Pricing

Guild Sprint Packages & Partnership Models

Transparent. Flexible. Mission-Driven.

The Guild

A craftsman-led community building real things together

🏛️

Skill-Wanderer is a non-profit edtech platform built on a guild model — a community of developers at every stage of their craft, learning by building real things together.

Every client engagement is led by the Guild Master: a senior solution architect with over a decade of experience across startups and enterprises. For each project, the Guild Master hand-picks artisans from the community — journeymen and apprentices whose skills match the engagement — and leads them through the work with direct oversight, mentorship, and quality assurance.

How the Guild Model Works

When you work with Skill-Wanderer, you are not hiring a traditional agency. You are engaging a craftsman-led guild.

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Guild Master

The principal architect who leads every engagement. Handles client communication, system design, code review, and strategic decisions. Your single point of accountability.

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Journeymen

Mid-level community members with proven skills, hand-picked for the engagement. They carry significant development responsibility and are growing toward mastery through real-world practice.

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Apprentices

Junior developers selected from the community for their commitment and potential. They contribute under close guidance from the Guild Master and learn their craft through the discipline of shipping real work.

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Guild members are compensated through a flexible arrangement that may include project-based payment, mentorship credit, or experience-based participation — depending on their level, the project, and their goals within the guild.

Why This Matters to You

🎯

Senior-Led Execution

Your project gets the strategic depth of a senior architect and the execution capacity of a motivated team — at a fraction of what traditional agencies charge.

🌱

Funding Free Education

Every sprint you commission directly funds free education. Revenue from client engagements sustains the Skill-Wanderer platform, keeping mentorship, learning resources, and community infrastructure free and accessible for developers around the world.

“

When you build with the guild, you are not just getting your product built. You are investing in the next generation of developers — and they are earning their craft by building yours.

Our Approach

Structured around two-week development sprints for clear expectations and steady progress

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Two-Week Sprints

Our pricing is structured around two-week development sprints. This approach provides clear expectations, regular progress, and flexibility as systems evolve.

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Iterative Collaboration

Rather than fixed project contracts, we focus on delivering value through iterative collaboration. You are not paying for hours — you are paying for a guild delivering progress.

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Flexible Capacity

Sprint pricing reflects the guild capacity assigned to your engagement. Lighter sprints may involve one artisan with the Guild Master's oversight. Larger sprints bring multiple guild members working in parallel under the same technical leadership.

Choosing Your Path

With multiple packages available, here is a simple guide to finding the right starting point

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Not sure where you fit? The detail across all packages can get confusing. Talk to Admiral Orion — our AI guide can help you figure out what's the right fit for your situation, or reach out directly and we'll help you find the right path.

Your SituationStart Here
I need a landing page or simple site, fast.Quick Build Lite or Standard ($300–$800)
I want to replace WordPress or a legacy tool with something custom.Quick Build Plus ($800–$1,500)
I have a defined feature or improvement to build.Trust Sprint or Starter Sprint ($800–$2,500)
I need ongoing development for my product.Builder or Partner Sprint ($2,500–$7,000)
I want the guild on standby for small work and advisory.Guild Access Retainer ($800–$1,500/mo)
I need steady monthly development without heavy commitment.Steady Retainer ($1,500–$3,000/mo)
I just need occasional content updates on my site.Content Care ($50–$100/mo)
I need bug fixes, server health, and technical maintenance.Maintenance Package ($400–$800/mo)
I need continuous development month after month.Growth or Scale Retainer ($3,000–$12,000/mo)
I want strategic guidance but prefer to build it myself.Mentorship Program (cash, code, or community)
I'm a startup and want a deeper tech partnership.Tech Partnership (conversation required)

Many partnerships evolve over time — starting with a Quick Build and growing into retainers as the relationship develops.

Quick Build

Small, focused engagements with a one-week turnaround — for ideas that need to ship fast

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Custom-Built, Not Template-Based

Every Quick Build is coded from scratch using modern frameworks and AI-assisted development. No WordPress, no page builders, no off-the-shelf templates. The result is a lightweight, fast, fully custom product that you own completely — no plugin dependencies, no theme lock-in, no bloat.

