Price a monthly retainer from your rate, hours and discount.
The full hourly cost is reduced by the agreed retainer discount, and the effective hourly rate is recomputed on the new total. A retainer guarantees income and smooths cash flow, but only works if the discounted rate still covers your costs.
Freelance Retainer
Retainer = hours x rate x (1 - discount%); effective rate = retainer / hours
Retainer = hours x rate x (1 - discount%); effective rate = retainer / hours The full hourly cost is reduced by the agreed retainer discount, and the effective hourly rate is recomputed on the new total.
A retainer guarantees income and smooths cash flow, but only works if the discounted rate still covers your costs.
This calculator takes 3 inputs: Hourly rate, Monthly hours, Retainer discount. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.