Does anyone have a "rule of thumb" cost for external instructional design? I'm looking to source development for a 3 day (24 hour) course. I can find estimates on time it takes, but not the per hour market rate of a consultant.

Any help will be appreciated!

I have seen rates from $50 to $100 / hour.

I agree with Ben, but depending on exactly what services you want, I have seen rates as high as 1500/day.

Hello. I apologize in advance---I have more questions than answers.
>>> How do you plan to have the consultant go through the Training Cycle? (i.e., ADDIE) This affects the cost because proper analysis may need to be intensive and on-site.
>>> How do you know the training is going to be three-days? This would be discovered in the Analysis or Design phases.
>>> What is the nature of the content (Technical, Sales, Leadership)?
>>> Who is going to deliver the training? Is this going to be instructor-led training on e-learning? I assumed it would be instructor-led but I didn't want to make assumptions.
>>> What level of experience are you looking for in your instructional designer?
>>> How many employees are going to complete the training? Will the training be re-used?
>>> Do you want to be the sole owner of the material or will copyrights remain with the consultant? What format do you want the final deliverables?
>>> Why don't you buy something off-the-shelf rather than have someone develop it from scratch?

Hope this isn't too forward. It may help you in narrowing down an answer.

I don't think there is a "rule of thumb" for ID rates.

It depends on:

the market/economic conditions

the skill set you need and educational/experience requirements you desire

the complexity of the material/type of course

whether you use a firm or try to source/contract directly

how good of a negotiator any individual instructional designer is, and how good of a negotiator you are

other factors I haven't listed