UX Audit Cost: Price Tables Say $8,000, Most Firms Start Lower
What UX audit pricing tables claim, what listed firms state as their floor, and the deliverables to demand.
A UX audit cost runs from about $1,000 for a single-designer heuristic review to $75,000 or more for an enterprise engagement, going by the agency price tables that rank for the question. The supply sits low on that scale. As of October 2026, 60% of the 3,038 firms listed on Edverise for UX audit and heuristic evaluation state a minimum project of $1,000 or no minimum at all. What you pay should follow from the deliverable you specify, not from the tier a seller publishes.
Updated November 2026.
The common mistake is reading one agency's tiers as the market rate. The ranking pages disagree with each other by a factor of ten at the entry level, and the listing data sides with the cheaper end.
What the ranking pages say a UX audit costs, and where they disagree
Four agency pages hold the top of the results for this query. Three were readable when they were checked on 4 November 2026. The fourth, a 2025 post from WebMobTech, served a title and navigation with no pricing in the body, so it is left out here.
ArtVersion opens with the claim that a full audit typically ranges from $10,000 to over $75,000. Its tiers are $10,000 to $15,000 for a focused strategic audit, $20,000 to $35,000 for a broader one and $40,000 to $75,000+ for enterprise or multi-system work. Its own closing section then says broader engagements extend to $50,000 or more, which does not match the tier table above it. The focused tier is described as 50 hours of work, so the price implies $200 to $300 an hour, a rate the page never states.
Orbix Studio, updated 31 October 2026, starts far lower. A heuristic review of 15 to 25 screens against Nielsen's heuristics is $1,000 to $3,000 over 1 to 2 weeks, a flow audit $3,000 to $8,000, a full-scope audit with user testing $8,000 to $25,000, and enterprise work $25,000 to $75,000+. Design Studio UI/UX puts a focused flow audit at $3,000 to $6,000 and a full product audit at $8,000 to $18,000.
| Page | Cheapest tier | Middle tier | Top tier | Where the figures come from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArtVersion | $10,000 to $15,000 | $20,000 to $35,000 | $40,000 to $75,000+ | Its own engagements; no data cited |
| Orbix Studio | $1,000 to $3,000 | $3,000 to $8,000, then $8,000 to $25,000 | $25,000 to $75,000+ | Its own pricing; no data cited for the bands |
| Design Studio UI/UX | $3,000 to $6,000 | $8,000 to $18,000 | $18,000 to $25,000+ | Its own pricing; no data cited |
Each of these is a price list for one firm's services. That is useful, and it is not the same thing as a market. ArtVersion's cheapest audit begins above the point where Orbix's full-scope audit with user testing begins, and neither page counts how many firms actually work at either price.
What 3,038 listed UX audit firms say they will start at
As of October 2026, Edverise lists 3,038 firms under UX audit and heuristic evaluation, and every one of those listings falls into one of nine stated minimum-project bands. That makes the category small enough to count in full rather than estimate.
| Stated minimum | Listings | Share of the category |
|---|---|---|
| No minimum ($0) | 497 | 16.4% |
| $1,000 | 1,325 | 43.6% |
| $5,000 | 632 | 20.8% |
| $10,000 | 378 | 12.4% |
| $25,000 | 116 | 3.8% |
| $50,000 | 62 | 2% |
| $75,000 and above | 28 | 0.9% |
Add the bottom two bands and 1,822 listings, 60.0% of the category, will take a project at $1,000 or with no floor. Add the $5,000 band and 2,454 listings, 80.8%, state a minimum of $5,000 or less. Only 584, or 19.2%, ask for $10,000 or more, and just 206, or 6.8%, start at $25,000, which is where Orbix's enterprise tier opens.
The audit category is also unusual inside the catalogue. In a typical Edverise category the median share of firms stating no minimum is 57.4%. Here it is 16.4%, while the $1,000 band holds 43.6% against a catalogue median of 33.4%. Audit firms mostly do set a floor, and they set it low. The wider distribution of agency minimum project sizes explains how to read these bands across services.
