The real question
You're weighing two options: pay $600–$2,400 for a CRO consultant to audit your landing page, or run it through Conversion Probe for $29. This page gives you an honest comparison so you can decide which makes sense right now.
Side-by-side comparison
| CRO Consultant | Conversion Probe | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 1-2 weeks for a PDF report | minutes, results on screen |
| Cost | $600-$2,400 per audit | Free tier: $0. Pro: $29 one-time |
| Frameworks | Cialdini, Kahneman, Fogg (varies by consultant) | 7 frameworks applied consistently: Cialdini, Kahneman, Fogg, cognitive bias audit, Stanford credibility, Trust Ladder, friction analysis |
| Availability | Business hours, booking required | 24/7, no signup needed |
| Actionability | Strategic recommendations (you implement) | Scored audit with quick wins (free) or full rewrite suggestions and prioritized action plan (Pro) |
Where each one wins
Conversion Probe is the right call when...
- You need a fast, evidence-based read on what's working and what's not
- Your budget is better spent on implementation than diagnosis
- You want a structured starting point before investing in outside help
- You're iterating quickly and need to test changes between sprints
Most landing pages have obvious conversion problems hiding in plain sight: weak social proof, buried CTAs, unclear value propositions. Conversion Probe catches these in minutes. Fix the fundamentals first -- then decide if you need deeper help.
A consultant is worth it when...
- You need someone to own the entire optimization process, not just the audit
- Your funnel is complex (multi-step, enterprise sales, regulated industry)
- You've already fixed the basics and need marginal gains at scale
- You want qualitative research: user interviews, session recordings, custom A/B test design
A good consultant brings judgment, context, and accountability that no tool can replace. But most teams hire one too early -- before they've addressed the problems a $0 audit would have caught.
Common questions
Don't consultants bring something AI can't?
Yes. A seasoned CRO consultant brings industry intuition, qualitative research skills, and the ability to synthesize data across your entire funnel. That's genuinely valuable.
But here's the practical reality: most of what consultants find in an initial audit is framework-driven analysis. They're checking whether your page applies Cialdini's principles correctly, whether cognitive biases are working for or against you, whether your trust signals are in the right place. Conversion Probe runs those same frameworks automatically.
The consultant's real value shows up after the audit -- in strategy, experimentation design, and ongoing optimization. Use Conversion Probe to handle the diagnostic work. If the results point to deeper problems, you'll have a much sharper brief to hand a consultant.
What if the audit findings are wrong?
Every audit -- human or AI -- makes judgment calls. A consultant might miss something because they're rushing through a batch of client work. An AI tool might misread context that requires domain expertise.
Conversion Probe mitigates this by scoring across 7 distinct frameworks rather than relying on a single perspective. You get a composite view, not one person's opinion. The Pro tier includes specific copy rewrites and an 8-step action plan, so you can evaluate each recommendation on its own merits.
If something feels off, trust your instinct. Use the audit as a starting point, not a mandate.
The bottom line
A CRO consultant and Conversion Probe aren't really competitors. They solve the same problem at different stages.
Start with Conversion Probe. Get your score, find the blind spots, fix the obvious issues. The free score takes minutes and shows you where the problems are. The full audit is $29. If the audit reveals problems that require deeper strategic work, hire a consultant -- and you'll get far more value from that engagement because the basics are already handled.