People search for a retainer versus project pricing calculator when one client wants a monthly fee and the pipeline is still a list of jobs.
A retainer here is a monthly fee times the months you expect to bill. Project fees are one typical job times how many of those jobs you expect to invoice. The retainer versus project fees calculator keeps the larger total.
Annual retainer = monthly retainer × months
Annual project fees = project fee × projects
The SBA’s manage-your-business guide treats revenue as a figure you track on a period you choose. The marketing and sales notes on that same guide ask you to compare the way you price work with the revenue those jobs bring in. This page does that comparison with one retainer and one typical project fee.
Unused hours, change orders, and late invoices stay out unless you fold them into the amounts you type. A late fee on an unpaid invoice is the late invoice calculator and the late fee post. The price of one job, built from hours and a margin, is the project quote calculator. Profit on a job you already priced is the project profit calculator.
These examples are the two products. They are not a forecast of which clients will sign.
Fig 1
Two ways to bill a year
Both paths are totals you can invoice
Multiply the monthly fee by the months. Multiply the typical job by the project count. Keep the larger total.
Read the year, then the monthly equivalent
The result names the larger path and the dollar gap. Under that, you get both annual totals and a monthly project equivalent. That equivalent is the project total divided by 12, even when the retainer covers fewer than 12 months. A 9-month comparison still shows projects / 12 in that box. The tie for those 9 months is a different division, and Example 7 does it by hand.
Example 1: the calculator defaults
Inputs: retainer $4,000, months 12, project fee $8,000, projects 5.
Retainer: 4,000 × 12 = $48,000
Projects: 8,000 × 5 = $40,000
Gap: 48,000 - 40,000 = $8,000
The retainer collects $8,000 more this year.
Monthly project equivalent: 40,000 / 12 = $3,333.33
Calculator result
Retainer vs project fee
- Monthly retainer
- $4,000.00
- Retainer months
- 12 months
- Typical project fee
- $8,000.00
- Projects in the year
- 5 projects
Retainer
is estimated to collect $8,000.00 more this year
- Annual retainer
- $48,000.00
- Annual project fees
- $40,000.00
- Monthly project equivalent
- $3,333.33
A $3,333.33 retainer for 12 months is the line that ties those five jobs. 12 × $3,333.33 = $39,999.96, which is four cents under $40,000. If you type 3333.33 as the monthly fee, the page reports projects ahead by $0.04, with a retainer of $39,999.96. The fee that ties the year in whole cents is not sitting in that box. The box is the project total divided by 12, rounded to cents for display.
People often compare $4,000 with $8,000 and stop. One month against one job makes the project look twice as large. The year on these inputs is $48,000 against $40,000.
Example 2: add a sixth project
Keep the retainer at $4,000 for 12 months. Raise projects from 5 to 6. The fee stays $8,000.
Retainer: still $48,000
Projects: 8,000 × 6 = $48,000
The gap is $0.00. The page calls that the same estimated annual revenue.
Calculator result
Retainer vs project fee
- Monthly retainer
- $4,000.00
- Retainer months
- 12 months
- Typical project fee
- $8,000.00
- Projects in the year
- 6 projects
$0.00
same estimated annual revenue
- Annual retainer
- $48,000.00
- Annual project fees
- $48,000.00
Example 1’s $8,000 lead was one job wide. The sixth $8,000 project closes it. A seventh would put projects ahead by another $8,000, at $56,000 against the same $48,000 retainer.
Example 3: the same retainer, month by month
Hold the project side at five jobs, $40,000. Change only the months on a $4,000 retainer.
| Months | Retainer billed | Against $40,000 of projects |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,000 | Projects ahead by $36,000 |
| 3 | $12,000 | Projects ahead by $28,000 |
| 6 | $24,000 | Projects ahead by $16,000 |
| 9 | $36,000 | Projects ahead by $4,000 |
| 10 | $40,000 | Same revenue, $0.00 |
| 12 | $48,000 | Retainer ahead by $8,000 |
Month 10 is the tie: 4,000 × 10 = 40,000. The page confirms that pair as the same estimated annual revenue. Before that month, the project pipeline is ahead on these inputs. After it, the retainer is ahead. The calculator does not spread the five projects across the calendar. It only has the annual project total. The month column above is the retainer formula with the months box changed.
Fig 2 · 1/6
A $4,000 retainer through the year
Five projects stay at $40,000. Only the months change.
