Educational only: Work and pay decision support, not tax, legal, financial or career advice.
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Update policy: Reviewed when formulas or official dependencies change.
Scope: Market-neutral work and pay planning using your own assumptions.
What this calculator helps you decide
Best for
Independent workers converting a recurring retainer into an hourly equivalent.
Outputs
Effective hourly rate, target retainer and annual net value.
Start here
Enter retainer pay, all committed hours and direct costs for one period.
- Close-intent boundary
- Do not use this to infer a market rate benchmark; use Contractor Rate Equivalent Calculator for employee-contractor parity.
Understand real hourly value
Retainer Rate Equivalent: effective hourly rate
Effective hourly rate, target retainer and annual net value.
Retainer value and committed time
Enter gross retainer, delivery and non-delivery hours, costs and a target hourly rate.
Your numbers stay in this browser
Gross retainer for one repeated period.
Delivery time committed per period.
Administration, sales and other time per period.
Direct retainer costs per period.
Annualization and target rateOpen the assumptions you are less likely to change on every comparison.
Number of retainer periods in a year.
Target effective rate used to derive a minimum retainer.
Calculated result
The engine returns 5,400 net, 77.14 per hour and a 6,200 target retainer.
Use one currency consistently across all inputs.
PDF and CSV exports stay on this device. Clean page links contain no inputs.
Scenario comparison
Each row names the assumption axis changed from the baseline.
ScenarioResultDifference
Entered scenario77.14Baseline
Delivery hours: 6373.97-3.17
Save these results, change an input, then compare the updated figures with this baseline.
The baseline is temporary in this tab and is not added to shared scenario links or generated reports.
Calculation details
View calculation detailsView the formulas and inputs used for these results.
Effective hourly rate
Effective hourly rate
effectiveHourlyRate = (retainerPerPeriod − directCostsPerPeriod) ÷ (deliveryHoursPerPeriod + nonDeliveryHoursPerPeriod)77.14 currency unitsResult77.14 currency units
Net retainer divided by delivery and non-delivery hours. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Effective hourly rate formula →Retainer needed for target rate
Retainer needed for target rate
minimumRetainerPerPeriod = targetHourlyRate × committedHoursPerPeriod + directCostsPerPeriod6,200.00 currency unitsResult6,200.00 currency units
Target rate times committed hours plus direct costs. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Retainer needed for target rate formula →Annual net retainer value
Annual net retainer value
annualNet = netRetainerPerPeriod × periodsPerYear64,800.00 currency unitsResult64,800.00 currency units
Net retainer per period multiplied by periods per year. Displayed using the engine-rounded value.
Annual net retainer value formula →Inputs used
- Retainer per period
- 6,000.00 currency units
- Periods per year
- 12
- Delivery hours
- 60
- Non-delivery hours
- 10
- Direct costs
- 600.00 currency units
- Target hourly rate
- 80.00 currency units
Open this calculator with preset values
This calculator supports documented, shareable scenario URLs. Compatible assistants and applications can construct links using the parameters below.
Scenario values are visible in the URL, calculations run in the browser, and optional saved state stays only on this device. Anyone you share the URL with can read those numbers, so do not include private or identifying data.
| Parameter | Meaning | Unit | Allowed values | Presence | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| retainerPerPeriod | Gross retainer for one repeated period. | currency units/period | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 6000 |
| periodsPerYear | Number of retainer periods in a year. | periods/year | 1 to 53 | Required | 12 |
| deliveryHoursPerPeriod | Delivery time committed per period. | hours/period | 0 to 8760 | Required | 60 |
| nonDeliveryHoursPerPeriod | Administration, sales and other time per period. | hours/period | 0 to 8760 | Required | 10 |
| directCostsPerPeriod | Direct retainer costs per period. | currency units/period | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 600 |
| targetHourlyRate | Target effective rate used to derive a minimum retainer. | currency units/hour | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 80 |
Retainer Rate Equivalent: effective hourly rate
Use effective hourly rate only after counting delivery and non-delivery time.
Formula summary
- Primary formula
- effectiveHourlyRate = (retainerPerPeriod − directCostsPerPeriod) ÷ (deliveryHoursPerPeriod + nonDeliveryHoursPerPeriod)
Data used here
- The estimate uses your inputs and the work-value formula documented in the methodology.
Decision checks
Act on the result
Compare the target retainer with scope, cost and time records.
Stress-test the decision
Retest non-delivery hours and direct costs.
When this estimate can be misleading
- Tax, payment risk, scope creep and utilization changes are excluded.
- The target rate is a user decision, not a market benchmark.
- Use effective hourly rate only after counting delivery and non-delivery time.
Educational estimate, not advice. See all assumptions & limitations →
Related reading
Use these practical guides to interpret the decision and its assumptions.
- How to use the Retainer Rate Equivalent calculator
Convert recurring retainer pay, delivery time, non-delivery time and direct costs into comparable rates.
Read guide
Frequently asked questions
What effective hourly rate does this retainer produce?
Compare the target retainer with scope, cost and time records.
Which official source and period does this use?
This market-neutral tool does not use an official local policy rule.
Can I share or save a scenario?
Tool inputs and results stay in this browser. Anonymous categorical usage analytics send only governed page, tool, cluster and action identifiers; tool inputs and results are never sent. Error monitoring is disabled. Optional saved state stays only on this device.
How should I use the calculated result?
Treat the calculated result as one scenario, then verify the input record with the greatest effect on that result.