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 much to charge for retainer

Updated September 19, 2026. Example prices in US dollars from the retainer proposal template.

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.

A worked example for freelancers and agencies on ongoing work: the pricing lines from our retainer proposal, what is fixed, what the client can switch on, and how to present it so the total gets accepted rather than negotiated.

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.

Questions people ask

How much should I charge for 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 proposal, change the words and numbers, and send the link. Your client reads it on their phone, adjusts the options, and accepts with one tap. Both of you get the signed PDF.

Try it in the editor, no account See the retainer proposal template