Simple matters should remain simple.
You should not pay Aperture to reproduce work that capable AI can already perform adequately on its own.
Pricing
Professional evidence work, priced to the question and evidence burden.
Price the work, not the word count. Start with the smallest responsible scope.
VALUE, NOT ARTIFICIAL LABOUR
Pay for the evidence work the decision requires.
Aperture does not price work on the assumption that every research task must be performed manually. We use appropriate technology to reduce routine research effort and concentrate human work where judgment, verification, source evaluation, contradiction testing and accountability add material value.
Deeper work must earn its cost.
Consider Aperture when the remaining evidence problem matters enough to justify independent scrutiny, deeper verification or adversarial testing.
Credits are an optional payment method, not a different price.
Where eligible work is quoted at US$700, it can be funded by 700 Aperture Credits. The underlying scope and price remain the same. You do not need to buy credits before asking us to price your work.
Read about Aperture CreditsExternal Evidence Desk
Recurring external evidence capacity for organisations with repeated high-value questions.
Core
US$5,000/month
Plus
US$10,000/month
Embedded
US$20,000+/month
Indicative bands only. Final scope and capacity are controlled by the written proposal. Large or unusual investigations may be separately quoted.
See what the External Evidence Desk includes →How commercial structure changes price
Matter fee, monitoring, retained capacity and usage rights are different things.
One defined matter
Price follows the evidence burden, entity count, jurisdictions, urgency and intended reliance.
Recurring relationship
WATCH, DESK and External Evidence Desk arrangements reserve recurring capacity under an agreed scope rather than promising unlimited work.
Professional or expanded use
White-label delivery, publication, resale, commercial redistribution, attribution changes or exclusive use are agreed separately where required.
RESEARCH
Find the answer.
From US$295
Focused Research Note through Enhanced Research, typically US$295-US$5,000+.
See RESEARCH detailsREVIEW
Test the answer you already have.
From US$495
Quick Review through Deep Review, typically US$495-US$4,000+ before APERTURE routing becomes appropriate.
See REVIEW detailsWATCH
Know when the answer changes.
From US$750/month
Essential, Active and Strategic monitoring, with a separate baseline where required.
See WATCH detailsDESK
Add research capacity without adding headcount.
From US$2,000/month
Core, Plus and Embedded retained research capacity. No unlimited-work promise.
See DESK detailsAPERTURE
Know what you can responsibly rely on.
From US$650
Quick Evidence Check through complex multistage matters, depending on evidence burden.
See APERTURE detailsPayment and scope
Up to US$2,500
Normally payable in advance.
US$2,501-US$7,500
Normally 50% on acceptance and 50% before final delivery.
Larger projects
Milestone billing. WATCH and DESK are normally billed monthly in advance.
Rush work may attract a 25%-50% premium where real scheduling compression is required. Third-party specialist, registry, database, translation or similar costs are separate unless expressly included. Scope expansion requires written adjustment.
Specialist routes
Defined acquisition and counsel research have their own scoped starting points.
Acquisition Research
Search Sprints from US$1,500, buyer-landscape work from US$1,500, and Target Verification Briefs from US$2,500 per target.
See acquisition research feesCounsel Research Assurance
Source Checks from US$650, Research Reliance Checks from US$1,250 and defined Counsel Watch mandates from US$1,500/month.
See Counsel starting pointsFormal proposal controls
Published ranges are orientation. Scope, exclusions, timing, evidence burden and the agreed written proposal control the engagement.
Discuss a matterFiduciary & Distressed-Matter Evidence
Defined fixed-fee matters, phased investigations, expedited assignments, monitoring and recurring evidence-desk arrangements. Every matter receives a defined evidence boundary, deliverable and fee before work begins.
See the specialist capabilityYou are not buying pages.
A short review may require substantial verification. A long file may be straightforward. Technology efficiency does not lower the evidential standard.
Discuss a MatterVOLUME COMMERCIAL MODELS
Repeat work can use a different pricing basis from a one-off matter.
Aperture does not force every recurring workflow into affiliate economics or a generic retainer. The commercial structure follows the actual evidence unit, expected frequency, delivery effort and capacity requirement.
Per matter / per entity / per unit
For bounded recurring work where the evidence unit can be defined responsibly.
Batch or volume tier
For agreed groups of similar evidence units where scale creates real delivery efficiencies.
Overflow capacity
For work a team cannot efficiently absorb internally but does not need permanently staffed.
Evidence Desk / portfolio support
For recurring qualified evidence requests across a team, client base or portfolio.
Pricing is scoped before work starts. Volume does not remove acceptance, evidence or professional-boundary controls, and no discount is promised where the economics or evidence burden do not justify it.