It cost you, roughly, a venti latte more per hour during 2025 than 2024 to hire a consultant for your nonprofit. The average hourly rate was $159, although 4.2% of the consultants answering a study said they don’t charge by the hour.
The average hourly rate during 2025 increased $8 from the $151 average rate during 2024 and was a jump from $110 during 2020.
The data was compiled by Whole Whale, a Brooklyn, N.Y., digital consultancy for nonprofits. Authors of the study, “Nonprofit.ist 2025 Consultant Cost & Compensation Survey” cautioned that the report reflects self-reported data and should be viewed as directional, not definitive, but the trends offer valuable insight for current consultants, nonprofit leaders, and those exploring consulting as a career.
Those who have jumped into the consulting world are not necessarily rolling in the dough. Consultants annually charged an average $124,000, up $22,000 from 2024 and individually billed $97,000. The average billing for a consultant with partners was $188,000, according to the data.
Just because a consultant had an advanced degree, such as a doctorate, doesn’t mean the person will be able to bill more. During 2025, consultants with a bachelor’s degree had a rate of $156 an hour, while a person with a master’s degree billed $149 an hour and the doctorate was at $140 an hour.
Breaking the rate out further, male consultants billed $155 an hour but that was down $15 from 2024. Female consultants billed an average $150 an hour. Nonbinary and Queer were at $149 an hour. Hispanic/Latino consultants had the highest average billing at $132,000, followed by consultants who self-identified as white ($117,000), Black/African American ($103,000) and Asian consultants ($96,000).
Most consultants cluster approximately 20 and 24 billable hours per week and spend between five and 14 hours per week on non-client tasks, reinforcing the need for strong operational systems. The data shows strong demand for specialized or senior consultants and a decreasing prevalence of low-fee consulting.
Full access to the 30-page “2025 Nonprofit Consultant Cost & Compensation Survey” is available through The NonProfit Times.
