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Agency Retainer Pricing Calculator

Work out agency retainer pricing instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Agency Retainer Pricing Calculator

Retainer pricing starts from committed hours at blended cost, adds an allowance for the scope creep that always occurs, then divides by one minus the target margin. Pricing without the creep allowance is why retainers so often run at a loss.

Formula

Retainer price

Price = hours × cost per hour × (1 + creep allowance) / (1 - target margin)

Worked example

With the default values below, Agency Retainer Pricing Calculator returns Monthly Retainer Price of $313,600.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Hours Committed Per Monthaccepts 1–2,000
120
Blended Cost Per Hourminimum 0
1,400
Target Marginaccepts 1–80 %
40 %
Allowance For Scope Creepaccepts 0–50 %
12 %

Results

Monthly Retainer Price
$313,600.00
Expected Delivery Cost
$188,160.00
Effective Rate Per Committed Hour
$2,613.33
Monthly Gross Profit
$125,440.00

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Retainer price
  3. 3Monthly Retainer Price= 313,600.00
  4. 4Expected Delivery Cost= 188,160.00
  5. 5Effective Rate Per Committed Hour= 2,613.33
  6. 6Monthly Gross Profit= 125,440.00

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • Figures are estimates based on the inputs given. Marketing performance, platform fees and conversion behaviour vary by audience, channel and season. Use this as a planning guide, not a forecast.
  • This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Figures are estimates based on the inputs given. Marketing performance, platform fees and conversion behaviour vary by audience, channel and season. Use this as a planning guide, not a forecast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why add a scope creep allowance?

Because unbilled extra work is near-universal on retainers. Pricing for it is more honest than arguing about it later.

Should unused hours roll over?

Rolling hours forward destroys retainer economics. Cap or expire them, or price the flexibility explicitly.

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