Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Os honorários variam consoante o cliente.

Here, consoante acts as a preposition meaning depending on or according to. It is used to show that one thing (the fees) changes based on another (the client). In this structure, it is followed directly by the noun phrase o cliente.

Why isn't there a contraction between consoante and o?

Unlike common prepositions like de or em, the word consoante does not merge with definite articles. You must always keep them separate, writing them out fully as consoante o or consoante a.

Could I say dependendo do cliente instead of consoante o cliente?

Yes, you can! Dependendo de (depending on) is a very common alternative that means the exact same thing. Just remember that if you use dependendo, you must contract the preposition de with the article o to make do cliente.

Can I use the word honorários for any kind of fee?