Costs and pricing
Part of PR agencies costs and pricing: building a budget that measures real value
How PR agencies pricing models compare on one England brief
Compare PR agency charging structures on one England brief, using consistent units, risk allocation, acceptance evidence, change rules and exit terms.
What to take away
- Five London agencies sell three units on this briefretainer, fixed project fee and authorised time. None publishes an England rate card, so the 2026 bands are not quotes.
- The brief runs 12 monthsmonthly press-office support, four announcements, one spokesperson and two-hour out-of-hours crisis cover.
- Normalise every quote firstfixed charge plus quantity times net unit charge plus approved pass-through items.
- In the illustrative example a retainer normalises to about £89,400 net and a project-plus-time quote to about £65,400 net, so the cheaper figure hides more.
The one England brief used throughout
Each range below is read against one defined brief, not a market survey: England-facing media work for a mid-sized business across 12 months.
The scope is monthly press-office support, four national announcements, one spokesperson and out-of-hours crisis cover with a two-hour response.
Service level: the buyer approves facts and the agency controls publication timing. Deliverables: four announcement packages and 12 monthly reports.
Set out the in-house baseline your team already covers, so displaced work stays visible in the comparison.
How five London agencies price the same brief
The five agencies below sell mixtures of retainer, project and authorised time. Figures are indicative London bands as of 2026, not quotations, and no agency confirmed them.
| Agency | Model it sells | Indicative London band, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Edelman | Retainer-led team plus project fees | £8,000 to £20,000 a month |
| Weber Shandwick | Retainer plus project | £7,000 to £20,000 a month |
| MHP Group | Strategic communications retainer | £6,000 to £18,000 a month |
| W Communications | Independent retainer or project | £15,000 to £60,000 a project |
| Hope&Glory | Campaign and project fees | £12,000 to £50,000 a project |
Retainer rows fit the 12-month brief. Project rows fit the four announcements, so the two need normalising before they compare. No row is a recommendation.
Freelancers and smaller independents quote day rates. Senior director time in London runs about £800 to £1,500 a day, manager time £400 to £800 and freelance support £350 to £700 before VAT.
A retainer depends on team seniority and hours, not agency name. A project fee depends on deliverable count, travel and production.
Compare the structures
Unit bought
- Reserved capacity
- Availability in a stated period
- Fixed project
- Accepted package of work
- Authorised time
- Recorded hours by stated role
- Unit charge
- A countable item or service event
- Performance component
- A defined, auditable outcome rule
Risk to resolve
- Reserved capacity
- Unused time and crisis escalation
- Fixed project
- Acceptance test and revisions
- Authorised time
- Which clock applies
- Unit charge
- Duplicates and cancellations
- Performance component
- Baseline ownership
No structure removes production, monitoring, rights, travel or accessibility costs. Put those on their own rows.
Example: the comparable net charge on this brief
Illustrative figures only, not quotes. Proposal A is a retainer at £7,000 a month for 12 months, with monitoring at £450 a month as an approved pass-through.
comparable net charge = fixed charge + sum(contract quantity x net unit charge) + approved pass-through items
Proposal A normalises to £84,000 plus £5,400, or £89,400 net. Proposal B is a £45,000 project fee, 15 authorised days at £1,000 and the same £5,400.
Proposal B normalises to £65,400 net, which is £24,000 lower. Check what B excludes: crisis-cover quantity, revision rounds and out-of-hours response.
Normalise the invoice basis
Work through six steps for each proposal before scoring it.
Normalise the invoice basis
- Record currency, net amount, VAT, unit
- Add quantity, minimum term, included work
- Calculate comparable net charge when definitions match
- Record notice, committed work, cancellable purchases
- Record unused-capacity treatment and refund mechanism
- Mark missing terms unknown and seek in writing
- Record currency, net amount and supplier-stated VAT per line.
- Convert each line to its purchased unitmonth, day, project or item.
- State quantity, minimum term and billing period.
- List included work, exclusions and pass-through items.
- Mark any missing term unknown and request it in writing.
- Calculate the comparable net charge only when unit definitions match.
HMRC's charging VAT guidance explains net, VAT and gross calculations. It does not decide the liability of an unidentified PR supply, so the order needs tax review. The cost guide sets out four ledgers that keep buyer effort beside the fee.
Performance pay and cancellation terms
A performance component needs a defined eligible population, period, data source and attribution method, plus exclusions, a cap, audit access and a remedy.
Media coverage, audience response and sales are not interchangeable. Withhold the element if the outcome is not controlled or the evidence can change after the event.
For cancellation, record the notice period, committed work and cancellable third-party purchases, plus unused-capacity treatment and handover duty. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets the framework on unfair contract terms.
Buyer checklist before scoring proposals
Score each proposal against this list before you compare fees.
Before you act
- Record currency, net amount, VAT, unit, quantity
- Record billing period and source date
- Calculate comparable net charge only when definitions match
- Record notice, committed work, refund mechanism
- Ask each agency for retainer, day rate, project fee
- Mark missing terms unknown and seek in writing
- Define eligible population, period, data source, attribution
- Withhold performance component if outcome not controlled
- Write the 12-month scope, four announcements and two-hour response into the request.
- Convert each quote to the comparable net charge.
- Record notice period, committed work and cancellable purchases.
- Test any performance clause against population, period and remedy.
- Weight privacy, security and accessibility before price.
A cheaper comparable net charge cannot offset failed privacy, security or accessibility terms. Where an agency handles personal data, the contract needs processor terms, and the ICO's UK GDPR guidance and resources sets out what to include.
Send the draft to legal review before scoring, because cancellation and remedy clauses decide the real exit cost.
Common questions
What makes two PR quotes comparable?
Record currency, net amount, stated VAT, unit and quantity per line, then add billing period, minimum term and source date.
How should performance fees be handled?
Require a defined population, period, data source and attribution method, plus exclusions, a cap and a remedy. Withhold the component if the outcome is not controlled.
Which model wins on this brief?
None wins by default. A retainer buys capacity, a project fee buys outputs and authorised time buys recorded effort.
