Fixed-price project vs retainer
Fixed price fits a defined outcome. A retainer fits a living backlog. Mixing them without a clear boundary is how trust erodes.
Choose when
Choose fixed price
- Discovery has produced a written scope and acceptance criteria.
- You need a milestone date and a commercial ceiling for that milestone.
- Change requests should be explicit rather than absorbed silently.
- The next step is launch, migration, or a discrete capability.
Choose a retainer
- The product is live and priorities shift every month.
- You need maintenance, iteration, and a known response cadence.
- Scope is a stream of improvements, not one acceptance document.
- You want reserved capacity without reopening a proposal each sprint.
Practical recommendation
Use fixed price to get to a trustworthy launch, then move to a retainer if the product needs continuous care. Techoice pricing pages and hosting retainers exist for that second phase. If your backlog is volatile before kickoff, do discovery first rather than forcing a fake fixed price.