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Day-rate barometer for French-speaking AI providers (2026)

A French-speaking AI provider charges between €300 and €700 excl. VAT per day depending on the seniority of their career: this is the market grid we publish below, and the benchmark to hold a quote up against. The Claude Partners directory publishes 399 profiles of French-speaking AI providers. The figures on this page cover the 150 profiles collected up to 1 September 2026, of which 130 in France and 20 in the 4 other French-speaking countries covered. We do not attribute a rate to anyone: a profile only shows one if the person concerned gave it to us.

At a glance

Market grid
€300 to €700 excl. VAT/day
Experienced profile
€500 excl. VAT/day
Profiles collected as of 1 September 2026
150 providers
Median AI experience
2.7 years of AI engagements

The only rates shown in the directory

Rates given by the people concerned on profiles they have validated. The 185 other profiles in the directory show no amount: these people have not given us their price, and we no longer estimate it on their behalf. The rest of the page is a market grid, not their rates.

As of 1 September 2026, the most represented profile in the directory is the experienced profile: 70 profiles out of the 149 whose career has been reviewed, which corresponds to the €500 excl. VAT/day level of the grid. For a well-defined ten-day engagement at the middle level (€500 excl. VAT/day), the budget is around €5,000 excl. VAT — an order of magnitude to frame the project, never a quote. This barometer is free, dated and citable — the method is explained at the bottom of the page. To go from a day rate to the budget of a whole project, the cost simulator asks four questions and shows its calculation.

A freelance consultant prices an engagement in her notebook, next to her laptop, in a bright office with terracotta walls
A day rate cannot be read on its own: it is an order of magnitude to hold up against the real scope of the engagement.

What day rate for a junior, experienced or senior AI provider?

A French-speaking AI provider charges €300 excl. VAT per day at junior level, €500 at experienced level and €700 at senior level — the Claude Partners market grid, published as of 1 September 2026. A senior therefore charges €400 more per day than a junior, or 2.3 times their rate.

These three levels are based on the seniority observed across the whole career — not on years in AI alone. The distinction matters: in this market, most experts come from another profession, and the rate gap comes from the whole career, not from experience with generative AI.

The “profiles in the directory” column shows how many profiles fall within each seniority level, as of 1 September 2026. It is not their rate: it is the make-up of the directory set against the grid.

Three professionals with different levels of experience look over documents together on a light wooden table
Three levels, one grid: junior, experienced, senior.
SeniorityMarket day rateDirectory profiles as of 1 September 2026Share of the 149 classified profiles
Junior profile €300 excl. VAT per day 12 profiles 8% of the 149 classified profiles
Experienced profile €500 excl. VAT per day 70 profiles 47% of the 149 classified profiles
Senior profile €700 excl. VAT per day 67 profiles 45% of the 149 classified profiles

The table classifies 149 of the 150 profiles collected: 1 profile has no established seniority and does not appear in it. This explains the gap between 150 and 149 on this page. Median experience on AI engagements: 2.7 years, across the 133 profiles that provide this information (AI experience is read separately from career seniority).

Who are these providers: freelancers, agencies or IT services firms?

Of the 150 profiles collected as of 1 September 2026, there are 150 freelancers. So you are talking to the person who delivers, with no company overhead added to the rate. They are listed on the AI freelancers page; if your project relies on the Anthropic ecosystem, the Claude expert page sets out what to check before signing.

Frequently asked questions about AI day rates

How much does an AI provider cost in 2026?

Between €300 and €700 excl. VAT per day depending on the seniority of the career, with €500 for an experienced profile. A well-defined ten-day engagement at this middle level is therefore around €5,000 excl. VAT. This is our market grid, not the rate of any particular person: we only show the price of a provider in the directory if they gave it to us themselves.

What day rate for a junior, experienced or senior AI freelancer?

The grid has three levels: €300 excl. VAT/day for a junior profile, €500 excl. VAT/day for an experienced profile and €700 excl. VAT/day for a senior profile. The level is set by the seniority observed across the whole public career history, not by the years spent on AI topics alone.

Why do the directory profiles not show a rate?

Because these people have not given us their price, and we have stopped estimating it on their behalf. Until 4 September 2026, each profile carried an amount derived from the seniority of their career: it was a scale for comparison, but it was displayed as a rate in the name of someone who had never announced it. It has been removed from the entire site. That leaves 214 profiles, validated by their holders, whose rate is given by the person themselves. For the 185 others, ask for the price directly; the grid above gives the order of magnitude, and an actual amount is negotiated privately.

What makes a day rate vary beyond seniority?

Four factors come up: how rare the expertise is — a subject few people can deliver costs more —, the way of working (short audit, long-term staffing, fixed price for a result), the size of the client and the level of commitment required (best-efforts or results obligation, on-call duty, skills transfer). At equal seniority, the gap between two engagements can exceed the gap between two levels of the grid.

Is this barometer representative of the French AI market?

No, and it does not claim to be. It is neither a self-reported survey nor a representative sample: it is a dated snapshot of a directory built profile by profile, which is growing, and whose figures are recalculated with each release. It is worth what it is — a transparent basis for comparison, whose method and scope are public.

Can I cite these figures?

Yes, free of charge. Credit “Claude Partners Barometer, 2026” and link to this page. One thing to watch: the figures are recalculated with each collection, so check them here before publishing rather than in a document written in the preceding days.

How are these figures established?

The amounts on this page are a market grid set by the platform, in three levels — €300, €500 and €700 excl. VAT per day — based on the seniority observed across a whole public career history, not only on years in AI. It is not the rate of any particular person.

We only attribute an amount to a person if they gave it to us themselves, on a profile they have validated. Until 4 September 2026, each profile carried an estimate calculated from its seniority: it has been removed, along with all the medians that followed from it. An actual amount is negotiated privately and varies with how rare the expertise is, the way of working and the size of the client.

Blank cards lined up on a light wooden desk, annotated one by one in pencil
Each profile is put together by hand, from public information.

The scope is the 150 profiles collected up to 1 September 2026, out of the 399 published in the directory: French-speaking providers identified and documented one by one from public information (career, achievements, references). It is neither a self-reported survey nor a representative sample of the whole market — it is a dated snapshot of a growing directory, recalculated with each release. The rules for building profiles are published on the transparency page.

Can I reuse these figures?

Citation is welcome with the credit “Claude Partners Barometer, 2026” and a link to this page. As the figures change with each collection, check them here before publishing. Beyond a short citation — reproducing the dataset, republishing the figures as a series, including them in another barometer or a tool — write first to contact@claudepartners.fr: these uses require prior agreement.

Is one of the directory profiles about you? It shows no rate until you have given us one; if you have given one and want it removed, write to contact@claudepartners.fr and it disappears. You can also correct, claim or have your profile removed from the directory.

Need a provider rather than figures?

Describe your project: we identify the relevant profiles in the directory and contact them for you. As these providers are not registered on Claude Partners, their reply is not guaranteed; ours reaches you within 48 working hours in all cases. Free for the company, and with no commitment — the details are on the pricing page.

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