Every architect you call will answer this question with “it depends” — and they are not being evasive. The number genuinely moves with your square footage, your jurisdiction, and how much of the job is drawing versus problem-solving. Here is how the pieces add up, so you can tell a fair number from a vague one.
Fixed quote or hourly — and when each is honest
A fixed quote is the right structure when the scope is knowable up front: a kitchen remodel, a detached ADU from a clean survey, a straightforward rear extension. The architect can see the whole job, price it, and carry the risk of their own estimate.
Hourly is the honest structure when the scope genuinely is not knowable — a change of use, a historic property, anything where the first month is discovery. Be wary of a fixed quote on an unknowable scope: it is either padded to cover the architect's risk, or it comes back later as a change order.
What actually moves the number
Five factors explain most of the spread between two quotes for what looks like the same project:
- ✓Square footage, and whether the drawings cover one storey or two
- ✓Structural scope — a new opening in a bearing wall costs far more to draw than a partition
- ✓Jurisdiction complexity, which decides how many review cycles to budget for
- ✓Whether usable as-built drawings exist, or the building must be measured first
- ✓Which consultants are folded into the fee: structural, Title-24 energy, survey, geotechnical
Honest benchmarks by project type
As a 2026 starting point, a permit-ready residential set typically begins around $2,400 for a focused kitchen or bath remodel, from $2,400 for a detached backyard ADU, from $4,500 for a garage conversion, from $11,000 for a home addition, and from $26,000 for a ground-up custom home. Commercial tenant improvements start around $8,000 and a restaurant build-out around $9,000. Treat every one of those as the floor of a range rather than a quote — the architect sets their own price once they have seen your site.
What the platform costs you
Nothing. You hire and pay your architect directly, at the rate the two of you agree — ArchitectHire takes no percentage of your project and never holds your money. Architects pay a flat subscription to be in the network, which is why the price you negotiate is the price you pay.
“The cheapest set of drawings is the one that clears plan check the first time. Everything else is a discount you pay back in revision cycles.”
— Devon P., AIA · Licensed CA
Ask for the fee structure in writing, ask what is excluded, and ask how many plan-check revision cycles are included. An architect who answers those three clearly is usually the one whose number holds.