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Content Updates Without a CMS

We do not build content management systems into Quick Builds. Instead, the guild handles content updates for you on request. With AI-assisted tooling, updating text, images, or layouts takes minutes. This keeps your site fast, simple, and free of CMS overhead.

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AI-Assisted Speed

AI tooling allows the guild to build at speed without sacrificing quality. What used to take weeks of manual development can now be delivered in days — with the remaining time invested in review, refinement, and proper handover.

PackageWhat You GetPrice
Quick Build — LiteSingle custom landing page, basic contact form or CTA integration, mobile-responsive, deployed and handed over. Apprentice-built, Guild Master-reviewed. Delivered within 1 week.$300 – $500
Quick Build — StandardMulti-page custom site or workflow automation. Content updates handled by the guild on request — no CMS needed. Clean codebase with deployment guide. Journeyman-built, Guild Master-reviewed. Delivered within 1 week.$500 – $800
Quick Build — PlusCustom web app, API integration, automation pipeline, or replacing legacy platforms (WordPress, Moodle, etc.) with modern custom-built alternatives. Guild Master-led. Delivered within 1–2 weeks.$800 – $1,500

How It Works

Once the brief and requirements are confirmed, the guild builds your project using AI-assisted development. You will receive a completed version within one week (Lite and Standard) or one to two weeks (Plus) for your review. After your feedback, we handle revisions, QA, and final deployment with basic documentation.

The guild handles multiple engagements in parallel, so your delivery window is a turnaround guarantee — not a dedicated calendar block. This is how we keep pricing accessible while maintaining quality across every project.

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Payment is 50% upfront to begin work, 50% on delivery. Quick Build pricing covers design, development, and deployment. Hosting, domain registration, and any third-party service costs are the client's responsibility. The guild can recommend and help set up appropriate infrastructure, but these are billed separately or paid directly by the client to the provider.
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Included: 3 Months of Content Care — Every Quick Build comes with 3 months of Content Care included at no extra cost — up to 8 content update requests per month. After the included 3 months, you can continue on a Content Care plan ($50–$100/month), step up to Site Care ($150–$300/month), upgrade to a full Maintenance package, or manage updates independently.

Quick Builds are ideal for validating an idea, launching a presence, or replacing legacy systems with clean, modern alternatives. Many guild partnerships begin here before growing into full sprint engagements.

Sprint Packages

All sprints follow a two-week cycle. Scope and cost are finalized during sprint planning.

PackageScopeStarting From
Trust SprintGuild Master-led. Validate direction and begin development with 1 artisan under close oversight. 30% upfront / 70% after review.$800 – $1,500
Starter Sprint1 journeyman or apprentice + Guild Master review. Implement defined features or improve existing systems. 50/50 payment.$1,500 – $2,500
Builder Sprint1–2 guild artisans + Guild Master lead. Build core product features and expand platform capabilities. 50/50 payment.$2,500 – $4,000
Partner Sprint2–3 guild artisans + Guild Master lead. Ongoing collaboration, platform development, complex systems. 50/50 payment.$4,000 – $7,000

Retainer Packages

For partners who need ongoing development capacity without re-negotiating every cycle

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Guild Access

$800 – $1,500/month
  • The guild on standby — flexible monthly bucket
  • Small dev tasks, content updates, technical advisory
  • Ad-hoc requests
  • Up to 15 hours/month
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Steady Retainer

$1,500 – $3,000/month
  • 2 reduced-capacity sprints per month
  • Shorter cycles or lighter scope per sprint
  • Async communication & Guild Master oversight
  • Consistent development rhythm
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Growth Retainer

$3,000 – $5,500/month
  • 2 sprints/month with dedicated guild artisan(s)
  • Priority scheduling
  • Async communication channel
  • Monthly architecture review with Guild Master
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Scale Retainer

$6,500 – $12,000/month
  • 2 sprints/month at Partner-level capacity (2–3 artisans + Guild Master)
  • Weekly syncs
  • Strategic advisory
  • Roadmap planning
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Retainer commitments are month-to-month with a minimum initial period of two months. Payment is due at the start of each month. Steady, Growth, and Scale retainer rates reflect a commitment discount compared to booking equivalent sprints individually. Guild Access hours do not roll over between months.

