Work out agency retainer pricing instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
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.
Retainer price
Price = hours × cost per hour × (1 + creep allowance) / (1 - target margin)
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.
Because unbilled extra work is near-universal on retainers. Pricing for it is more honest than arguing about it later.
Rolling hours forward destroys retainer economics. Cap or expire them, or price the flexibility explicitly.