Hire a CRO consultant or freelancer if your store has steady traffic but you have nobody in-house who can research, design and run A/B tests. One experienced person costs less than an agency and gets you close to the work. The practitioners below have published real test results on LiftArchive, so you can judge their work before you book a call.
Consultant vs agency vs freelancer
The three options differ mostly in who does the work and how much of the program they own.
- Freelancer: one person who often handles research, design and test builds. Cheapest and most flexible, but capacity is limited and vacations pause your program.
- Consultant: usually senior, and focused on strategy, prioritization and test analysis. Your own team or developer may build the tests.
- Agency: a team with a strategist, designer, developer and analyst. Higher throughput and cost, and you may work with a junior account manager day to day.
Many of the people on this page sit between these labels: a consultant who runs a small studio. Ask who will actually do your research and builds. If you are leaning toward a team, read our guide on how to choose a CRO agency.
A consultant is a poor fit if your store gets too little traffic to reach significance. In that case, start with an audit and the advice in A/B testing with low traffic.
Listed consultants
Every practitioner here has shared tests in our database. We list what they have published, not claims we have checked with their clients. Browse all of them on the practitioners page.
Dave Diederen, Syntra Labs
Dave Diederen builds and tests Shopify stores and has the most results in our archive. One example: Dave Diederen saw +3.16% revenue per visitor (+$139,029/month est.) after adding a countdown timer to checkout.
Want results like this on your store?
Dave Diederen at Syntra Labs. Dave builds and tests Shopify stores at Syntra Labs, and shares most results in public.
Oliver Kenyon, Conversionwise
Oliver Kenyon has 13 years in ecommerce CRO. Their team added 60-day guarantee and easy returns blocks under Add to Cart for +€63,000/month.
Want results like this on your store?
Oliver Kenyon at Conversionwise. Oliver co-founded Conversionwise and has spent 13 years helping ecommerce brands turn clicks into customers.
Kasper Dolk, Maison Commerce
Kasper Dolk combines CRO with landing pages and Shopify themes. A benefit-led buy box on the product page produced a +$141,673 revenue lift at 100% confidence.
Want results like this on your store?
Kasper Dolk at Maison Commerce. Kasper runs Maison Commerce, which builds CRO programs, landing pages and themes for fast-growing ecommerce brands such as ICON and HiStrips.
Peter Christensen, Scaling CRO
Peter Christensen builds CRO systems and teams for 8-figure brands. In one test, removing the Track Order link from the main navigation gave +30% RPV.
Want results like this on your store?
Peter Christensen at Scaling CRO. Peter runs Scaling CRO, which has run 1,000+ A/B tests for 8-figure ecommerce brands.
Ruben, Milos and Josh Thompson
Ruben at Tailored Commerce works with brands like Hears, Moov and FLÂNEUR, and publishes mixed results too: a countdown timer tested across several brands gave about +10% CVR on one brand, flat on another and -9% on a third. Milos works with stores doing $200k to $1M a month and rebuilt a best-seller product page for +128% RPV (+$14,867/month). Josh Thompson tested a new page design that showed +137% CVR, est. +$51,423/month.
Want results like this on your store?
Ruben at Tailored Commerce. Ruben runs CRO at Tailored Commerce for brands like Hears, Moov and FLÂNEUR.
Treat big single-test wins with care. Ruben's results show the same idea can win, stay flat or lose depending on the store, which is why a good consultant tests rather than copies.
Typical rates
Public pricing guides put most CRO freelancers and consultants in these ranges:
- Hourly: $40 to $300 per hour for freelancers and consultants, with most of the market at $75 to $300, according to Personizely's 2026 pricing guide.
- Monthly retainer: $2,000 to $8,000 per month for a freelancer or consultant, and $5,000 to $30,000+ for a dedicated CRO agency (Personizely).
- One-off audit: €1,500 to €5,000 is the typical range cited by Conversion Design, while Personizely puts audits at $2,800 to $12,000.
Personizely also notes that retainers often come with a 6 to 12 month commitment. Rates vary widely, so treat these as a starting point and ask every candidate for a written quote. Our CRO pricing guide breaks down what drives the cost.
Scoping a first project
Start small. A paid first project shows you how someone works before you sign a retainer.
- Pick one page type. Product pages are a common start because most traffic lands there.
- Agree on one primary metric. Revenue per visitor or conversion rate, set before the test starts.
- Check traffic first. Use the sample size calculator to confirm a test can finish in a few weeks.
- Ask for research, not just ideas. A good scope includes analytics review, heatmaps or surveys, and a ranked list of hypotheses.
- Define the deliverable. For example: an audit plus two to three tests built, run and reported.
- Ask for examples of losses. Anyone who has run real tests has losing ones. Honest reporting of those is a good sign.
If you are still unsure who to talk to, browse the experts hub or search the full test database for results on your page type.
Questions
What does a conversion rate optimization consultant do?
A CRO consultant researches why visitors don't buy, turns that into ranked hypotheses, and runs A/B tests to check which changes lift conversion rate or revenue per visitor. Some also design and build the tests; others advise your in-house team.
How much does a CRO consultant cost?
Public 2026 pricing guides put CRO freelancers and consultants at roughly $75 to $300 per hour, and retainers at about $2,000 to $8,000 per month. One-off audits often run from a few thousand dollars or euros up. Always ask for a written quote.
Should I hire a CRO freelancer or an agency?
A freelancer or consultant suits stores that want senior attention at lower cost and can live with limited capacity. An agency suits stores with enough traffic and budget to run several tests a month with a full team.
How do I find a good Shopify CRO expert?
Look for someone who publishes real test results, including losses, and who can explain their research process. The practitioners on this page have all shared Shopify and ecommerce tests in the LiftArchive database.