Tech Partnership Model

For founders and teams seeking deeper collaboration than a client-vendor relationship

Tech Partnerships combine reduced cash sprint rates with one or more of the following arrangements:

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Equity / Revenue Share

A percentage of equity or revenue is allocated in exchange for reduced sprint pricing. The exact split is determined based on project stage, risk profile, and expected development scope.

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Long-Term Retainer

A commitment of 3–6 months or longer provides access to preferred rates. Longer commitments unlock deeper discounts, reflecting the stability and planning benefits for both sides.

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Advisory + Dev Hybrid

Development sprints are paired with strategic advisory responsibilities such as architecture reviews, technical due diligence, or investor-facing technical documentation. The advisory component offsets part of the cash rate.

Pricing Under Tech Partnership

Tech Partnership arrangements significantly reduce cash sprint rates in exchange for equity, revenue share, long-term commitment, or advisory involvement. A partial cash component is always required to sustain ongoing development.

The exact reduction depends on the combination of models applied, the stage of your product, and the scope of the collaboration. Specific terms are discussed during the partnership conversation and documented in a separate agreement.

Who This Is For

Tech Partnerships are selectively offered to founders and teams who share a long-term vision and are willing to invest in a genuine collaborative relationship. We evaluate each partnership on the basis of mission alignment, product viability, and mutual commitment.

This is not a discount program — it is an invitation to build together.

Maintenance & Advisory Packages

Not every engagement requires a full development sprint. Lighter-weight packages designed for continuity rather than feature delivery.

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Content Care

$50 – $100/month

Content-only updates handled by a guild apprentice. Text changes, image swaps, link updates, and minor copy edits. No development or design work included.

Up to 8 requests/month
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Site Care

$150 – $300/month

Everything in Content Care (8 content requests/month) plus up to 5 hours of light development: minor bug fixes, small UI tweaks, dependency updates, and basic uptime monitoring. Apprentice or journeyman-handled.

Content + 5 dev hours/month
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Maintenance

$400 – $800/month

Handled by a guild artisan. Small bug fixes, security patches, server health checks, dependency updates, content updates, and minor adjustments.

Up to 10 hours/month
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Advisory & Consultancy

$600 – $1,200/month

Direct access to the Guild Master. Technical strategy sessions, architecture reviews, code audits, technology selection guidance, and investor-facing technical documentation.

Up to 8 hours/month
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Maintenance + Advisory

$800 – $1,600/month

Combined: guild artisan for maintenance + Guild Master for advisory.

Up to 15 hours/month with priority response

What Counts as a Content Update?

Content Update (included)
  • Updating text or copy
  • Swapping an image for a new one in the same position
  • Changing a link URL
  • Updating a phone number or email address
  • Minor copy corrections
Development Work (not included)
  • Adding new pages or sections
  • Changing layout or visual design
  • Adding new functionality (forms, integrations, animations)
  • Restructuring navigation
  • Expanding the scope of the original build

Requests beyond the monthly cap are billed as additional requests, or the client can upgrade to a Maintenance package for broader coverage.

📋
Maintenance and advisory packages are billed monthly with a minimum commitment of one month. Hours do not roll over. For needs exceeding the included hours, additional time is billed at the agreed hourly rate or can be converted into a sprint engagement.

Knowledge Transfer Package

Help your team take ownership of a system, codebase, or architecture

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KT Essentials

$600 – $1,200
1–2 weeks
  • System walkthrough
  • Architecture documentation
  • Codebase orientation
  • Handover guide
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KT Complete

$1,200 – $2,500
Full program
  • Full knowledge transfer
  • Live pair-programming sessions
  • Deployment training
  • Troubleshooting workshops
  • 30-day post-handover Q&A support

Knowledge Transfer packages are especially relevant for early-stage startups onboarding their first in-house developers, or teams transitioning from an outsourced codebase to internal ownership.

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System Improvement Sprint

A sprint focused on improving system stability, performance, and maintainability. These improvements may not introduce visible features but ensure long-term reliability and scalability. Pricing follows the standard sprint packages above based on complexity.

