Almost every agency you'll talk to will sell you the retainer. Easy to see why. From their side, it's the cleanest financial model in the world. Same sum every month, regardless of whether you had a record month or lost money. Cashflow predictability. Easy to scale as a business. Easy to pitch internally, „we have X retainer clients, we have 12-month visibility".
For you, the model has one big problem. You pay them the same whether they bring you sales or sit on their hands. Zero hit to their pocket when things go bad. And honestly, zero benefit either when things go well. They don't make more if you make more. Why would they push hard?
Retainer, briefly
Fixed monthly sum, usually between €800 and €3,000. Covers a package, campaign management, monthly report, weekly or bi-weekly call. Your cost doesn't move whether sales double or halve. For the agency, the retainer works like a gym membership. They get paid whether you show up or not. And their incentive is to get as many subscribers as possible, not to make the current ones reach their goals.
Commission, briefly
A percentage of sales driven by ads. Usually 5 to 15%, depending on margin and budget. Sell €10,000 this month, you pay €500 to €1,500. Sell €50,000 next month, you pay €2,500 to €7,500. Your cost scales with what you earn. Agency earns only if you earn, and more if you earn more. Simple alignment.
The difference in numbers, real cases
Take the scenarios below and put yourself on each row, in your shoes. This is where it gets visible:
| Scenario | Retainer €1,500/month | Commission 7% |
|---|---|---|
| Sales €5K/month | You: -€1,500 | Agency: €1,500 | You: -€350 | Agency: €350 |
| Sales €10K/month | You: -€1,500 | Agency: €1,500 | You: -€700 | Agency: €700 |
| Sales €30K/month | You: -€1,500 | Agency: €1,500 | You: -€2,100 | Agency: €2,100 |
| Sales €50K/month | You: -€1,500 | Agency: €1,500 | You: -€3,500 | Agency: €3,500 |
At €5,000 monthly sales, the retainer eats 30% of your turnover. The agency makes proportionally more than a full-time employee would. At €50,000 monthly sales, commission is more expensive in absolute euros, but you made five times more than in the small scenario. And you're still paying 7% of sales, not 30%. That's called aligned scaling.
The moment of truth comes at month three
Imagine an agency with 40 retainer clients, all paying €1,000 to €2,000 a month. Results on your account are mediocre. You've messaged the account manager twice, they promise „the team's on it next week". Meanwhile, another client, on commission, brings them €5,000 this month because they scaled together. Who gets the attention?
Answer is brutal and you already know it. Commission agencies can't afford to ignore you, because their revenue depends on you. Retainer agencies can afford to put you off, because the cash shows up anyway.
There are cases where a retainer does make sense
So you don't think I'm just pitching a line, here's when retainer actually works better for you:
- Your net margin is under 15% and a 10% commission makes you lose money on every sale. A small retainer, €500 or €800, might be cheaper than commission applied on your volume.
- You sell a product or service with very stable turnover, unaffected by ads. Rare case, but it exists. Recurring services with high retention, long-cycle B2B subscriptions.
- You need work that can't be attributed directly to sales, branding, video production, long-term SEO content, PR. Here retainer is the right model, because there's no direct sale to take commission from.
When commission is the obvious answer
For most businesses selling online, commission beats retainer on every relevant dimension. If you tick the points below, you should accept paying only for results:
- Your net margin is over 20%, meaning you can afford to give up 5 to 10% on the sale and still have healthy profit left.
- Your ad budget is over €2,000 a month, or sales over €5,000 a month, meaning there's enough meat on current volume to justify agency work.
- You want a partner growing with you, not a vendor ticking off a monthly report.
- You're willing to pay more in good months, knowing in slow months you pay less. Fair both ways.
The math you bring to the table
- 1Take your average monthly sales over the last 6 months (or estimate, if you're starting).
- 2Divide the proposed retainer by that average. If you land on 15% or more, run.
- 3Ask for the equivalent commission offer. If the agency refuses to even discuss the model, you have your answer.
- 4If they accept commission but quote an absurd rate (15% plus), negotiate to 5 to 10%. That zone is market standard when margin allows.
Bottom line
- Retainer shifts risk onto you. Agency gets paid regardless.
- Commission shares risk. Agency earns only if you earn.
- For e-commerce and services with trackable sales, commission is the right frame.
- If an agency refuses commission with vague arguments, the refusal is the information you needed.