Retainer Pricing Calculator
Design profitable recurring revenue packages. Calculate the discount you can afford to offer in exchange for guaranteed monthly cash flow.
Contract Terms
Effective Rate: $127.50/hr
Total Contract Value (TCV)
Deal Analysis
Client Saves $5,400 / Year
Guaranteed Revenue
You lock in $30,600 of revenue. This covers fixed costs and reduces sales pressure.
Effective Rate
You are working for $127.50/hr. Ensure this is still above your break-even cost including overhead.
Pitch Angle
"You save 15% by committing. That's equivalent to getting 36 free hours of work."
Execution Steps
Enter your Standard Hourly Rate (Ad-Hoc price).
Set the number of 'Committed Hours' per month.
Determine the 'Volume Discount' for the retainer.
The tool visualizes the Client Savings vs Agency Revenue stability.
Pro Strategy
- Structure retainers as 'Use it or Lose it' to prevent liability buildup of unused hours.
- Don't discount more than 20% unless the volume is massive. 10-15% is standard for a 12-month commitment.
- Sell outcomes, not hours. Instead of '20 hours', sell 'Monthly SEO Management'. Use hours only for internal costing.
Core Concepts
Recurring Revenue (MRR)
The holy grail of services. Retainers smooth out the 'feast or famine' cycle of project-based work.
Capacity Planning
Retainers allow you to forecast resource needs accurately. Ad-hoc work requires keeping expensive bench capacity open.
The Discount Trade-off
You give up margin (discount) in exchange for certainty (contract). Ideally, the discount matches your cost of acquisition for new projects.
What is Retainer Pricing Calculator?
This calculator compares two financial models: Transactional (Ad-Hoc) vs Relational (Retainer). It quantifies the 'Cost of Certainty' for the agency and the 'Savings Benefit' for the client.
Best For
- • Pitching a long-term contract to a project client.
- • Transitioning an agency to a subscription model.
- • Setting tier discounts.
Limitations
- • Assumes hours are fully utilized.
- • Does not account for churn.
Alternative Methods
Project Rate Estimator
For one-off deliverables.
Value-Based Pricing
Pricing based on ROI delivered.
Industry Applications
See how this methodology generates real revenue uplift in different sectors.
Design Agency
Unpredictable cash flow.
Converted top 5 clients to $5k/mo retainers with a 15% discount.
Legal Consultant
Hourly billing friction.
Created 'General Counsel' retainer for 10hrs/mo.