Agency retainer or software you own?
Both routes deliver software. They differ in who owns the code at the end, who is allowed to change it, and what happens when the engagement stops.
In short
A retainer buys ongoing availability, a one-time build buys a finished system. For work that genuinely recurs, the retainer is the better fit and often the cheaper one. For a system that gets built and then operated, you are paying indefinitely for readiness you no longer need.
There is no three-year calculation on this page. Agency fees are negotiated rather than published, and any example figure would be an assumption we picked ourselves. What can be compared is the structure of the two models, and that is below.
Where the models differ
| Criterion | Agency | FW Delta |
|---|---|---|
| Billing | a running amount, usually monthly | a one-time build plus operations |
| What the amount buys | availability and capacity | a finished, handed-over system |
| Code ownership | varies by contract, so check it | yours, with access from day one |
| Who may change it | in practice the agency | your team, any agency, any freelancer |
| Response time | contractually committed | by agreement, otherwise on demand |
| Knowledge of the system | accumulates at the agency | handed over with the documentation |
| When the engagement ends | depends on what the contract hands over | code, configuration and documentation stay |
A retainer fits when
- work genuinely recurs rather than appearing occasionally
- campaigns, content or design are part of it, not just development
- a committed response time matters more than ownership
- nobody in-house could take a system over
A one-time build fits when
- a bounded system is needed that then simply runs
- the code has to be yours for contractual or strategic reasons
- the ongoing work after the build is modest
- you want to keep the option of changing supplier
FAQ
Why is there no cost calculation here?
Because we would have to set both sides ourselves. An agency fee is negotiated and appears in no price list. An example figure we choose inevitably produces the result we want. That is not a comparison.
Is an agency more expensive?
Not inherently. Where work genuinely recurs, a retainer is usually cheaper than billing by the hour. It gets expensive where it continues after the work is long finished.
Do you work on a retainer?
Only where it is needed, and then as maintenance with a defined scope rather than a mandatory tie. The normal case is that a project ends and the system runs without us.
Talk about the actual case
Whether a retainer or a one-time build fits depends on how much work is left after the build.
01
A 30-minute call
We walk through your starting point and say honestly whether a move pays off for you.
02
A fixed-price proposal
Within five working days, with scope, assumptions and what is explicitly not included.
03
Build and handover
Repository access from day one, documentation at the end, no obligation to keep us.