Retainer billed
- Retainer
| Point | Retainer |
|---|---|
| 1 mo | $4.0k |
| 3 mo | $12k |
| 6 mo | $24k |
| 9 mo | $36k |
| 10 mo | $40k |
| 12 mo | $48k |
After 6 months the retainer has billed $24,000.
Nine months is $36,000. Month 10 ties $40,000. Month 12 reaches $48,000.
Example 4: a busy project year
Inputs: retainer $3,500 for 12 months, project fee $12,000, projects 6.
Retainer: 3,500 × 12 = $42,000
Projects: 12,000 × 6 = $72,000
Gap: 72,000 - 42,000 = $30,000
Projects collect $30,000 more.
Monthly project equivalent: 72,000 / 12 = $6,000
A $6,000 retainer for 12 months would tie this pipeline. The $3,500 fee is $2,500 a month under that line, and 2,500 × 12 = $30,000, which is the same gap.
Example 5: a six-month tie
Inputs: retainer $5,000, months 6, project fee $7,500, projects 4.
Retainer: 5,000 × 6 = $30,000
Projects: 7,500 × 4 = $30,000
The page reports $0.00 and the same estimated annual revenue. On a tie it does not print a monthly project equivalent. 30,000 / 12 is still $2,500 if you want that line yourself. The retainer that matches these four jobs over 6 months is 30,000 / 6 = $5,000, which is the fee already in the box.
Calculator result
Retainer vs project fee
- Monthly retainer
- $5,000.00
- Retainer months
- 6 months
- Typical project fee
- $7,500.00
- Projects in the year
- 4 projects
$0.00
same estimated annual revenue
- Annual retainer
- $30,000.00
- Annual project fees
- $30,000.00
Example 6: two large jobs against a small retainer
Inputs: retainer $2,000 for 12 months, project fee $18,000, projects 2.
Retainer: 2,000 × 12 = $24,000
Projects: 18,000 × 2 = $36,000
Projects are ahead by $12,000.
Monthly project equivalent: 36,000 / 12 = $3,000
One of those jobs is $18,000. The retainer needs nine months at $2,000 to match a single job, and the year of the retainer still lands $12,000 short of two jobs. If the second job slips into next year, the count for this year is 1. Then projects are $18,000 and the retainer is ahead by $6,000. Signed work that invoices in January belongs in next year’s project count. The formula has no separate “signed but unbilled” bucket.
Example 7: nine months, and the divide-by-12 box
Inputs: retainer $4,500, months 9, project fee $7,000, projects 7.
Retainer: 4,500 × 9 = $40,500
Projects: 7,000 × 7 = $49,000
Projects are ahead by $8,500.
The monthly project equivalent on the page is 49,000 / 12 = $4,083.33. That is a 12-month reading of the project total. It is not the retainer that ties these 9 months.
The 9-month tie is 49,000 / 9 = $5,444.444…, which is $5,444.44 to the cent. 9 × $5,444.44 = $48,999.96, four cents under $49,000. The $4,500 fee is $944.44 a month under that tie. 944.44 × 9 = $8,499.96, which is the $8,500 gap after that four-cent rounding.
If you raise the retainer to $4,083.33 and leave months at 9, you do not tie the projects. 4,083.33 × 9 = $36,749.97. Projects would still be ahead. The box divided by 12. The contract is 9 months.
Example 8: a part-time year, then one more job
Inputs: retainer $1,500, months 10, project fee $4,500, projects 3.
Retainer: 1,500 × 10 = $15,000
Projects: 4,500 × 3 = $13,500
The retainer is ahead by $1,500.
Monthly project equivalent: 13,500 / 12 = $1,125
Add a fourth project. Projects become 4,500 × 4 = $18,000. The retainer is still $15,000. Projects are ahead by $3,000. The monthly equivalent becomes 18,000 / 12 = $1,500, which now matches the retainer fee, but only over 12 months. This retainer runs 10 months, so the totals do not tie.
The gap in Example 8 was one third of a project. One extra job flips a $1,500 lead into a $3,000 deficit.
Example 9: no projects on the calendar
Inputs: retainer $6,000 for 12 months, project fee $9,000, projects 0.
Retainer: 6,000 × 12 = $72,000
Projects: 9,000 × 0 = $0
The retainer collects $72,000 more. The monthly project equivalent is $0.00.
A fee with a zero count contributes nothing, whatever the fee is. If you expect the jobs and they are not in the count, the comparison describes an empty pipeline. Put the jobs you will invoice into the count before you read the winner.
Example 10: a larger retainer and a thin project list
Inputs: retainer $8,000 for 12 months, project fee $15,000, projects 4.