Guild Incentives

Two pathways to better pricing — rooted in mutual benefit rather than arbitrary discounting

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Early Partner Program

The guild is young. Partners who commit early are taking a bet on us before we have a long track record — and that trust deserves to be recognized.

Early Partner Benefits

Founding Rate Lock

Partners who sign during the guild's early phase lock in their current sprint rate for an agreed period, even if prices are adjusted upward as the guild grows. This applies to sprint packages, retainers, and maintenance agreements.

Expanded Scope

Early partners may receive additional deliverables within their sprint packages at no extra cost — such as architecture documentation, deployment guides, or knowledge transfer sessions — as the guild invests in building strong reference partnerships.

Priority Scheduling

Early partners receive first priority when scheduling sprints and retainer cycles. As guild demand grows, this becomes increasingly valuable.

Direct Guild Master Access

While the guild is small, early partners benefit from a higher ratio of Guild Master involvement. As the guild scales and the Guild Master's time becomes more distributed, this level of direct access becomes a premium offering.

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The Early Partner Program is limited by design. Once the guild reaches a critical mass of active engagements, the program closes and these terms are no longer available to new partners. Existing early partners retain their benefits for the agreed duration.

How to Qualify

Commit to a minimum of two consecutive sprints or a retainer of two months or longer during the guild's early phase. The Early Partner designation is noted in your agreement and honored for the duration of the partnership.

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Guild Capacity Pricing

When the guild has available capacity between engagements, that idle time benefits no one. Guild Capacity Pricing makes these windows available at a reduced rate.

What It Is

When guild artisans have open capacity, we may offer sprint packages at a reduced rate. This keeps the guild active, gives artisans real-world practice, and offers partners access to quality development at a lower entry point.

When It's Available

Capacity pricing is not always available. It is offered when the guild has open slots between scheduled engagements. We may announce availability through our community channels or offer it directly to partners on a waiting list.

What's Different

The same quality and Guild Master oversight applies. The reduction reflects scheduling flexibility on the partner's side — capacity sprints may start on shorter notice and require adaptable timelines. Partners cannot choose specific artisans during capacity windows.

Who Benefits Most

Partners with flexible timelines, backlog items that don't have hard deadlines, or exploratory projects that benefit from opportunistic execution. Also ideal for first-time partners who want to try working with the guild at a lower commitment.

🔗
Guild Capacity Pricing can be combined with Regional Pricing adjustments for partners in eligible regions. It cannot be combined with Tech Partnership or Early Partner arrangements, as those include their own pricing structures. Reach out or join the waiting list to be notified when capacity windows open.
🌱

Startup Collaboration

For early-stage startups, we may explore hybrid collaboration models that combine development sprints with equity or revenue sharing. These arrangements are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and require a partial cash component to support ongoing development.

Regional & Purchasing Power Pricing

Geography should not be a barrier to working with quality development partners

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Our standard rates are denominated in USD and reflect the cost of delivering professional-grade development. However, we recognize that these rates carry different weight depending on where you operate.

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Emerging Market Adjustments

For clients and partners based in emerging markets — including Southeast Asia, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and parts of Eastern Europe — we offer purchasing power adjustments on sprint and retainer packages. The adjustment level is based on publicly available PPP data and assessed during onboarding based on your team's location and operating context.

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Case-by-Case Assessment

For countries with significant internal economic variation — such as China, Brazil, or India — the adjustment is assessed on a case-by-case basis, reflecting the actual conditions of your team rather than a blanket country-level rate.

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Eligibility

Regional pricing applies to teams and founders whose primary business operations are based in the eligible region. It is not available for companies headquartered in high-income countries outsourcing to lower-cost regions.

This adjustment can be combined with other partnership models for further flexibility. Reach out to discuss how regional pricing applies to your situation.

Payment & Trust Options

Flexible payment arrangements designed to give you confidence at every stage

🤝

By default, all payments are handled directly between you and Skill-Wanderer. Our sprint payment structures — with upfront/delivery splits — are designed to build trust incrementally, especially for first-time partners.

Prefer Extra Assurance?

