"Should we pay monthly or per-project?" and "What about performance-based pricing?" are among the most common questions we hear from companies evaluating YouTube agencies. They're reasonable questions, but they're also the wrong starting point, because each pricing model optimises for different outcomes and creates different incentive structures. Choosing the wrong model, even with the right agency, can lead to misaligned expectations and mediocre results.

Here's what each model actually looks like in practice, when each one makes sense, and which warning signs suggest an agency is using the model to their advantage rather than yours.

The Three Main Pricing Models

YouTube agencies typically operate under one of three models: the monthly retainer, project-based pricing, or performance-based pricing. Some agencies offer hybrids, which we'll cover as well. Each has its proper use cases and, unfortunately, each has common patterns of abuse.

Monthly Retainer: The Industry Standard

How It Works

You pay a fixed monthly fee, typically between €10,000 and €30,000, for a defined scope of services. This usually includes a set number of videos per month, along with strategy, optimisation, distribution, and reporting. The relationship is ongoing, with both sides expecting a minimum commitment of six to twelve months.

Why It's the Most Common Model

The retainer model dominates YouTube agency work for good reason. YouTube is fundamentally a long-term channel. Growth compounds over time: each video builds on the last, older content continues to attract views, and the channel's authority grows with every consistent week of publishing. This kind of compounding doesn't happen with one-off projects. It requires sustained, systematic effort.

From the agency's side, a retainer provides the stability to invest in your account. They can allocate senior talent, build institutional knowledge about your brand, and plan long-term content strategies rather than scrambling from project to project. From your side, it means predictable costs, the ability to build real momentum, and a partner who's thinking about your channel's trajectory over months, not just the next deliverable.

The Advantages

Costs are predictable and easy to budget for. The agency can plan long-term strategy rather than optimising for short-term output. Iteration happens naturally: each batch of videos informs the next, and the agency learns what resonates with your audience over time. And the incentives are reasonably aligned because both sides want the relationship to continue, which means both sides want results.

The Disadvantages

The upfront commitment is real. You're signing up for a significant monthly expense before you've seen results, and with YouTube's typical growth curve, those results may take three to six months to materialise. There's also risk if the agency underdelivers: you're paying the same amount whether the videos are exceptional or mediocre, which means you need strong communication and accountability mechanisms built into the contract.

When Retainer Makes Sense

This model works best when you're building a channel from zero or revitalising a dormant one, when you need the full stack of services from strategy through execution, when you're committed to a twelve-month or longer YouTube investment, and when your budget allows for €10,000 or more per month. For most companies serious about YouTube as a growth channel, this is the right model.

Red Flags in Retainer Pricing

Watch out for vague scope descriptions. "Content creation and strategy support" isn't a scope; it's a mood. You need specific deliverables: four long-form videos per month, eight Shorts, weekly analytics reporting, monthly strategy review, and so on. Also be wary of month-to-month contracts with no commitment: this might sound flexible, but it means the agency has no incentive to invest in understanding your business deeply. And if the retainer is unusually cheap, say €3,000 per month for "full service," as we discuss in our article on YouTube agency red flags, you're almost certainly getting junior resources without the strategic depth that makes YouTube work.

Project-Based Pricing: Good for Testing

How It Works

You pay a one-time fee for a specific, defined deliverable. This could be a channel launch package, a batch of videos, a strategic audit, or a channel rebrand. The scope has a clear beginning and end, with a fixed price, typically ranging from €5,000 to €50,000 depending on what's included.

Common Project Types

A launch package (€15,000 to €30,000) typically includes a strategy workshop, the first eight to twelve videos, channel setup and branding, and a measurement framework. This is often a precursor to a retainer relationship: it lets both sides test the partnership before committing long-term.

A video production batch (€10,000 to €25,000) covers the production of five to ten videos without the strategic layer. This is pure execution: filming, editing, and delivery. It works if you have your own strategy but lack production capability.

A channel audit and strategy (€5,000 to €15,000) delivers a comprehensive analysis of your current channel, competitive landscape, and growth opportunity, along with a strategy document and roadmap. No execution, just the plan. This is something we offer as a standalone service at Humble&Brag, and it can be valuable whether you plan to execute in-house, with us, or with another partner.

The Advantages

The total cost is known upfront, which reduces financial risk. Commitment is limited, making it easier to get internal buy-in. It's an excellent way to test an agency before signing a longer-term retainer. And if you only need a one-time deliverable, say a channel rebrand or a launch package, it's the right structure.

The Disadvantages

Project-based work is typically more expensive per video than retainer work because the agency can't amortise their learning across a longer relationship. Each new project requires re-onboarding, which is inefficient for both sides. And crucially, projects don't build momentum. YouTube rewards consistency, and one batch of twelve videos is a start, not a strategy.

When Project-Based Makes Sense

Choose this model when you're testing an agency before committing to a retainer, when you have a defined one-time need like a channel launch or rebrand, when your budget doesn't allow for an ongoing retainer, or when you only need production and already have strategy covered internally.

