Retainer Pricing Calculator: Price Monthly Retainers for Profit
Turn expected monthly hours, delivery cost, and a target margin into a retainer price, an effective hourly rate, and three package tiers.
Loaded team cost, not your bill rate
Revisions, calls, and account management
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Frequently Asked Questions
Multiply expected monthly hours by a scope buffer and your blended cost per hour, add monthly tools and expenses, then divide by one minus your target margin. 40 hours at a $65 cost with a 15% buffer and a 40% margin comes to about $5,230 a month.
Most agencies target 30% to 50% gross margin on retainers. Below 30%, a single month of scope creep can make the account unprofitable.
A scope buffer is extra time priced in for revisions, status calls, and account management that clients rarely count as work. Agencies typically add 10% to 20%.
Break-even hours are how many hours your team can spend in a month before the retainer covers only its cost. Past that point, every extra hour loses money.
Set an overage rate above the retainer's effective hourly rate, commonly 20% to 30% higher, so going over scope costs the client more than buying a bigger package.
Compare actual hours spent on the client each month against the break-even hours. Rize tracks client time automatically, so you can see when a retainer starts running over.