Pricing
What this actually costs
Almost nobody in this area publishes prices. That is annoying when you are just trying to work out whether something is a few hundred dollars or a few thousand, so here are real numbers.
Read this first
Every number on this page is a typical range, not a quote. Two houses the same size can differ by a factor of three depending on what is behind the walls. Your actual price comes from the free on-site estimate, in writing, before any work starts.
Always free
The estimate costs nothing
We come out, walk the place, measure what is actually happening, and give you a written price for the work. There is no charge for that and no obligation to go ahead with anything.
You will also get a plain explanation of what we found, which is yours to keep whether you hire us or not. If the honest answer is that you do not need us, that is what you will hear.
We never charge for
- The on-site estimate itself, including the walk-through and the written price
- Telling you when an off-the-shelf product would serve you better than anything we could build
- Explaining what we found, whether or not you go ahead with the work
- Travel anywhere inside our DMV service area
- Documentation and handover at the end of a job. That is part of the work, not an add-on
Labor
Hourly rates
Most work is quoted as a fixed project price rather than by the hour, because you should know the number before we start. These apply to diagnostic work, small jobs and ongoing support.
Remote support and configuration
Anything we can do without being in the building. Often the fastest way to fix a configuration problem.
Typical range, not a quote. Your price comes from the free estimate.
On-site network engineering
Diagnostic work, installation and cabling at your property. Most jobs are quoted as a fixed project price instead.
Typical range, not a quote. Your price comes from the free estimate.
Ongoing network monitoring
Per site. We watch the network itself and alert on problems. This is not full IT support for every laptop in the building.
Typical range, not a quote. Your price comes from the free estimate.
By service
Typical project ranges
What most jobs in each category come to. Click through for what is included and what pushes a job to one end of the range.
Connectivity that works
| Service | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| WiFi & Coverage | $450 to $1,200 | Driven mostly by square footage, construction (plaster and brick cost more than drywall), and whether we can run cable to the access points. |
| Backup Internet | $600 to $2,000 | Depends on whether both lines already reach the building and whether you want simple switchover or both lines combined. Excludes what the second provider charges monthly. |
| Connect Buildings | $700 to $2,500 | Distance, mounting difficulty and whether the two points can actually see each other. Private cellular across a large property sits well above this range. |
| Internet Anywhere | From $900 | Priced per deployment by site size, duration and whether you need someone on site for the whole event. Multi-day and seasonal rates available. |
| Satellite Internet | $400 to $1,050 | Roof access and pitch, how tall a mast has to be to clear the tree line, cable run length, and grounding. Note that the satellite company itself offers a cheap basic install, and for a single storey with clear southern sky that is the right answer. This range is for the jobs it does not cover: a full obstruction survey, a mast, a sealed entry through finished wall, proper grounding, and integration into the rest of the network. |
| Signal Survey | $250 to $600 | Building size and how many floors have to be walked, plus whether we come back for a second set of measurements after changes are made. |
| Cell Coverage | $650 to $2,200 | Includes the equipment. Floor area, how many indoor antennas it takes to cover it, and how weak the outside signal is. Weaker outside means more equipment, so a rural property costs more than a basement in town. |
Smart home and cameras
| Service | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Cameras & Recording | $150 to $300 per camera | Per camera installed, and the camera itself is included. The recorder is a separate one-off cost, sized to how many cameras and how much history you want to keep. |
| Private Smart Home | $600 to $2,000 | Device count and how much needs replacing. Local voice control with AI is an add-on, typically $800 to $2,500 depending on the hardware it needs. |
| Automation | $500 to $2,500 | How many systems are being connected and how cooperative they are. Equipment with a documented interface is much quicker than equipment without. |
Secure and always on
| Service | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Network Design | $1,050 to $2,100 | Building size and device count, and whether existing cabling can be reused. Often combined with WiFi coverage work, which brings the total down against booking the two separately. |
| Network Security | $400 to $1,500 | Device count and how much has accumulated over the years. Ongoing monitoring is priced separately per month. |
| Remote Access | $300 to $900 | Number of sites and users. A single-site setup for one household sits at the bottom of the range. |
| Power Backup | $250 to $1,200 | How much gear needs protecting and how long it must run. A single rack or cabinet sits at the low end. |
The business side
| Service | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Custom Software | From $1,500 | Scope varies enormously. A single dashboard built on numbers you already collect sits near the bottom, a small internal system with several users and data brought over from the old one well above it. Priced per project after we understand what you need. |
Where nothing exists yet
| Service | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Remote Site Infrastructure | Quoted per project | Scope varies too much to publish a useful range. Ask and we will tell you. |
Typical range, not a quote. Your price comes from the free estimate.
