Crisis Response Budget Calculator
Estimate crisis communications response costs based on severity, duration, and required resources.
Response Services
Crisis Response Budget
⚠️ Early intervention is critical. Studies show companies that respond within 24 hours experience 60% less reputation damage than those that delay.
How to Use This Calculator
Assess crisis severity and scope
Select response services needed
Estimate duration and intensity
Calculate total response budget
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does crisis response cost?
Minor incidents: $10,000-50,000. Moderate crises: $50,000-250,000. Major crises can exceed $1M+ including PR, legal, and business losses. Most of this is agency/legal fees.
Should I have a crisis retainer?
For companies with significant reputation risk, crisis retainers ($5,000-20,000/month) ensure immediate access to senior counsel and avoid premium rush rates during incidents.
What crisis services do I need?
Core services: media relations, messaging/statement drafting, social monitoring, stakeholder communications. Add legal coordination, employee communications, and government affairs as needed.
How do I budget for unknown crises?
Set aside 5-10% of annual PR budget as crisis reserve. Have contracts in place with crisis specialists before you need them to avoid delays during incidents.
What drives crisis response costs?
Duration is the biggest factor. 24/7 monitoring and response, multiple workstreams, and extended media cycles drive costs. Early, decisive action usually costs less than prolonged issues.
Why Use This Calculator
- Plan crisis response budgets
- Scale resources to crisis severity
- Include legal and monitoring costs
- Prepare stakeholder communications
- Build crisis reserves appropriately
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"We used these tools to build a realistic crisis communications budget before we actually needed it. Smart planning."
PR Manager, Financial Services