Moving a client from hourly to a monthly retainer? Price it from your real hourly rate, not a round number. Enter your rate and the hours you will commit each month to get a retainer that holds your effective rate steady — with a buffer for busy months and a discount you control.
| Base (rate × committed hours) | — |
| With capacity buffer | — |
| After commitment discount | — |
| Effective hourly rate | — |
| Annualized (×12) | — |
This tool does math on the numbers you enter. It is not tax or financial advice. Pick a discount only if a steadier income is worth it to you — the effective hourly figure shows what you are really agreeing to.
Retainers are sold as a convenience to the client, but they often become a quiet discount on the freelancer. By starting from the hourly rate you actually need, reserving a buffer for the months that run long, and making any discount explicit, you keep the retainer profitable instead of discovering at year-end that your effective rate slid. Compute your required hourly rate first, then size the retainer here.
Multiply your required hourly rate by the hours you commit each month, add a capacity buffer for spikes, then apply any volume discount you choose. The result protects your effective rate instead of quietly discounting your time.
A modest discount can be fair because a retainer gives you predictable income, but discounting below your true floor loses money as scope creeps. Use the discount field to see your effective hourly rate before you agree.
Retainer months are rarely identical. A buffer reserves paid time for launches and overages so you are not working unpaid every time a client needs extra. Set it to zero if you bill overage separately.