Compare retainers on scope per dollar, not the headline fee. Put each proposal through the same checklist: services included at your tier, traffic channels actually run, reporting cadence, contract length, notice period, and what you keep on exit. An $800 retainer covering everything routinely beats a cheaper fee with add-on charges.
The short version
- Headline fees are incomparable by design. Scope differences hide inside them.
- Force every candidate into one grid. Ten rows, same questions, answers in writing.
- Channel coverage separates managers from ad vendors. Most retainers quietly cover paid traffic and nothing else.
- Exit terms are part of the price. A cheap retainer you cannot leave is expensive.
- Unbundling is the oldest trick in the industry. Count the add-ons before you compare anything.
The number that actually matters
Two proposals sit on your desk, one at $1,200 a month and one at $2,000, both titled full account management. The only number that lets you compare them is scope per dollar: how many of the jobs your account needs are inside the fee, and how many arrive later as invoices. I have watched the $2,000 option turn out cheaper more often than not, because the $1,200 one billed separately for creative, for extra marketplaces, for anything called a project. The checklist below turns both proposals into the same grid so the real prices surface.
The ten-point retainer comparison checklist
- Service list per tier, in writing. Done properly: an itemized list attached to the contract, not a services page screenshot. At Flapen every tier includes all 50+ services, which is the standard I would hold any proposal to.
- Traffic channels actually operated. Done properly: the proposal names which of the five channels, organic, paid, promotions, influencer and creator, and off-channel traffic, the team will run. Most sellers get two. Ask which of the five your retainer covers and who works each one.
- Who performs the work. Done properly: named employees, their location, and whether anything is subcontracted.
- Caseload of your assigned manager. Done properly: a specific number, in writing, for the individual on your account.
- Reporting cadence and format. Done properly: a written update on a fixed weekly rhythm plus a scheduled live review. Ours is weekly in Slack with a live session every two weeks, and access does not queue behind a monthly call.
- Contract length and notice. Done properly: month-to-month with notice in days. We run 30 days, no lock-in. Twelve-month minimums transfer all the risk to you.
- What you keep on exit. Done properly: account, campaigns, creative, and a written handover, stated in the contract. If exit is not described, assume it is hostile.
- Fee structure and its incentives. Done properly: you can explain in one sentence how the agency earns more, and that sentence does not involve spending more of your money.
- Onboarding and setup charges. Done properly: zero, or itemized with deliverables. Vague "setup phases" are margin.
- Evidence before the quote. Done properly: the proposal reflects an actual audit of your account. A price produced before anyone looked at your data is a rate card, not a plan.
Reading the totals
Score each proposal against all ten rows, then divide the true annual cost, retainer plus every predictable add-on, by the number of rows passed. That figure, cost per covered obligation, is the honest comparison. It routinely reverses the ranking that headline fees suggested, which is exactly why proposals are formatted to prevent you calculating it.
What most agencies will not tell you
Retainer quotes are constructed to be incomparable. One firm buries creative in the fee, another bills it per asset. One includes every marketplace, another charges per region. This is not sloppiness, it is pricing strategy, because a confused buyer defaults to the middle option. The fix costs you one email: send all candidates the same ten rows and require answers in writing. We publish our tiers, $800 a month for one product up to $2,400 for five, at pricing, and a written grid is the fastest way to find out who else will commit to their numbers.
Related answers
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Send us your ten-row grid and we will return it completed, starting at Flapen.
