How to price a retainer
Start from your standard hourly rate and the hours the client wants reserved each month. A modest commitment discount — typically 5–15% — recognizes that guaranteed income is worth something to you. Anything deeper means the client is buying your best availability at your worst price.
Watch the effective hourly rate this calculator shows. If your standard rate is $100 and the retainer works out to $80/hour, every retainer hour displaces a full-price hour once you're busy. The discount should reflect how much you value predictability, not how hard the client negotiated.
Terms that make retainers work
Three clauses prevent most retainer disputes: unused hours (decide upfront whether they roll over, and cap rollover at one month if they do), overage rates (hours beyond the commitment bill at your full rate), and a true-up review every quarter so the committed hours track reality.
Bill retainers in advance, at the start of each month. A retainer paid in arrears is just a discounted invoice with extra steps — payment upfront is the feature that makes the predictability real.
Frequently asked questions
- What discount should I give on a retainer?
- 5–15% off your standard rate is typical. The client is buying guaranteed access to your time, which has real value to them — deep discounts give away the very thing that makes retainers attractive to you.
- Should unused retainer hours roll over?
- It's negotiable, but the common middle ground is allowing rollover for one month only. Unlimited rollover creates a liability that can swallow a future month; zero rollover can feel unfair to clients in slow months.
- What happens when the client needs more than the committed hours?
- Overage hours should bill at your full standard rate, not the discounted retainer rate. The discount applies to the commitment, not to everything the client buys.