What should be optional in a retainer proposal?

In this template: Priority response ($250.00 USD per month). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.

Pricing guide for freelancers and agencies on ongoing work

How much to charge for a monthly retainer

Updated October 23, 2026. Example prices in US dollars from the retainer template.

Example starting total$2,400.00 USD

Short answer: Price retainer as one fixed line (retainer hours at $120.00 USD) with a starting total of $2,400.00 USD, then 1 optional line (priority response) the client can switch on, and a quantity the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.

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Below: the price lines from our retainer quote, what is fixed, what the client can switch on, and how to show it so the client accepts instead of haggling.

The example pricing

Line	Example price	How it is sold
Retainer hoursChoose between 10 and 40 hours a month	$120.00 USD per month	IncludedClient picks 10 to 40
Priority responseSame-day replies on weekdays	$250.00 USD per month	Optional, off by default

Starting total with the defaults on: $2,400.00 USD, before the client chooses among 1 optional line, with 1 quantity the client sets within your limits. Example prices in US dollars; the template works in 16 currencies and every number is yours to change.

How to present it

The core templates cover the projects most freelancers sell: a fixed-scope build, a retainer, a shoot, a consulting engagement. Each one prices the defined work as one line and everything negotiable as an option the client can switch on.

Fixed price for the thing you can define, recurring for the thing that continues, and countable options for whatever clients tend to add. That structure survives almost any trade.

Whatever you charge, the client should be able to see the total change as they choose. A total that responds is a total that gets accepted.

Three kinds of retainer

Kind	What the client buys	Watch out for
Hours	A block of hours each month at a set price	Say whether unused hours roll over, and for how long
Deliverables	A fixed list each month: posts, reports, updates, a call	Name each item, so "a bit more" becomes an optional line
Access	Your availability: response times, priority, advice on call	Write the response time and the hours it applies

How to package a retainer

Offer one core package with a clear monthly price, then let the client add to it: extra hours by the block, extra deliverables by the number, a quarterly review. Three fixed tiers are harder to choose between than one package and a few switches, and a client who builds their own retainer is less likely to cancel it.

Set a minimum term and a notice period in the proposal, for example three months then thirty days' notice. Signed with the price, they are part of the agreement rather than a clause the client discovers later.

Questions people ask

How much should I charge for a monthly retainer?: Price retainer as one fixed line (retainer hours at $120.00 USD) with a starting total of $2,400.00 USD, then 1 optional line (priority response) the client can switch on, and a quantity the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.
What should be optional in a retainer proposal?: In this template: Priority response ($250.00 USD per month). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.
How do I present retainer pricing so it gets accepted?: The core templates cover the projects most freelancers sell: a fixed-scope build, a retainer, a shoot, a consulting engagement. Each one prices the defined work as one line and everything negotiable as an option the client can switch on.

Why this structure gets accepted

One fixed line the client can say yes to. Retainer hours is priced as a whole, so the conversation is about the result, not the hours.
Options on the page, not in follow-up emails. Priority response sit next to the base price with a switch. People choose what they can see.
The total moves as they choose. On a Quote and Sign page the client toggles lines and sets quantities, watches the total update, and signs with their name. What they chose becomes part of the signed record.

Put it in front of a client

Open this pricing as a real quote, change the words and numbers, and send the link. Your client reads it on a phone or laptop, picks the extras, and taps Accept. You both get the signed PDF.