Freelancer, one-off project, or a studio on retainer

Google “website retainer vs freelancer” and you will read advice for freelancers on how to sell retainers. You are the buyer. You need to know when a one-off is cheaper, when a monthly studio pays for itself, and when a freelancer is a single point of failure with a good personality.

SINLE Technologies LLC sells three products: Origin from $2,500, Relay at $1,500 a month, Sovereign as a fixed SOW. Pick the shape that matches the work, not the one that feels like a relationship.

Hire a freelancer when the job is small and finite

A landing page, a banner, a fix. You already own the site. You can take the files. You are willing to manage the person. That can be less than a studio. It is also how logins disappear when they take another job.

Buy a project when you need a site you keep

That is Origin or Custom. Scope, deposit, weekly increments, handoff. We are not on your payroll after launch unless you ask. That is the clean version of “agency.”

Buy a retainer when the site is already live and the work does not stop

SEO you actually publish, landing pages, small features, a lead who answers in a business day. Relay is built for that: about $50 a day, forty hours, hours roll one month, cancel with 30 days’ notice. It is not a cheaper way to get the first website. If someone bundles a build into a six-month retainer so you never own the repo, that is a trap.

What we refuse

Unlimited revisions for a monthly fee. A Slack seat with no written work. Holding DNS hostage. If you want that, plenty of people will sell it. We will not.

The steps — do these in order

1. 01

   If you need a site once, buy a project

   Origin or Custom. Repo on final payment. Do not sign a retainer to get the first site cheaper.

2. 02

   If you need changes every month, buy a retainer

   Relay: $1,500 a month, up to 40 hours, unused hours roll one month, 30 days’ notice.

3. 03

   If you need a person in Slack with no owner, keep looking

   We do not staff-augment. You get a project lead and work you can see.

4. 04

   Write cancel and ownership into the first PDF

   If leaving means the site dies, you hired a landlord. Walk away.

5. 05

   Start with a call, not a monthly card

   We will tell you which of the three you are. Nothing is billed before a written scope.

Keep reading

• Website cost

  How much a small business website costs — and what $2,500 actually buys

  A real budget for a small business website in 2026: template rent, Origin from $2,500, custom builds, and what you own when the last invoice is paid.

• Web app

  When a spreadsheet should become a custom web app

  No-code vendors rank for “turn Excel into an app.” Operators need a scoped tool they own — roles, a confirm step, and a kill switch — not another sheet with a skin.

• Squarespace

  Custom website vs Squarespace: which one you should actually buy

  Squarespace is a rented theme. A custom site is a repo you keep. How to choose without a builder-vs-builder roundup.