Framer for Agencies (2026): How to Build Client Sites and Get Paid

The opportunity: an agency built on fast handoffs

The model is simple. You build a client's site in Framer, hand the project over so the client owns it and pays for the plan, and you keep your build fee — plus a cut of what Framer earns from that client. Framer runs an Experts program for exactly this: agencies and freelancers who build client sites and transfer them. Because you design on a freeform canvas and publish straight to Framer's hosting, the build-to-live loop is short, which is what makes a high-volume client practice work. The honest limit sits right next to the opportunity, so we'll keep naming it: no code export means your clients can't take their site off Framer (more under the honest cons below).

How you make money

There's more than one revenue line here, and the good agencies stack them.

• Build / project fees. Your core income: what you charge to design and ship the site. Framer doesn't touch this — it's your rate.
• Revenue share on handoff (up to 50%). Through the Experts program, when a client accepts a Project Transfer and buys a plan, Framer pays you up to 50% revenue share on that client. This is the line that makes Framer different from billing a one-off build — you keep earning after delivery.
• Retainers for content edits. Put the client on a Content Editor seat ($10/mo) so they can update copy and CMS items themselves — or keep that work and bill it as a monthly retainer. Either way it's recurring.
• Expert Directory leads. Hit Pro Expert status and you get prioritized placement in the Expert Directory, more and faster client matches, and higher lead volume — inbound work you didn't have to chase.
• Template and plugin sales. Framer runs a Creator program; if you build templates or plugins, that's a separate, passive line on top of client work.
• Affiliate. Framer's affiliate program is another revenue line agencies can fold in.

Pricing your work

We can't publish a flat "charge $X" number — your rate depends on your market and the scope. What we can pin down is the cost side, because that's what your price has to clear. The client's site runs on a Framer plan — Pro ($30/mo) is the working floor for client sites, since roles & permissions, staging, relational CMS, and 301 redirects all live on Pro and not below. On top of the plan, editing seats are the variable cost: a Content Editor seat is $10/mo, a full additional editor is $20/mo. Price your build to cover your time, then decide whether the plan and seats sit on the client's bill (the usual move after handoff) or yours (during the build).

Is Framer the right base for your agency?

It depends entirely on what your clients sell — so be honest about your client mix before you commit a practice to it.

The delivery workflow

The build-and-ship loop is short, which is the whole point for client work. You design the site on the canvas (or start from a Marketplace template or "Start with AI"), connect the client's custom domain, and publish — Framer hosts it instantly. Connecting the domain happens in Site Settings → Domains → "Connect a domain you own," then you add the DNS records Framer shows you at the registrar; the domain goes live once it reads "Connected" and you republish. Get the domain connected before you hand off, so it carries over to the client intact.

The client handoff: Project Transfer, step by step

This is the mechanic the whole model rests on. You move the project to the client so they own it and take over billing, and you keep your fee plus the revenue share.

1. Open Transfer Project In the open project, click the Framer logo (top nav) → File → Transfer Project.

2. Enter the client's email Enter the client's email address — the account the project moves to.

3. Decide whether you stay on Optionally uncheck "remain an editor" if you don't want ongoing edit access (leave it checked if you're staying on a retainer).

4. Transfer Click Transfer.

A connected custom domain stays connected and the site stays online — there's no downtime during the transfer. When the client accepts, your site subscription auto-cancels and any unused time is credited back to you; the client is then prompted to pick and activate a plan to keep paid features (custom domain, Localization, and the rest) running. If you'd rather keep your original and give the client a duplicate, the alternative is to Copy/Remix the project instead of transferring it.

What it costs you per client — and why Pro Experts pay almost nothing

The point of the handoff is that the recurring cost moves to the client. Here's the math across a realistic roster. Numbers verified June 11, 2026 — confirm before you commit.

Mistakes agencies make on Framer

• Selling without disclosing the lock-in. The single most common way to burn a client relationship here. Put "no code export, hosted on Framer" in the proposal.
• Building client sites on Basic. Basic has no roles & permissions, no staging, no relational CMS, and no 301 redirects — which means a client migration done on Basic loses its old rankings. Pro is the floor for real client work.
• Eating seat costs you could have moved. Hand the client a Content Editor seat ($10/mo) on their bill instead of carrying editors on yours — or bill the edits as a retainer.
• Forgetting to republish. Settings and changes don't go live until you publish again.

When NOT to run client work on Framer

If your client base is stores, large content/blog hubs, membership portals, or anything app-like, don't build your agency on Framer. There's no native ecommerce, the CMS strains at thousands of items, and it isn't an app platform — and because clients can't export their code, you can't cleanly migrate them off later. For those clients, point them to a store builder, WordPress for content, or a real app stack. Framer is the base for a design-led site practice; the clearer you are about that, the better the agency works. See where Framer itself fits and doesn't in our Framer review.