Four paths to the same goal, with every outside figure sourced and dated. The biggest cost is doing the work in the wrong order, not any one service.
Every path ends in the same place: an idea you’ve checked against the market, searched against existing patents, and described well enough to hand to a patent attorney or a manufacturer. Filing a patent and formal patent drawings come after that on every path, so every total leaves them out.
Screen five ideas, then put your money into the one that holds up: build tools, a 3D model, a full prior-art search, and five rounds of changes. Prices are pay-as-you-go. No plan needed.
| Screen 5 ideas, all three memos each5 × $14.99 | [19]EntreDash pricingEntreDash · checked 4 Oct 2026Every EntreDash price on this pagechecked 4 Oct 2026 | $74.95 |
|---|---|---|
| Build tools for the winning ideaCanvas, interview kit, design breakdown | [19]EntreDash pricingEntreDash · checked 4 Oct 2026Every EntreDash price on this pagechecked 4 Oct 2026 | $14.99 |
| Design Set for the winning idea2D sketch and 3D model | [19]EntreDash pricingEntreDash · checked 4 Oct 2026Every EntreDash price on this pagechecked 4 Oct 2026 | $39.99 |
| Prior-art search plan and full search reportThe plan is included with the report | [19]EntreDash pricingEntreDash · checked 4 Oct 2026Every EntreDash price on this pagechecked 4 Oct 2026 | $499.99 |
| 3 more redrawsOne extra 2D Sketch; the first 2 redos are included | [19]EntreDash pricingEntreDash · checked 4 Oct 2026Every EntreDash price on this pagechecked 4 Oct 2026 | $5.99 |
| 5 remodels5 × Rebuild with a note at $14.99, up to 2 parts each | [19]EntreDash pricingEntreDash · checked 4 Oct 2026Every EntreDash price on this pagechecked 4 Oct 2026 | $74.95 |
| Total | $710.86 | |
| One idea that holds up on the first try | memos, build tools, Design Set, search | $569.96 |
The EntreDash search report is an automated search, not an attorney’s legal opinion, and EntreDash doesn’t file patents. Use it to decide which idea is worth paying an attorney to look at.
One idea, taken through professionals and freelancers, with the search before the design.
The usual order is sketch, then CAD, then a consult and a search. If the search finds something close, the work built on that idea has to be redone or thrown away. Patent practitioners recommend searching first for this reason [4]Should you do a prior art search before filing?Goodman Allen Donnelly · checked 4 Oct 2026Searches usually under $2,000; inventors are often surprised and may need to design around. Here’s a worked example: five tries to find the idea worth filing EST.
| Patentability search and opinion | [3]Flat-fee patent searchKlemchuk PLLC · checked 4 Oct 2026Search with attorney opinion, $2,600 flatchecked 4 Oct 2026 | $1,500–$3,400 |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney consult | [1]Patent Attorney Fees ExplainedIPWatchdog · checked 4 Oct 2026Attorney hourly rates and paid consults ($250–$500)checked 4 Oct 2026 | $0–$500 |
| CAD revision round | ESTassumption A2 | $250–$2,500 |
| Per try | $1,750–$6,400 | |
| Four tries that don’t pan out | $7,000–$25,600 |
Five redraws and five remodels as the idea takes shape.
| Item | Usual way | EntreDash |
|---|---|---|
| 5 redrawsEST2 included, 3 more from one extra sketch | $250–$800 | $5.99 |
| 5 remodelsEST5 × Rebuild with a note; editor changes are free | $1,250–$12,500 | $74.95 |
| Refining total | $1,500–$13,300 | $80.94 |
A change to more than two parts at once needs a fresh model build on EntreDash: $34 with the sketch you already have.
You can assemble the pieces yourself. The tools that protect your idea and do the job properly cost more than their consumer versions, and you’re the one learning each tool and stitching the results together.
| CAD: a first simple modelHours to a few days for a beginner | [25]Understanding the Fusion learning curve for beginnersAutodesk · checked 4 Oct 2026First usable model within hours to a few days; basic confidence within a few weeksEST | 10–20+ hrs |
|---|---|---|
| CAD: confident with a multi-part modelWeeks of practice, plus revisions | EST | 40–100+ hrs |
| Prior-art search: learning the methodClassification codes, reading claims, a book or seminar, trial and error | EST | 20–80+ hrs |
| Prior-art search: doing it carefullyOnce you know the method | [26]Patent process overviewUSPTO · checked 4 Oct 2026Plan on spending hours learning the search process, searching, and evaluating resultsEST | 5–40+ hrs |
| Your time, before market research | 75–240+ hrs | |
| With EntreDashNo CAD or search training: sessions, memos, the drawing and model, and the search report | ESTassumption A9 | 4–8 hrs |
| Market research and stitching it all together | no published figure | — |
Consumer AI plans are the cheap option, but most can use what you type to improve their models unless you change a setting. ChatGPT’s Free, Plus and Pro plans may use your content for training unless you opt out [22]How your data is used to improve model performanceOpenAI · checked 4 Oct 2026Consumer ChatGPT may use your content to train models unless you opt out; Business, Enterprise and API data is not used by default. Claude’s Free, Pro and Max plans do the same unless you opt out [23]Consumer Terms of ServiceAnthropic · checked 4 Oct 2026Claude Free, Pro and Max content may be used for training unless you opt out. Gemini uses your activity, including for training, while Keep Activity is on [24]Gemini Apps privacy hubGoogle · checked 4 Oct 2026Activity is used to improve services, including training, while Keep Activity is on. Business and API plans don’t train on your content by default [21]Claude plans and pricingAnthropic · checked 4 Oct 2026Team plan for 2 to 150 seats, $25/seat monthly; no model training on your content by default[22]How your data is used to improve model performanceOpenAI · checked 4 Oct 2026Consumer ChatGPT may use your content to train models unless you opt out; Business, Enterprise and API data is not used by default, but they cost more and usually need at least two seats.
A free personal Fusion license covers concept models you use to explain the idea; a commercial license is billed yearly [12]Fusion subscription typesAutodesk · checked 4 Oct 2026Fusion commercial license $680/year; a free personal license covers non-commercial use. Patent search software is priced for professionals: the $400 plan includes 10 search credits a month [20]Patsnap Eureka pricingPatsnap · checked 4 Oct 2026Pro – Patent Searching, $400/month with 10 search credits, and most enterprise patent databases don’t publish prices.
In the US, if you file within one year of your own public disclosure, that disclosure doesn’t count against you [18]MPEP 2153: Prior art exceptionsUSPTO · checked 4 Oct 2026The one-year grace period for your own disclosure. Most other countries have no such grace period, so showing your idea publicly before filing can cost you foreign patent rights.
The FTC warns that dishonest invention promoters charge thousands of dollars in fees, often upfront, for little in return [13]Invention marketing scamsFederal Trade Commission · checked 4 Oct 2026Thousands of dollars in fees for little in return. US law requires them to tell you how many of their clients actually made money; ask for that in writing before you pay anything [14]Scam preventionUSPTO · checked 4 Oct 2026Required disclosures from invention promoters.
You still need a patent attorney or agent for a legal opinion and for filing. What changes is what you bring them. Instead of paying billable hours to work out what your invention is, you hand them:
Prices were checked on 4 Oct 2026. Many outside figures come from law-firm and freelance-marketplace price pages, not surveys, and prices vary by location and complexity. Where no published figure exists, the page uses a stated assumption.
Your first strategy session is free. Screen your idea against the market and existing patents before you spend on design or drafting.
Get my free verdict →