If you would like additional security on your payments, we fully support working through established third-party platforms. These services provide independent payment protection, dispute resolution, and verified contract management — giving you peace of mind throughout the engagement.

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Escrow Service

Funds are held by a neutral third party and released only when agreed milestones are met. Ideal for sprint-based engagements where you want milestone-linked payment protection.

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Upwork Direct Contract

Engage through Upwork's Direct Contract feature with built-in payment protection, hourly tracking, and dispute resolution — without going through the open marketplace.

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Deel Contract

Use Deel for compliant international contracts with built-in invoicing, payment processing, and legal protection — especially useful for cross-border engagements.

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Third-party platforms charge their own service fees (typically a percentage of the contract value or a fixed transaction fee). If you choose to use one of these platforms, the associated platform fees will be added to the engagement cost. The guild does not mark up these fees — they are passed through at cost so you pay only what the platform charges. We are happy to help you evaluate which option fits your situation best.

Whether you pay directly, through escrow, or via a contract platform — the deliverables, timelines, and quality remain exactly the same. These options exist to meet you where you are most comfortable.

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Pricing Notes

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All prices listed on this page are subject to change. Pricing is reviewed periodically and may be adjusted based on market conditions, team capacity, operational costs, and the evolving scope of our services. Any changes will be communicated to existing partners in advance and will not affect active engagements or signed agreements.
  • Sprint pricing reflects development capacity and complexity. Exact scope and cost are determined during sprint planning.
  • Sprints are scheduled once the initial payment is confirmed.
  • Retainer, Tech Partnership, and Maintenance terms are documented in a separate agreement before work begins.
  • Regional pricing adjustments are verified during onboarding and reviewed annually.
  • Maintenance and advisory hours are non-transferable between months.
  • Third-party payment platform fees (Escrow, Upwork, Deel) are not included in listed prices and are added at cost if you choose to use them.
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Feeling overwhelmed by all the options? This page covers a lot of ground. If you'd rather have a conversation than read through every detail, ask Admiral Orion — our AI guide can walk you through the packages, help you compare options, and recommend the best fit based on your situation. Or simply reach out to us directly and we'll sort it out together.

Not Ready for a Paid Engagement?

As a non-profit edtech guild, our core mission is accessible education — not gatekeeping knowledge behind a price tag

If you are looking for advisory guidance, consultancy input, or technical direction but your situation is not urgent — or you prefer to learn and build it yourself — we encourage you to explore our mentorship program instead. You do not need to hire the guild to learn from it.

See our education philosophy: Learn. Contribute. Build. Earn. →

The Guild Mentorship Path

Our mentorship track provides structured guidance, architecture reviews, code feedback, and learning support through the Skill-Wanderer community. It is designed for individuals and small teams who want to grow their capabilities rather than outsource them.

Explore Learning Paths →
Three Paths to Mentorship
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Pay by Cash

A modest contribution that helps sustain the platform and covers the mentor's time. Rates are significantly lower than commercial consultancy — because the goal is learning, not billing.

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Help Build the Platform

Contribute development time to Skill-Wanderer itself — fixing bugs, building features, improving documentation, or creating learning content. Your contribution earns mentorship hours in return. This is how many of our guild artisans started.

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Help Build the Community

Support the guild network through mentoring others, organizing events, writing tutorials, translating content, or growing the community. Community contributions are valued as highly as code.

The Guild Cycle

This is where the model comes full circle. Today's mentorship learner becomes tomorrow's apprentice. An apprentice who ships real work becomes a journeyman. A journeyman who masters their craft becomes someone who mentors the next generation.

Client engagementsfund the guild
→
The guildtrains new developers
→
Trained developersjoin the guild
→
The guilddelivers client work

This is not charity. It is a self-sustaining cycle where every participant — client, artisan, and learner — contributes to and benefits from the ecosystem.

Ready to Build with the Guild?

If you're exploring a project or idea, we're happy to discuss how to approach it. For active development, our sprint and retainer packages provide a structured path forward. For guidance and learning, the guild mentorship path is always open.

Whether you pay with cash, code, or community — there is a seat at the guild table for you.

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