Read a stated minimum as a floor, not a quote. A firm that accepts $1,000 projects may still price your scope at several times that. What the floor does tell you is that a heuristic review in the low thousands is a normal engagement for most of this supply rather than a bargain-bin exception.
The supply is also spread out. London is the largest city cluster with 80 listings, 2.6% of the category, and the eight largest cities together hold only 11.8%. Among industries served, ecommerce (979 listings) and information technology (803) are two of the three best covered, which matters if you run a SaaS product or an online store.
What moves the price from $1,000 to $15,000
The distance between tiers is mostly what gets added to the inspection itself. Every component below appears in at least one ranking page's tier description, and each one is something you can ask for, or decline, by name.
| Component | What it adds | Where the pages price it |
|---|---|---|
| Heuristic review | One designer checks 15 to 25 screens against Nielsen's 10 heuristics | Orbix: $1,000 to $3,000 |
| Severity-rated flow review | Two to four flows, annotated screenshots, P0/P1/P2 ratings, a fix sequence | Orbix: $3,000 to $8,000 |
| Session recordings and analytics | 10 to 20 recordings in a focused audit, 20 to 40 with drop-off maps in a full one | Design Studio: inside its $3,000 to $6,000 and $8,000 to $18,000 tiers |
| Moderated usability testing | Five to eight participants attempting tasks | Design Studio: adds $2,000 to $6,000 |
| Accessibility review | Checks against WCAG 2.2 and a remediation list | Orbix: $1,000 to $3,500 as a standalone |
| Benchmarking and workshops | Three to five competitors, stakeholder interviews, an executive roadmap | Enterprise tiers on all three pages |
The cost driver the tables rarely name is the number of people doing the inspection. Nielsen Norman Group recommends that three to five people evaluate the same interface independently, because any single evaluator, however experienced, is likely to miss some issues. A $1,000 review is almost always one person. That is fine for a sanity check on a single flow and thin for an activation problem spread across onboarding, billing and settings. Ask how many evaluators will work, and whether they work separately before comparing notes.
UX audit vs usability testing cost
A UX audit is an expert inspection, while usability testing watches real participants try to complete tasks. Nielsen Norman Group describes the simplest test as about three days of work, one each to plan, test five users and analyze, with participant incentives often the main expense at a few hundred dollars. Its 2000 argument for five users says a first study of five has found 85% of the problems, then calls for a redesign and another round rather than a larger first study.
The firms are not a pricier breed, either. Edverise lists about 20,300 firms for UX research and usability testing, and 20.9% of them state a minimum of $10,000 or more, against 19.2% for audit firms. The gap between an audit and an audit with testing is scope, not a different class of supplier.
The deliverable checklist that holds a $3,000 audit to a $15,000 standard
A cheap audit that produces a slide of opinions is expensive. A cheap audit that produces the items below is a bargain. Put this list in your brief and every quote you receive has to answer the same eight points.
- A scope line. Named flows and a screen count, written as a sentence you could check: "signup through first project created, 18 screens, desktop and mobile web."
- The method, stated. Which heuristic set, usually Nielsen's 10, which the Nielsen Norman Group page calls "broad rules of thumb and not specific usability guidelines". Plus how many evaluators and whether they worked independently.
- One row per finding. A screenshot, where it occurs, the heuristic or criterion it breaks, what the user experiences and a specific recommendation.
- Severity on a published scale. Nielsen's 0 to 4 severity scale runs from "cosmetic problem only" to "usability catastrophe" and rates frequency, impact and persistence. An unrated list cannot be prioritized.
- Evidence where you supply data. If you grant analytics and session recording access, each major finding should point to a funnel step or recording. Without that access, the severity is the evaluator's judgment, which is acceptable as long as it is labeled that way.
- Accessibility, in or out. Either named checks against WCAG 2.2 at level AA, such as 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) and 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum), or a written line saying accessibility was not covered.
- A fix sequence. Findings grouped by effort and impact, so your team knows what ships this sprint and what waits for the redesign.
- Files you own. The raw findings as a spreadsheet, not only a PDF, plus a walk-through call with the people who will make the fixes.
Hold every bidder to the same eight points and the price differences become explainable: one firm is quoting three evaluators and recordings, another one person and screenshots. The same discipline applies when comparing software development quotes that are far apart.
