A retainer charges for recurring work, a project fee buys a defined piece of work, a percentage model links the agency fee to an agreed spending base, and performance pricing links some or all of the fee to a defined result. Some agencies also sell a monthly allowance of specialist hours or credits. The best model for a Dubai business is the one whose scope, cost changes and payment triggers you can understand before signing.
Compare the formula as carefully as the opening price. Two proposals can produce the same first invoice and very different costs when advertising spend rises, work changes or more leads arrive. Keep agency fees, advertising spend and additional production separate throughout the comparison.
Monthly retainers: predictable fees within a defined scope
A retainer suits work that continues each month, such as campaign management, content production or ongoing search work. It can fund recurring outputs, reserved capacity or a prioritised programme. Establish which arrangement you are buying.
Predictability depends on the boundaries. Ask what happens if you add a location, another advertising channel or a new language. Find out whether unused capacity expires, rolls over or can be reassigned, and how a change in priorities affects agreed delivery.
A fixed fee does not by itself guarantee active management. The scope should describe decisions, implementation and review, rather than leave “ongoing optimisation” unexplained. Equally, a monthly fee is not permission to request unlimited work.
Project fees: useful when completion can be defined
A project fee works well for an agreed website build, campaign launch, research assignment or production brief. Before comparing prices, agree what completion means and which client inputs the schedule assumes.
A useful quote identifies deliverables, acceptance criteria, revision arrangements, milestones and the process for changes. If an audit is the deliverable, implementation may be a separate purchase. If a website launch is included, ongoing maintenance and marketing still need their own scope.
Check the cash schedule. A deposit and milestone payments can make the cash requirement very different from dividing the project price by its expected duration. A project lasting several weeks is not automatically a monthly retainer.
Percentage of advertising spend: check what the percentage applies to
A percentage model calculates the management fee from a spending base. The contract needs to define that base: actual billed media, planned budget, a particular platform or a wider managed total.
Ask whether the percentage is the entire fee or is added to a base retainer. Then check minimums, caps and tiers. A percentage on the whole budget behaves differently from a marginal rate applied only above a threshold.
For example, these are three different formulas:
- Percentage only: agreed rate × eligible media spend.
- Minimum or percentage, whichever is higher: the larger of the minimum fee and the calculated percentage.
- Base plus percentage: fixed base fee + the calculated percentage.
Also define the treatment of platform credits, refunds, taxes and spend outside the agency's remit.
The management fee can rise as its spending base increases, depending on the agreed minimums, caps and tiers. That is a commercial incentive to recognise, not proof that an agency will recommend unnecessary spending. Retain approval over budget increases and ask what additional work or responsibility accompanies a higher fee.
Performance pricing: define the payable result first
“Performance marketing” describes a focus on measurable actions. It does not necessarily mean the agency is paid only when those actions happen. Ask for the actual payment formula.
Performance pricing can involve a fee per accepted lead, a payment for a completed appointment, a share of eligible revenue or a base fee plus a bonus. Each arrangement needs an agreed record of what counts.
For a Dubai service business, a payable lead might require the right service, a location the business actually serves, valid contact information and no duplicate enquiry within an agreed period. A form submission alone may not meet that definition.
Define which acquisition channels qualify, how long after an interaction an outcome can earn credit and which record governs billing if systems disagree. An accepted lead is not automatically attributable to the agency.
Before invoices arrive, agree how spam, existing customers, duplicates, cancellations and refunds affect the payable total. For revenue-based fees, distinguish booked sales from collected revenue and define how discounts, taxes and later reversals change the calculation. The billing evidence and review deadline should be clear to both teams.
A performance arrangement does not remove the client's responsibilities. If the business must fund media, supply assets or follow up with prospects, it still carries cost and operational risk even when the agency fee varies with results.
Hours or capacity subscriptions: buy an allowance across services
A capacity subscription gives you a monthly allowance of specialist hours or credits to allocate across agreed services. It can be a form of retainer; the distinction is what the monthly fee buys. It can suit changing needs, but purchasing time does not specify what will be completed. Ask what counts against the allowance, whether unused capacity carries over, whether different specialists consume it at different rates and what happens when it runs out. Agree priorities and review useful output alongside recorded time.
The same starting cost can hide different incentives
The following is a hypothetical fee comparison, not a Dubai price benchmark, Lunasol quote or forecast. Assume each fictional supplier accepts the same defined paid-campaign management brief for three months. Assume AED 30,000 in media spend and 30 accepted payable leads in each month. Media is paid separately. Additional production, setup and tax are excluded from this fee-only illustration and would need to be added to a real purchase.
| Fictional model | Agreed formula | Agency fee under these assumptions |
|---|---|---|
| Retainer | AED 4,500 per month | AED 4,500 per month |
| Project | AED 13,500 for the defined three-month assignment | AED 13,500 total; AED 4,500 monthly planning equivalent |
| Percentage with minimum | Higher of AED 3,000 or 15% of monthly media spend | AED 4,500 per month |
| Base plus performance | AED 1,500 per month + AED 100 per accepted payable lead | AED 4,500 per month |
The project equivalent is for comparison, not a monthly invoice promise. Its actual payments follow the agreed milestones.
Under the stated assumptions, each model produces AED 13,500 in agency fees across the assignment. Add AED 90,000 in media and the fee-plus-media subtotal is AED 103,500, before the excluded items. Identical totals here do not establish that actual suppliers offer equivalent work or results.
Now change one input for a month:
- If media doubles to AED 60,000 while payable leads remain at 30, the percentage fee becomes AED 9,000. The fictional retainer remains AED 4,500 if scope stays unchanged; the performance formula still produces AED 4,500.
- If payable leads rise to 60 while media stays at AED 30,000, the performance fee becomes AED 7,500. The percentage fee remains AED 4,500.
- If additional work changes the brief, the retainer or project may need a separately approved variation. Their fixed figures do not cover an unlimited assignment.
Run this exercise with each real proposal. Change spend, outcomes and scope separately so you can see what actually moves the invoice.
Which model fits which purchase?
| Model | Strong fit when | Main buyer risk | Key question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retainer | Work repeats and the scope is clear | Unclear obligations or unused capacity | What exactly repeats each month? |
| Project | The endpoint and required outputs can be defined | Scope changes and incomplete handover | What counts as complete? |
| Percentage of spend | Media management is priced around an agreed spending base | Fees rise with media without a clear change in responsibility | What spending base, minimum and cap apply? |
| Performance | The payable outcome is meaningful and mutually auditable | Disputes over quality or attribution | Exactly which event triggers payment? |
| Capacity subscription | Specialist needs change within an agreed allowance | Hours are consumed without useful output | What work consumes the allowance, and how is it prioritised? |
A hybrid can combine these features. For example, a project may establish the website before a retainer manages campaigns. A base fee may cover agreed management while a bonus rewards a separately defined result. Check that the components pay for distinct obligations and do not charge twice for the same work.
For Dubai delivery, identify any separately required location shoots, presenters, language production or branch-specific work. Confirm the invoice currency and applicable tax treatment. These requirements do not disappear because the headline formula looks simple.
How to discuss pricing with Lunasol
Lunasol's public paid advertising offer starts from AED 3,000 per month for one channel, Meta Ads or Google Search, with monthly advertising budgets up to AED 15,000; larger budgets are priced individually. Advertising spend is separate, and additional production or website work needs its own agreed scope. This is a specific service offer, not a full-service market benchmark.
Bring the intended channels, media budget, available creative and any implementation gaps. Ask for a written fee, what changes that fee and the complete cost of the work needed to launch and operate the campaign.