Retainer: 8,000 × 12 = $96,000
Projects: 15,000 × 4 = $60,000
The retainer is ahead by $36,000.
Monthly project equivalent: 60,000 / 12 = $5,000
The retainer is $3,000 a month above the line that would tie those four jobs. 3,000 × 12 = $36,000.
A second pair in the same range: retainer $10,000 for 12 months, fee $25,000, projects 3.
Retainer: $120,000. Projects: $75,000. Retainer ahead by $45,000. Monthly equivalent: 75,000 / 12 = $6,250.
And the other direction, eight smaller jobs: retainer $2,500 for 12 months, fee $6,000, projects 8.
Retainer: $30,000. Projects: $48,000. Projects ahead by $18,000. Monthly equivalent: $4,000. The retainer would need to be $4,000, not $2,500, to tie eight jobs of $6,000.
Fig 3 · 1/2
Annual totals on five books
Each pair is a 12-month total from the examples.
Annual revenue
- Retainer
- Projects
| Category | Retainer | Projects |
|---|---|---|
| Defaults | $48k | $40k |
| 6th project | $48k | $48k |
| Busy year | $42k | $72k |
| $8k retainer | $96k | $60k |
| Two jobs | $24k | $36k |
The default retainer is $48,000. Five projects are $40,000. A sixth project ties them.
Six jobs of $12,000 reach $72,000. An $8,000 retainer reaches $96,000. Two jobs of $18,000 reach $36,000.
Fig 4 · 1/3
How far apart the two totals sit
Positive bars are the absolute gap. The winner is in the label.
Absolute gap
Defaults
$8,000
Busy year
$30,000
$8k retainer
$36,000
The default gap is $8,000, on the retainer side.
A busy project year opens a $30,000 gap the other way. An $8,000 retainer opens $36,000.
The results side by side
| Example | Retainer | Months | Fee | Projects | Retainer total | Project total | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Defaults | $4,000 | 12 | $8,000 | 5 | $48,000 | $40,000 | Retainer, $8,000 |
| 1. Fee typed as $3,333.33 | $3,333.33 | 12 | $8,000 | 5 | $39,999.96 | $40,000 | Projects, $0.04 |
| 2. Sixth project | $4,000 | 12 | $8,000 | 6 | $48,000 | $48,000 | Tie, $0.00 |
| 3. One month | $4,000 | 1 | $8,000 | 5 | $4,000 | $40,000 | Projects, $36,000 |
| 3. Six months | $4,000 | 6 | $8,000 | 5 | $24,000 | $40,000 | Projects, $16,000 |
| 3. Month 10 | $4,000 | 10 | $8,000 | 5 | $40,000 | $40,000 | Tie, $0.00 |
| 4. Busy year | $3,500 | 12 | $12,000 | 6 | $42,000 | $72,000 | Projects, $30,000 |
| 5. Six-month tie | $5,000 | 6 | $7,500 | 4 | $30,000 | $30,000 | Tie, $0.00 |
| 6. Two large jobs | $2,000 | 12 | $18,000 | 2 | $24,000 | $36,000 | Projects, $12,000 |
| 6. Second job slips | $2,000 | 12 | $18,000 | 1 | $24,000 | $18,000 | Retainer, $6,000 |
| 7. Nine months | $4,500 | 9 | $7,000 | 7 | $40,500 | $49,000 | Projects, $8,500 |
| 8. Part-time | $1,500 | 10 | $4,500 | 3 | $15,000 | $13,500 | Retainer, $1,500 |
| 8. Fourth job | $1,500 | 10 | $4,500 | 4 | $15,000 | $18,000 | Projects, $3,000 |
| 9. No projects | $6,000 | 12 | $9,000 | 0 | $72,000 | $0 | Retainer, $72,000 |
| 10. $8,000 retainer | $8,000 | 12 | $15,000 | 4 | $96,000 | $60,000 | Retainer, $36,000 |
| 10. $10,000 retainer | $10,000 | 12 | $25,000 | 3 | $120,000 | $75,000 | Retainer, $45,000 |
| 10. Eight smaller jobs | $2,500 | 12 | $6,000 | 8 | $30,000 | $48,000 | Projects, $18,000 |
The monthly project equivalent is projects times the fee, divided by 12. On the nine-month row that box still reads $4,083.33. The retainer that ties those nine months is about $5,444.44.
Open the retainer versus project fees calculator with the fee you would invoice and the jobs you expect to bill in these months. The rate you quote for an hour of that work is the freelance rate post. What that hour keeps after expenses and a tax reserve is the after-tax hourly post.