Comparison
Unbottleneck.io vs hiring a consultant
A great consultant and a great tool are not rivals. The trick is matching the problem to the right one. Unbottleneck.io bakes 20+ years of hands on process improvement experience into the diagnosis, so the method is consultant-grade even when you run it yourself. Below is an honest look at where each earns its place.
Side by side
| Consultant | Unbottleneck.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical cost to diagnose one process | $6,000, $10,000 (3 to 5 billable days at $2,000+/day plus expenses) | $99 a month, covering five processes |
| Time to first findings | 2 to 6 weeks from first call to draft report | Same day, roughly an hour of your answers |
| Who does the walkthrough | The consultant, on site, on their diary | You and your team, whenever suits, in the browser |
| Method | Depends entirely on the individual you get | One codified method, shaped by 20+ years of real project experience, applied identically every time |
| Reading the room | Strong, picks up politics, culture and what people won't say on record | Limited, works from what you and your documents actually say |
| Doing the fixing | Can be hired to implement | Gives you the plan; you implement, or hire for a narrow, already-scoped brief |
| Repeatability | New engagement, new fee, every time | Run it again on the next process at no extra cost |
| Evidence pack with sources and assumptions | Usually a chargeable extra | Included, downloadable as PDF, reviewable by colleagues |
Consultant cost references: Scopecreeper 2026 benchmarks and 6Sigma.us.
Hire a consultant when…
- The problem is political rather than procedural, and someone independent needs to say it out loud.
- You need hands on the work, running workshops, sitting with the team, driving the change through.
- The process crosses a regulator, a safety case, or a contract where personal accountability matters.
- You already know the fix and need capacity, not diagnosis.
Use Unbottleneck.io when…
- You know something is slow or expensive but can't yet name the bottleneck.
- You need a defensible, sourced number before anyone will fund a change.
- You have several processes to look at and a consultant budget for none of them.
- You want to narrow the brief before you hire, so you buy three days instead of fifteen.
The pragmatic answer
Most organisations should do both, in that order. Diagnose in software, then spend consulting money on the narrow, well-scoped piece that genuinely needs a human. See what that costs.