How to Choose an AI Development Company in the UK in 2025?

List of UK-based AI development companies

What is an AI software development company?

It is a provider of AI solutions that enable businesses to improve resource allocation, automate operations by eliminating repetitive tasks, forecast trends, spot inefficiencies, and optimise workflows.

These software development companies utilise the emerging technologies, including frameworks like PyTorch, Keras, TensorFlow and cloud services, Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud. The scope of services they typically offer is as follows:

• AI-powered platform development
• Chatbot and smart assistance engineering
• Forecasting solutions
• Natural Language Processing tools
• Support and maintenance

Their focus varies, as some are entirely dedicated to developing AI solutions, and they offer all possible features, while others direct their attention toward specific, yet refined services. That’s one of the points you need to consider when choosing such a vendor.

Let’s move on to assessing the numerical criteria we’ve gathered for each supplier.

Comparing AI software development companies in the UK

To save you time scrolling through each website, including independent sources such as Clutch, GoodFirms, Google Maps, and Trustpilot, we have gathered this information and compared British contenders here for a quick scan and review.

Project output

We thoroughly analysed the case studies of each listed AI development provider in the UK and divided them into the following categories. The data is now always fully disclosed, so we assigned companies to the specific groups based on the available accomplishments in their portfolio and the information we took from Clutch.

For example, Limeup, SoftBlues, and Helpware Tech state a concrete figure of completed projects on their websites. Objective has a few testimonials, but features a long list of ventures, implying that the actual number is bigger, as vendors don’t typically make all their work open to the public due to NDAs.

Team size

The number of crew members of an AI development firm doesn’t affect much if you want to create a simple chatbot, as a small supplier will show good dedication, and bigger organisations will apply their refined workflows.

If you seek an AI technology company in the United Kingdom to create a complex solution, it is more beneficial to contact enterprise AI solution providers with 50+ employees.

Hourly rates

Leading AI development companies from the United Kingdom charge clients starting from £50+ per hour, and the rate can be even higher if a developer with a rare specialisation assists you in solution creation.

Some AI software development companies’ hourly rates begin at £100+, and it can be a result of their previous experience (for example, an agency has been on the market for many years and collaborates with known brands) or their location.

Client reviews

We’ve selected only those vendors whose customer testimonials were good, and the rates were in the range between 4.8 and 5, with good reviews for price, collaboration, and deadlines. Those who receive 4.8 and 4.9 rates but with a large number of comments demonstrate excellent results, and typically, it means that if there were any issues, they were small.

There are also some 5-star suppliers in our list who have 5, 10, and more reviews on independent websites with the highest rate possible, which indicates that they can maintain a high quality of deliverables, good communication, and affordable prices.

Additionally, we’ve studied agencies’ resources to find notions about their team composition and pricing methods. When there were clear statements (like on Limeup and SoftBlues’ websites), we marked them positive. In cases, we saw that completed projects and services imply the availability of the highlighted approaches, we used +/- marks.

Some AI developers, including 3 Sided Cube and Objective, mostly focus on work results and clients, so there aren’t any clear statements about their ways of working.

Look at the table to review the agencies’ business engagement models:

There was the part we’ve done to save your time, but the following section uncovers the steps you need to take to shortlist contenders, and you’ll receive actionable advice to do it successfully.

How to select a UK AI development agency?

According to the UK Government, there are about 3,700 AI agencies in the country, and our list features those firms that have been awarded, reviewed, and partnered with industry leaders. And below, you will find a four-step plan that will equip you with insights into how to choose the most appropriate company based on your project specifics.

Assess technical expertise

To evaluate the capabilities of an AI software development company, you need to use several sources to get a full picture:

• Case studies;

• Service pages;

• Technology stack.

Typically, you can find all the essential information on these pages. When it comes to the completed work, you need to scroll through it and check the technologies used to deliver a project and the results.

Not every Artificial intelligence software company outlines detailed project profiles with all the details. The second most useful source to assess the technical capabilities of an AI development provider in the UK is to visit their service page. In most cases, they state exactly what they deliver — chat assistants, predictive analytics, automation tools.

Finally, a few of them display their tech stack on separate pages (or within service sections). By doing these steps, you will make sure that you hire an AI developer that: a) has similar projects to yours; b) has the tech stack you’re looking for.

Evaluate communication

Companies developing artificial intelligence solutions have different communication strategies, and they should align with your vision to ensure continuous project updates and budget adherence.

The best way to be confident with the way they report is to send a questionnaire to several vendors at the same time. For example, you do a quick screen of the providers, shortlist those who correspond to your idea of a reliable supplier, and then you send a list of questions where you clarify what tools they use (Slack, Teams) and how they update you about progress.

Check industry experience

You’ve seen in the card that we specified the sectors the AI developers are experienced with, such as fintech and healthcare, which require an understanding of industry-specific processes and regulatory requirements. For fintech, the list includes AML and PCI-DSS.

Crafting a programme from the retail sector, the best AI development company will know how Shopify and BigCommerce work and be aware of the KYC and workflow specifics, as well as points like buyer behaviour and decision-making dynamics.

Many providers outline their core industries on their websites, so you can see the scope of their solutions within your domain. It’s better to select a company that features your sector and has related case studies.

Review security

When evaluating protection, it’s advisable to pay attention to the following aspects:

• Data governance (the policies followed by agencies that are related to access control, actions in case of incidents, and SDLS).
• Data security (clarify how the team collects and processes data and make sure that they follow the regulations of GDPR, etc.)
• Documentation (request their diagrams of data flow, test reports, model cards).

These steps will protect you, as lack of references, security policies and technical expertise are obvious red flags, and this breakdown has covered all that. Now, let’s proceed to the following section, which is fully dedicated to price and factors that affect it.