When the $15,000 audit is worth paying for
The case for the expensive tier is real. A product with several user roles, a regulated workflow or a board waiting for a redesign decision needs more than one person's inspection. Multiple independent evaluators, moderated sessions with real users and a stakeholder readout are what turn findings into a decision other people will accept. Orbix prices fintech audits at $8,000 to $25,000 and healthcare audits at $10,000 to $35,000 for that reason: compliance review sits on top of the usability work.
The cheaper tier wins when you can name the flow that stalled. If activation dropped at one step, a severity-rated review of that flow plus your own analytics usually tells you more per dollar than a broad engagement. Skip the full-scope audit if you cannot yet say which funnel step is underperforming; spend first on instrumenting it. And if the need is experiments rather than findings, a conversion rate optimization firm is the better hire, since CRO turns up often alongside audit work in a sample of these listings.
Freelancer vs agency UX audit
Orbix lists mid-level freelancers at $60 to $100 an hour for audits of $1,500 to $4,000, and mid-sized agencies at $150 to $300 an hour for $15,000 to $40,000. The hourly difference is roughly two to three times; the project difference is closer to ten, because the agency scope includes testing, benchmarking and more people. A senior freelancer working from the checklist above is the efficient choice for one or two flows. An agency earns its fee when the audit has to cover several products or needs research sessions.
UX audit before a website redesign
An audit is cheapest as the step that sets the redesign's scope. Design Studio UI/UX prices structural redesign at $15,000 to $50,000+, so a $3,000 to $6,000 flow audit that rules half of that work out pays for itself. If the audit also flags accessibility gaps, a specialist in accessibility (WCAG) compliance design can fold the fixes into the new design rather than retrofitting them later.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a UX audit cost?
A UX audit costs about $1,000 to $3,000 for a heuristic review of one flow, $3,000 to $8,000 for a severity-rated multi-flow audit, and $8,000 to $25,000 once moderated user testing is added, by Orbix Studio's published tiers. As of October 2026, 60% of firms listed on Edverise for UX audits state a minimum of $1,000 or none.
What should a UX audit include?
A UX audit should include a stated scope of flows and screens, the heuristic set used, the number of evaluators, one row per finding with a screenshot and recommendation, a severity rating on a published scale, a fix sequence, and a clear line on whether accessibility was checked. Ask for the findings as a spreadsheet you keep, not only a slide deck.
How long does a UX audit take?
A UX audit takes about 1 to 2 weeks for a heuristic review, 2 to 3 weeks for a flow audit and 4 to 6 weeks for a full-scope audit with user testing, according to Orbix Studio's tiers. Enterprise audits covering several products run longer. The schedule mostly depends on how quickly you grant analytics access and recruit participants.
Is a UX audit worth it before a redesign?
A UX audit is usually worth it before a redesign because it decides what the redesign must fix and what it can leave alone. Design Studio UI/UX prices structural redesign at $15,000 to $50,000+, so a focused audit costing a fraction of that, which narrows the scope, normally pays back. It is less useful if the redesign is already fixed by a rebrand.
What is the difference between a UX audit and usability testing?
The difference is who finds the problems. In a UX audit, experts inspect the interface against heuristics and standards. In usability testing, real participants attempt tasks while a researcher watches. Nielsen Norman Group describes the simplest test as about three days of work with five users. Many buyers combine both, using the audit to decide what to test.
Should I hire a freelancer or an agency for a UX audit?
Hire a freelancer for a UX audit of one or two clearly named flows, and an agency when you need several evaluators, user testing or multiple products covered. Orbix Studio lists mid-level freelancers at $1,500 to $4,000 per audit and mid-sized agencies at $15,000 to $40,000. Hold both to the same written deliverable list.
Write the deliverable first, then filter by minimum
Send the eight-point checklist with your brief and you can treat the price tiers as one data point among many. The UX audit and heuristic evaluation firms listed on Edverise can be filtered by stated minimum project size, so a $3,000 budget goes to firms that state a floor at or below it. Edverise publishes how rankings work, and sponsored placements are labeled separately from merit order.