Engineering Capacity
This page explains what Exalynt sells and what it costs. The source of truth for prices and terms is exalynt.com.
If this page and the website disagree, the website wins, and this page should be updated.
The short version
Exalynt sells Engineering Capacity in fixed-price blocks. A block is a bounded amount of Exalynt's attention and expertise. We apply it to the most valuable work we can do for the client, usually over one Iteration of about one week, and occasionally two. At the end of the iteration we show the client what we did and what we learned. The client then decides whether to buy another block.
That is the whole arrangement:
- No hourly billing, timesheets, or hour balances. The client pays for the block, not for the time it took.
- No fixed-scope contract, retainer, or minimum number of blocks. Each block is the entire commitment.
- We never exceed the purchased capacity without the client's agreement. The client keeps everything built along the way.
- Ownership. The client owns the custom software and receives the source code. Exalynt keeps its pre-existing, Reusable IP: the libraries, tooling, and frameworks we bring to every engagement.
We earn the next block by making the current one worthwhile.
Blocks
Current client prices for one block. Engineer payouts are calculated separately and don't depend on these prices (see Engineer compensation).
| Block | Exalynt Managed | Self Managed | Reference range | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flex | $500 | $750 | ~1–5 hours | Discovery, feasibility, technical investigation, architecture guidance, reviews, and small focused changes. |
| Core | $2,750 | $3,500 | ~10–20 hours | The standard block. Covers feature development, integrations, automation, and ongoing iterative development. |
| Dedicated | $6,500 | $8,000 | ~30–40 hours | Larger iterations, significant features, major integrations, and several related improvements at once. |
A client's first, standalone Flex engagement is $750, because there is no project to manage yet. Once Exalynt manages an active project for that client, Flex drops to the preferred $500 rate.
All three blocks provide the same engineering capabilities. The only difference is how much capacity we allocate. Discovery can happen inside Dedicated, and a small feature can be built with Flex. Dedicated is a larger allocation of Exalynt capacity. It does not assign an engineer exclusively to one client.
The hour ranges communicate relative scale. They are a Reference range, not hours purchased, guaranteed, or tracked, and clients never see a timesheet.
Exalynt Managed vs. Self Managed
This choice is separate from block size. It only decides who operates production once the software is live.
| Exalynt Managed | Self Managed | |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity pricing | Preferred (lower) rates | Standard rates |
| Monthly fee | $199/month, flat, starting once in production | None |
| Infrastructure | Billed to the client at cost | The client arranges and pays for it directly |
| Who operates production | Exalynt handles sizing, deployments, monitoring, backups, patching, certificates, scaling, and incidents | The client's team |
| Leaving | Anytime, with no minimum term, exit fee, or buyout. A standard handoff is included | N/A |
Why Managed gets preferred capacity pricing: when we build toward and operate a production environment on our own standardized stack, less of each block goes into the seams between our work and someone else's hosting. We pass part of that efficiency back to the client.
What the $199 does not cover: new features. Changing what the software does is always engineering work, bought in blocks. Management keeps the software running, and Engineering Capacity changes what it does.
To compare the two plans for a given month of work, use the calculator in Working with Exalynt.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Managed fee pay for bug fixes and new features?
No. It covers operating production: deployments, monitoring, backups, patching, scaling, and incident response. Changing what the software does uses Engineering Capacity. This is one reason quality matters.
Why would a client choose Managed if it adds a monthly fee?
Infrastructure costs the same either way. Managed replaces the client's own operations work, and it lowers their capacity price per block. For a client buying capacity regularly, the preferred prices can offset much or all of the fee. The plan calculator shows where that happens for a given month.
Does the client pay more if we hit an unexpected problem?
No. Exalynt carries the variance inside a block. See Sharing risk.