Fixed Price vs Retainer for App Work
Fixed price buys a written increment. A retainer buys a week of a named team. They are commercial shapes, not moral values. The process essay about store gates is separate: fixed scope vs agile. This page is how money and change orders meet. Croncode LLC can invoice from a US entity. Work is done in Istanbul. We will not quote a fantasy Friday.
Use fixed price when the first store increment is written. Use a retainer when you are buying weekly capacity after that increment. Mixing them without a rule is how disputes start.
What must be true for a fixed price to be honest?
A first job, a not-now list, platforms, languages, and who owns Apple. The packet: what to send. If those are missing, a number is a guess you will both regret. Thin MVPs still need those items: MVP too thin. AI extras need a fail-safe or they are not in the number: fail-safe AI.
Choose the vendor model first: studio vs freelancer vs agency. iOS diligence: choose an iOS studio.
When is a retainer the cleaner paper?
- Version one is live and you need crash and review response. Crashes, reviews.
- You have two tracks, store and client tool, and hours must be explicit. Lean hours.
- Seasonal content will change copy without changing the object. Seasonal content.
- You want founder-led support covered in the same week. Founder support.
Retainers fail when they hide an infinite backlog. Write the weekly demo: sprint demo.
How do you mix them without lying?
| Layer | Fixed | Retainer |
|---|---|---|
| First store job | Usual | Only if discovery is the product |
| Store promise | Yes | Change via a version |
| Week-two experiments | Poor fit | Good fit. Week two |
| Android later | New fixed or new retainer | Do not sneak it in. Android |
Paywalls and privacy labels are store events even on a retainer: honest paywalls, account ownership.
What should the invoice describe?
The increment name or the week dates, the people, and what was not done. People you may see: Goktug Unver, Yusufhan Sokur, Ozgur Ismet Ozkan. Shipping: Istanbul shipping. References: check references.
What mistakes create a fight?
- Fixed price plus a living Figma: that is two contracts.
- Retainer with no kill rule: you are renting hope.
- Changing the privacy SDK list in silence: a store event.
- Assuming a marketing site is in the app price: when a site is enough.
What we will not sell: a number with no job. Will not build. Hire: hire. Custom: custom software. Contact: contact. Journal: /en/journel/. Home: /en/.
How do consumer apps show up in the commercial talk?
We can point at jobs, not at invented revenue. YourStyle, Numira, Spylie, Luviport. Catalog: what Croncode builds. Handover of an old repo may be a short fixed discovery plus a retainer: handover.
Istanbul diligence still applies: hiring in Istanbul. Security before you sign: security questions. Write what happens when the increment is done early. Unused retainer hours should not become a forced feature dump. Unused fixed-price time should not become a free second product. The leftover is a conversation, not a raid on the not-now list. Founders who treat leftover hours as a shopping cart will recreate feature creep with a nicer invoice.
Put the overlap hour in the commercial paper if you are hiring Istanbul for a US founder. A retainer that only works at midnight is not capacity. It is a tax on sleep. Write the clock. Overlap is part of the price even when it does not appear as a line item.
Frequently asked questions
Is fixed price cheaper?
It is more predictable if the increment is real. It is more expensive if you pretend discovery is free.
Can I pause a retainer?
Write the notice period. A pause is a product decision. Crashes and deletion requests do not pause themselves.
Do you take equity instead?
That is a separate conversation. Do not hide it inside a fixed price for a store increment.
What if two founders want different commercial shapes?
Pick one on paper. We will not run two invoices for one fight. Send both versions labeled if you must, then choose.
Where do I start?
Send the job and the not-now list to contact. We will say which shape fits.
