$ Retainer Reality Check

Is this social media retainer actually paying you? Free, no signup.

Your bar

Minimum $/hr you will work for Monthly take-home goal ($)

The retainer

Monthly retainer fee ($) Hours the retainer covers per month Hours you actually worked this month

Track real hours, not invoiced ones. Content time only here; the invisible hours go below.

The invisible hours

Community management: DMs + comments (hrs/mo) Reporting + analytics + strategy docs (hrs/mo) Revision rounds this month (count) Minutes each revision round cost you

Revisions are the classic trap. "Unlimited revisions" priced into a flat fee quietly doubles your hours.

Breakdown

This retainer really pays you

$0.00/hr

Roster math

Assumes every client pays and costs like this one, so adjust down for your worst ones.

Retainer Reality Check

How to use it

Worked example

FAQs

Why split content hours from the invisible hours?

What is the fair retainer?

What does SCOPE CREEP mean?

How does the roster math use the goal?

What do I do with the hours-over-agreement number?