Marketing Retainer Utilization Calculator

Calculate retainer utilization, unused value, and effective hourly rate—then compare simple scenarios.

Educational only. Validate with your SOW, timesheets, and actual billing records.

Processed in-browser. Nothing is stored.

Inputs

Your fixed monthly retainer amount

Set to 0 if your retainer is not hour-based

Hours used (or estimated) per month

Used for overage costs and pay-as-you-go scenario

Used for period totals

Simple scenario

Results

Enter inputs and click Calculate.

How to Use

  1. Enter your monthly retainer and your best estimate of hours used.
  2. If your retainer includes a fixed number of hours, enter included hours to calculate utilization and unused value.
  3. Enter the overage hourly rate (or a reasonable proxy) to model overage and pay-as-you-go.
  4. Pick a simple reduction scenario and compare totals for the analysis period.

What Results Mean

Utilization is hours used divided by included hours (only if you enter included hours).

Unused value estimates the dollar value of unused included hours.

Effective hourly rate is retainer divided by hours used (a sanity check for the implied rate).

Common Pitfalls

  • Comparing hours across different scopes (retainer work vs one-off projects).
  • Using inconsistent time tracking or missing non-billable work definitions.
  • Ignoring overage drift: overage becomes the real cost if it is recurring.

Change log

v1.0 (2026-01): Latest release