A DTC supplement brand got three agency proposals: $1,800/month flat, $3,000/month flat, and 15% of spend (roughly $4,200/month at their budget). They chose the cheapest. The $1,800 agency ran their account on a template — same campaign structures as every other client, no creative iteration beyond resizing, no funnel or landing page work. ROAS moved from 2.2 to 2.3 in 6 months. They'd paid $10,800 to gain 0.1 ROAS points.
Why Pricing Ranges Without Context Mislead
Shopify agency retainers range from $1,200/month to $15,000/month. That range is accurate and useless without context.
A $1,500/month agency managing 40 accounts at that rate has a revenue model that demands low touch-time per client. Math: 40 clients × 12 hours/month average = 480 hours/month. At 8 strategists, that's 60 hours per strategist per month — 12–14 clients each, minimal individual attention.
A $4,000/month agency with 15 clients per strategist can give you 4× the time and attention for 2.6× the cost. The value comparison is completely different from what the rate implies.
Ask any agency: how many active clients does each strategist manage? If the answer is above 12, you're in a volume model. Below 8, you're in a boutique model. The right number depends on what your account needs.
The 3 Retainer Models and What Each Incentivises
Flat monthly fee. Agency earns the same regardless of spend or results. Incentive: retain the client month-to-month. This aligns well when the agency is invested in ROAS improvement (since that's what retains you). It misaligns when the agency stops iterating after month 2 because there's no revenue upside.
Percentage of ad spend (typically 10–15%). Agency earns more as you spend more. Incentive: increase your budget, not your ROAS. An agency earning 12% of spend on a $25K/month budget earns $3,000/month. On a $40K/month budget: $4,800/month. The financial incentive is to get you to spend more, not convert better.
This model creates a subtle misalignment: fixing the landing page and improving CVR means the same budget drives more revenue — but the agency earns the same fee. Recommending a budget increase drives more revenue and more fee. This is one of the reasons knowing when to fire your agency comes down to specific metrics, not general feelings.
Performance-based (hybrid). Base fee ($1,500–$2,500) plus a % of revenue above a baseline. Incentive alignment is better. The agency earns more only if the account grows. Less common; harder to structure fairly.
For most Shopify brands at $200K–$1M revenue, a flat fee with a clear scope of work is the cleanest model.
What's Included vs What Costs Extra
Most agency retainers at $2,500–$4,500/month include:
- Campaign management (Meta and/or Google)
- Weekly or biweekly reporting
- Creative iteration (resizing, copy variations — not new concept development)
- Monthly strategy call
Usually excluded or billed separately:
- Creative production (new concepts, video, UGC). $500–$3,000/month depending on volume. Ask explicitly whether the retainer includes creative production or just ad management.
- Landing page builds or CRO changes. Most agencies don't touch landing pages. If yours does, confirm scope.
- Email/SMS setup or management. Typically a separate service or referred out.
- Influencer sourcing or UGC coordinator. Often add-on at $500–$1,500/month.
Get a line-item scope breakdown before signing. "Full-funnel management" in a proposal doesn't mean landing page work is included. Confirm each deliverable in writing.
Cost by Service Scope
These are realistic ranges for what you actually get:
Ads management only (Meta or Google, one platform): $1,200–$2,400/month Appropriate for brands under $250K/year with simple account structures and in-house creative.
Ads management (both platforms) + reporting: $2,400–$4,000/month Standard offering for brands at $300K–$800K/year. Creative iteration included, new concept production excluded.
Ads + creative strategy + landing page CRO: $3,500–$6,000/month Appropriate for brands at $600K–$2M/year where the funnel is the constraint, not just the ad account.
Full-funnel (ads + creative + CRO + email/retention): $5,000–$10,000/month Makes sense above $1.5M/year when multiple systems need simultaneous attention.
The Math on When Agency Cost Is Justified
A $3,000/month agency managing a $15K/month ad budget needs to improve ROAS by 0.3 points to pay for itself in revenue — assuming a $55 AOV and 40% contribution margin, improving from 3.1 to 3.4 ROAS on $15K spend adds roughly $4,500/month in attributed revenue. That more than covers the retainer.
The calculation changes if the agency improves ROAS from 3.1 to 3.2 — a 0.1 point move adds $1,500/month in revenue. At $3,000/month agency fee, the engagement is losing money.
Ask any agency you're evaluating: what's a realistic ROAS improvement in 90 days for an account at my current baseline? Get a number. Hold them to it.
If you're evaluating multiple agencies and want a vetting framework alongside the cost context, the 6 questions that filter bad-fit agencies are worth running through first.
If your current ROAS is below where it should be and you want to understand what Basic charges and what you'd get for it, book a 20-minute call.