read this

A post's industry comes from its title where that names a sector, otherwise from the buyer's stated industry. About 45% of posts can be placed. Figures come from public job posts from December 2025 to November 2026 and show what posts offered, not what was paid. Hourly posts are estimated from rate, length and workload. Industries need 30 priced posts to be ranked, and are left out of rankings when one account makes up over a quarter of posts. Counts under 5 are hidden. Momentum compares January to March with May to July, before collection widened, and is left out where one account is over 12% of posts.