Variables
What moves a price up or down
Roughly in the order it matters. This is also why an estimate has to happen on site rather than over the phone.
Can we run cable
The single biggest variable. An accessible basement or attic is quick. Finished walls, plaster, masonry or a slab foundation can double the labor on the same job.
Size and construction
Square footage matters less than what the walls are made of. Old plaster with wire mesh behind it blocks signal far more than modern drywall, and needs more access points.
How much is being reused
Decent equipment you already own gets kept, and we will say so. Equipment that is holding you back gets replaced, and we will explain why before you spend anything.
How many devices
A house with fifteen connected things is a different job from one with sixty. Cameras and anything needing power over the cable add the most.
Urgency
Standard scheduling is the price you see. Same-week and weekend work can be arranged and is priced accordingly.
Context
How that compares locally
Published rates for this kind of work around the DC metro area, so you can judge our numbers against something other than our own word.
| Work | Published market rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Home network and router work, Fairfax VA | $635 average, $300 to $831 typical | HomeAdvisor, 2026 |
| IT engineering labor, DC metro | $125 to $175 per hour | Optimal Networks, DC MD VA rate survey |
| Managed IT for small business, DMV | $125 to $275 per user per month, with $1,000 to $2,500 monthly minimums | DCI Tech 2026 pricing guide |
| Security camera installation | $125 to $450 per camera installed | HomeGuide, 2026 |
| Satellite internet dish installation, Northern Virginia | $600 to $900 for a basic roof mount, $900 to $1,500 for a complex roof | StarlinkDMV, Northern Virginia installer pricing |
| Satellite dish installation, labor and basic supplies | $690 to $1,096 per dish | Homewyse, May 2026 |
| Home cell signal booster, equipment and professional installation | $1,499.99 for a home up to 7,500 square feet, against $999.99 for the equipment on its own | Wilson Amplifiers, 2026 |
| Small business website, Northern Virginia | $3,000 to $7,500 for most small businesses | Samantha Digital, Northern Virginia pricing guide, 2025 |
| Small business website, Washington DC | $5,000 to $10,000 for a one to five page site, $10,000 to $25,000 for five to ten pages | Mojo Agency, DC web design guide, 2026 |
| Local search work, one-time project | $500 to $5,000 | WebFX, 2026 |
| Home WiFi installation, per access point | $265 to $644 per access point | Homewyse, May 2026 |
| Home network work, homeowner market | $250 to $1,125 for a professional WiFi setup, $690 average, contractors at $50 to $100 per hour | HomeAdvisor, 2026 |
| Project labor for network work, Northern Virginia | $125 to $250 per hour, $150 to $350 after hours | District Connects, 2026 |
| Small business network, labor and configuration | $1,500 to $3,000, with network design alone at $500 to $5,000 | The Network Installers, 2026 |
| Battery backup installation | $470 to $1,000 for a basic system installed, labor averaging $600 | LatestCost, 2026 |
| Monitoring a network device, per month | $30 to $75 for a firewall, $49 to $99 for a switch | Captain IT, May 2026 |
We are a small practice without the overhead of a larger firm, and we price accordingly. That is the whole explanation. The work is done by an engineer with twelve years behind him, not by a subcontractor dispatched from a call center.
Get your actual number
Free on-site estimate anywhere in DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland.