Free Agency Business Tools
Retainer Pricing Calculator
Price reserved monthly capacity from delivery time, service time, costs, buffer, and margin.
What this tool does
Price the monthly capacity the client is actually reserving.
The calculator combines delivery and service hours, applies a capacity buffer, multiplies by true internal hourly cost, adds direct monthly expenses, and prices for target margin.
The result is a transparent planning model, not a substitute for scope boundaries, commercial judgment, taxes, or contractual terms.
Use the tool
Calculate a sustainable monthly retainer
Enter committed time, cost, expenses, capacity buffer, and target margin to see a recommended price.
Monthly commitment economics
Use the agency’s true internal hourly cost, then add direct expenses, reserved capacity, and target margin.
Recommended retainer
$4,891 / month
- Committed hours
- 48 hrs
- Reserved with buffer
- 52.8 hrs
- Monthly cost base
- $3,668
- Expected profit
- $1,223
How to use it
Three quick steps
- 1Estimate monthly delivery and account-service hours.
- 2Use the agency’s internal hourly cost, add direct expenses, and reserve a capacity buffer.
- 3Set the target margin, review the price, and document scope and overage rules separately.
Worked example
Price 48 committed hours
Combine 40 delivery hours with eight service hours, then add direct costs and a 10% buffer.
FAQ
Questions about the retainer pricing calculator
Practical details about using the tool and understanding its result.
Keep working
Related tools
Agency Hourly-rate Calculator
Calculate a sustainable hourly rate or monthly retainer from costs, capacity, utilization, delivery commitment, and target margin.
Open toolProject Profit-margin Calculator
Calculate project profit, margin on revenue, and markup on cost from real delivery expenses.
Open toolProject Pricing Calculator
Turn estimated effort, external costs, contingency, and target margin into a transparent project price.
Open toolFrom one asset to the whole workflow
Track retainer scope, delivery, and profitability in the same operating workspace.
Draftroom keeps projects, creative files, feedback, revisions, and approvals connected in one workspace.