Free Tool
Freelance Retainer Calculator
A retainer is not hourly billing with a nicer name: it is a fixed monthly fee for a fixed block of hours, usually discounted, sometimes with rollover. This calculator prices that block.
Planning estimate, not financial advice. All figures on this page are estimates or scenarios for planning purposes only, built from the numbers you enter. They are not financial, tax or legal advice, and no earnings are promised. Read the full financial disclaimer.
What this tool does
Enter the hours the retainer covers each month, your hourly rate, the discount you offer for the commitment, and how many unused hours roll over. The calculator returns the monthly fee, the effective hourly rate after the discount, and what the fee works out to if the client uses every hour including rolled-over ones.
Retainers fail when the discount is set by feel. A 20% discount on 20 hours a month is a real pay cut unless the steady work is worth it — and rollover that never expires quietly turns a monthly fee into an open-ended obligation. Seeing the effective rate before you send the proposal stops both mistakes.
Try it
Waiting. Enter the hours, rate, discount and rollover, then press Calculate.
How it works
The monthly fee is hours multiplied by rate, reduced by the discount percentage. The effective hourly rate is the fee divided by the hours covered. The rollover figure shows the worst case: the fee divided by the hours plus the rollover, which is the rate you are really accepting if the client uses everything.
The annual figure is the monthly fee times twelve. It assumes the retainer runs the full year — if the client can cancel with a month’s notice, treat the annual figure as a ceiling, not a promise.
Assumptions and limitations
A retainer price is a floor for the block of hours, not a price for the work inside it.
- The discount is a pay cut in exchange for steady work. Only offer one if the steadiness is actually worth the cut.
- Rollover must be capped. Uncapped rollover lets unused hours pile up into months of free work.
- The calculator does not model tax, platform fees or late payment — add those on top of the fee, not inside it.
- Scope is not hours. A retainer that covers hours but not deliverables still needs a written scope, or the hours will be filled with work you did not price.
Worked example
Example (illustrative inputs, not a real retainer). Twenty hours a month at 50 an hour, a 10% retainer discount, 4 rollover hours:
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Undiscounted (20 × 50) | 1,000.00 |
| Monthly fee after 10% discount | 900.00 |
| Effective hourly rate | 45.00 |
| Effective rate if all 24 hours are used | 37.50 |
| Annual fee (12 × 900) | 10,800.00 |
Frequently asked questions
What discount should a retainer carry?
Only what the steadiness is worth to you. A common range is 5–15% off the hourly rate, and anything above that needs a reason — a long minimum term, payment in advance, or work you genuinely want. A discount with no commitment in return is just a pay cut.
Should unused hours roll over?
Only with a cap, and only for one month. Uncapped rollover turns a monthly fee into an open-ended obligation: a client who banks three quiet months can claim three months of free work later. State the cap in writing.
Is a retainer better than hourly billing?
For steady income, yes; for total pay, often no, because the discount cuts the rate. Compare the retainer fee with what the same hours would pay at your full hourly rate — that gap is the price of steadiness.
What happens if the client needs more hours than the retainer covers?
Charge the extra hours at your normal hourly rate, stated in the agreement before the work starts. Extra hours at the discounted retainer rate quietly extend the discount to work that was never part of the deal.