{
  "slug": "retainer-pricing",
  "title": "Retainer Pricing Calculator",
  "heading": "Monthly Retainer Pricing Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/retainer-pricing",
  "summary": "Price a retainer on capacity, margin, and scope creep buffer.",
  "description": "Retainers die from scope creep, not from bad pricing. Build the buffer in from the start: price the hours you expect, plus the overflow hours you know will happen.",
  "formula": "Retainer = (Hours × Cost rate) ÷ (1 − target margin) × (1 + creep buffer).",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=retainer-pricing",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "hours",
      "label": "Contracted hours per month",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 40,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "cost",
      "label": "Your delivery cost per hour",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 55,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "margin",
      "label": "Target gross margin",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 55,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 90
    },
    {
      "id": "creep",
      "label": "Scope creep buffer",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 15,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 50
    },
    {
      "id": "months",
      "label": "Contract length in months",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "retainer",
      "label": "Monthly retainer",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "effHourly",
      "label": "Effective hourly rate",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "profit",
      "label": "Monthly gross profit",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "contract",
      "label": "Total contract value",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "overageRate",
      "label": "Suggested overage rate per hour",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Contracted hours per month: 40",
      "Your delivery cost per hour: 55 $",
      "Target gross margin: 55 %",
      "Scope creep buffer: 15 %",
      "Contract length in months: 6"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Monthly retainer: $5,622.22",
      "Effective hourly rate: $140.56",
      "Monthly gross profit: $3,422.22",
      "Total contract value: $33,733.33",
      "Suggested overage rate per hour: $175.69"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter contracted hours per month.",
      "Enter your delivery cost per hour ($).",
      "Enter target gross margin (%).",
      "Enter scope creep buffer (%).",
      "Enter contract length in months.",
      "Read your monthly retainer on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "hours": 25,
        "cost": 35,
        "margin": 35,
        "creep": 10,
        "months": 4
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "hours": 40,
        "cost": 55,
        "margin": 55,
        "creep": 15,
        "months": 6
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "hours": 65,
        "cost": 90,
        "margin": 90,
        "creep": 25,
        "months": 10
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the monthly retainer pricing calculator work?",
      "a": "Retainers die from scope creep, not from bad pricing. Build the buffer in from the start: price the hours you expect, plus the overflow hours you know will happen. The underlying maths is: Retainer = (Hours × Cost rate) ÷ (1 − target margin) × (1 + creep buffer)."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "5 values: contracted hours per month, your delivery cost per hour, target gross margin, scope creep buffer, and contract length in months. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the monthly retainer result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/freelance-day-rate",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/agency-margin"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Retainer Pricing Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/retainer-pricing)"
}