How much do AI development services cost?

AI software solutions providers rarely offer clear price offerings and pre-selected packages on their website because each project is unique, and even if you want to request a personalisation engine for your customers, your business specifics and size vary from those of other organisations they have collaborated with, which is why it can’t be applied.

Fortunately, many agencies offer free estimates, so you describe your problem and the solution you want (they also ask you to tell them about your business), and then you receive a calculation where you can see what they will charge you for.

It is worth noting that a reliable app development company in the UK will include all expense lines that are related to work; however the major part of the sum goes for salaries, and below, you will find some common developers’ wages.

This outline shows you that when partnering with AI software development companies, you will definitely need help from mid-level experts who can work independently, and if your system is complex, one senior must monitor all the processes. But sometimes juniors are capable of delivering some simple deliverables on their own.

Average AI project costs in the UK

We are going to point out what you need to be aware of when reviewing offers from each software company, as we can’t leave you without approximate rates that are based on the type of features:

As you can see, for a chatbot, a business will pay either £20,000 or £50,000. Why is the range so significant? That’s because in the first case, you’ll receive a rule-based model that will answer a limited scope of questions, which is usually enough to provide 24/7 support and cover the most important issues.

A more expensive chatbot, developed by enterprise AI solution providers, will be able to process more complex queries, retain information from previous dialogues, and maintain long discussions without losing points. However, that’s not all, and the most common price-driving aspects you’ll find below.

Factors that influence the costs of AI development

Apart from classic cost contributors, such as team expertise, deadlines, and location, AI introduces its own elements that you need to be aware of before analysing quotes from AI development firms.

• Type of solution. Some programmers just can’t be cheap. If your model intends to process various types of data (texts, videos, images) or be trained from scratch and have a large knowledge base like Claude, it will be pricey.
• Processes related to data. MLL requires AI-ready data to train (IBM has defined its definition well). It takes time and money to clean, structure, and transform data to be used effectively.
• Infrastructure. Large amounts of data require cloud storage. So the bigger your model, the larger the space should be for it.
• Integration. If your goal is to connect your future AI tools to your existing system, it will surely affect the price. The main point here is the scale of your own resources and compliance requirements.

When it comes to AI software development, it’s essential not to look for the cheapest options but to evaluate each offer and see where all the basic requirements are included, so there won’t be any hidden obstacles that will double your budget.

The quote should align with your objective and include all, from data preparation to infrastructure and integration, for you to take advantage of a well-performing solution that helps you cut costs and unlock new revenue opportunities.

What to ask when choosing an AI development partner?

Your most powerful instrument in evaluating is a good talk, as during a short conversation, you’ll be able to determine whether you’re dealing with professionals.

For this purpose, we’ve prepared a short yet detailed questionnaire that touches upon technical, process and contract cooperation aspects. The questions are supplied with short comments that will help you navigate through their answers.

Technical questions

Ascertain whether your potential partner has real experience in developing AI solutions.

“What AI frameworks and tools do you use?”

The common list of technologies we’ve featured above, and if you can’t find the comprehensive stack when evaluating technical expertise (look at the section, “how to select…), clarify it via call or messaging.

“Can you share an AI-related work example with measurable outcomes?”

Top AI development companies have at least several projects with good results. If you don’t find success stories very detailed or you are not sure whether there are any works in your industry, make it clear before sealing the deal.

“What do you use for deployment and maintenance of an AI model?”

Evaluate the clarity of the answer. Many developers use Docker and Kubernetes to launch a model to cloud services when they create an AI app.

Process questions

The answers to these inquiries about providers’ engineering process will give you insights into how they manage their operations, what they do to prevent expanded budgets and broken deadline promises.

“What does your project planning include?”

Before diving into development, AI suppliers outline the goal, decide on the technologies they will use, determine the scope of work and the impact of the final outputs.

“How do you inform clients about project progression?”

Leading AI development agencies don’t wait for your inquiries. They utilise programmes like Lira, Trello, and Asana to showcase the status of their tasks (whether they are “in work” or “completed.” They also have weekly meetings to discuss where they are at the moment.

“What are your testing methods?”

Developers conduct thorough tests, covering stress checks, offline assessments, and real-user validation to produce well-performing and ready-to-use applications.

Contract terms questions

The legal aspects necessary to clarify encompass intellectual property, work results, and the scope of work. Here are points to consider in order to be sure that you collaborate with one of the best AI development companies to get exactly what you want:

• “Who will be the owner of the code you produce?”

Make sure that you’ll receive an answer like, “You will own all the code, models, data structures, and pipelines.” Full ownership over deliverables is what you need to await from an AI-focused tech company.

• “Do you offer post-launch support?

After release, your app needs continuous upgrades to be competitive, protected. It should also satisfy the users’ requests, so partnering with a firm that delivers comprehensive services will guarantee uninterrupted, high-quality performance.

• “How do you ensure that the program corresponds to my needs?”

A trustworthy AI solution provider includes the targets in the contract, in addition to the budget, deadlines, and ownership. It measures the results with KPIs to meet your objectives.

Looking for a UK-based AI development company?

Having reached this point, you’ve got acquainted with the scope of services AI providers deliver, know what projects they’ve completed and some of their results. You are also aware of their costs and understand what can decrease or increase the final budget. Finally, you’ve been supplied with some questions that will help you evaluate teams’ answers.

Or you can get a detailed estimate and a free conversation with Limeup. Contact us to get a free consultation of your idea, long-standing goals, and processes. When connecting with our team, you will find everything from emerging technologies to flexible cooperation that will help you open new revenue streams and optimise your workflows.

FAQ (Choosing & Comparing)