Red Flags

Be cautious of very cheap per-video rates. If an agency quotes €500 per video for "full production," ask what's actually included, because quality will suffer at that price. Watch for scope creep, where undefined deliverables lead to unexpected costs mid-project. And be sceptical of agencies that push project pricing when your needs clearly call for ongoing support: they may be avoiding the accountability that comes with a retainer.

Performance-Based Pricing: Sounds Great, Rarely Works

How It Works

The agency gets paid based on results: per subscriber, per thousand views, per lead generated, or through a revenue share arrangement. The appeal is obvious: you only pay when the agency delivers. In practice, it's almost always a bad deal for one or both parties.

Why It Sounds Great in Theory

Incentives are perfectly aligned, or so the pitch goes. You share the risk with the agency. If they don't deliver, you don't pay. It's the ultimate accountability mechanism.

Why It Falls Apart in Practice

Very few good agencies offer pure performance-based pricing, and the ones that do usually have highly specific conditions attached. Here's why it rarely works.

First, too many variables fall outside the agency's control. Your product quality, your pricing, your sales team's ability to close, your brand's existing reputation, even market conditions, all of these affect YouTube's business impact, and none of them are the agency's responsibility. Tying payment to outcomes that depend on factors beyond the agency's influence creates an unfair structure that repels competent agencies.

Second, YouTube's growth timeline doesn't align with performance pricing. It typically takes three to six months before meaningful results emerge. An agency that isn't getting paid for half a year simply can't sustain operations, which means the agencies willing to accept these terms are often the ones who can least afford to lose: the ones with the least experience and the most desperation for clients.

Third, performance-based pricing can incentivise gaming metrics. If an agency is paid per subscriber, they might optimise for subscriber count at the expense of subscriber quality, drawing in viewers who inflate numbers but never convert to customers. If they're paid per view, they'll chase clickbait over substance. The metrics you pay for become the metrics they optimise for, and that may not align with your actual business goals.

When Performance Pricing Occasionally Works

Hybrid models can work well: a smaller base retainer (say, €7,000 to €10,000 per month) combined with performance bonuses tied to meaningful milestones like subscriber thresholds, lead volumes, or revenue benchmarks. This gives the agency enough stability to do their work properly while creating upside incentive for exceptional performance.

Pure performance pricing really only works in rare situations where the agency takes equity as part of the arrangement, where there's a long-established relationship with deep trust, or where the product and offer are so proven that the only variable is distribution.

Red Flags

"We only get paid if you grow" should prompt the question: why doesn't any truly successful agency operate this way? If payment is based purely on vanity metrics like subscribers or views, the incentive structure is misaligned with your business goals. And any arrangement with no minimum guaranteed payment will attract agencies that are more hungry than skilled.

Hybrid Models Worth Considering

The best pricing structures often blend elements of the models above to balance risk, incentive, and sustainability.

Retainer plus performance bonus is the model we think works best for most situations. The base retainer (€10,000 to €15,000 per month) covers the consistent, high-quality work that YouTube requires. Performance bonuses (€2,000 to €5,000 per milestone) reward exceptional results and keep the agency hungry. Milestones might include hitting 10,000 subscribers, generating the first fifty attributable leads, or reaching a revenue target. This structure gives the agency stability while sharing the upside with the client.

Project-to-retainer transition is another strong option. You pay €15,000 to €25,000 for a launch project, and if you continue to a retainer, some portion of that project fee credits toward the first months. This reduces friction to start and gives both sides a trial period.

Sliding scale retainers reward longevity. The rate might start at €15,000 per month, drop to €12,000 after six months, and settle at €10,000 after twelve. This acknowledges that the agency becomes more efficient as they learn your brand, and it rewards clients for commitment.

How to Choose the Right Model

The right pricing model depends on your specific situation, not on which model sounds most appealing in the abstract.

Choose a retainer if you're starting a channel from zero, need ongoing growth, want full-stack services (strategy through execution), can commit to twelve or more months, and have a budget of €10,000 or more per month. This is the model that produces the most consistent, compounding results for businesses serious about YouTube.

Choose project-based pricing if you're testing an agency before committing, have a specific one-time need, are working with a limited budget, or only need production support without strategy.

Choose performance-based pricing if you have a proven product and offer, can pair it with a base retainer for stability, have a long time horizon for results, and are working with an agency you already trust deeply. For most companies, this combination of conditions simply doesn't exist, which is why we rarely recommend pure performance models.

The Bottom Line on YouTube Agency Pricing

The pricing model you choose shapes the relationship, the incentive structure, and ultimately the results. For most companies building a serious YouTube presence, the monthly retainer, ideally with some performance incentive built in, is the model that produces the best outcomes. It provides the stability agencies need to do thoughtful, long-term work while creating the accountability and alignment that clients need to justify the investment.

Whatever model you choose, remember that cheap always costs more in the end. An agency charging €3,000 per month for full service will produce content that underperforms, which will lead you to conclude that YouTube doesn't work, which will cost you the years of compounding growth you would have built with the right partner. Invest properly, choose the right structure, and give the channel the time it needs to prove itself.

Not sure which model fits your situation? Let's talk through it.