Scenario 1
Ongoing consulting
20 hours/month, $100/hr, 15% buffer → $2,300/month retainer. Covers 23 hours if scope expands slightly.
Trusted by freelancers and business owners
Retainer Pricing Calculator
Price your retainer to cover scope creep — and still make it worth your time.
Adjust your inputs
Results update instantly as you type or drag.
1 – 500
h
1 – 5,000
$
0 – 50
%
Buffer for unexpected overruns (15–20% recommended)
Quick insights
Annual retainer value
$27,600
Effective hourly rate
$115.00
Quick answer
How do I price a monthly retainer?
Retainer price = Monthly hours × Hourly rate × (1 + buffer %). A 15–20% buffer protects against scope creep and admin overhead.
How it works
From inputs to result in four steps
A quick walkthrough of what this calculator does behind the scenes.
- 1
Enter the monthly hours included in the retainer.
- 2
Enter your hourly rate.
- 3
Set a buffer percentage for scope creep.
- 4
See your recommended retainer price.
Formula
The math behind the number
No black box — here's exactly how the result is computed.
Formula
Base fee = Monthly hours × Hourly rate
Buffer amount = Base fee × (Buffer % ÷ 100)
Retainer fee = Base fee + Buffer amountExamples
Real-world scenarios
See how the numbers play out for typical use cases.
Scenario 2
Content retainer
8 hours/month, $75/hr, 20% buffer → $720/month. Covers small overruns without renegotiating.
Related
Pair this with
Other calculators that work well alongside this one.