diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 2c81d75..4dc3b85 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ version = 4
 
 [[package]]
 name = "anyhow"
-version = "1.0.71"
+version = "1.0.100"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "9c7d0618f0e0b7e8ff11427422b64564d5fb0be1940354bfe2e0529b18a9d9b8"
+checksum = "a23eb6b1614318a8071c9b2521f36b424b2c83db5eb3a0fead4a6c0809af6e61"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "autocfg"
@@ -33,10 +33,10 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "baf1de4339761588bc0619e3cbc0120ee582ebb74b53b4efbf79117bd2da40fd"
 
 [[package]]
-name = "either"
-version = "1.15.0"
+name = "fastrand"
+version = "2.3.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "48c757948c5ede0e46177b7add2e67155f70e33c07fea8284df6576da70b3719"
+checksum = "37909eebbb50d72f9059c3b6d82c0463f2ff062c9e95845c43a6c9c0355411be"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "hermit-abi"
@@ -63,12 +63,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "scopeguard",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "log"
-version = "0.4.19"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "b06a4cde4c0f271a446782e3eff8de789548ce57dbc8eca9292c27f4a42004b4"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "mio"
 version = "0.8.8"
@@ -85,10 +79,8 @@ name = "noretry"
 version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
- "either",
- "thiserror",
+ "fastrand",
  "tokio",
- "tracing",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -101,12 +93,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "once_cell"
-version = "1.18.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "dd8b5dd2ae5ed71462c540258bedcb51965123ad7e7ccf4b9a8cafaa4a63576d"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "parking_lot"
 version = "0.12.1"
@@ -205,26 +191,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "unicode-ident",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "thiserror"
-version = "2.0.18"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "4288b5bcbc7920c07a1149a35cf9590a2aa808e0bc1eafaade0b80947865fbc4"
-dependencies = [
- "thiserror-impl",
-]
-
-[[package]]
-name = "thiserror-impl"
-version = "2.0.18"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "ebc4ee7f67670e9b64d05fa4253e753e016c6c95ff35b89b7941d6b856dec1d5"
-dependencies = [
- "proc-macro2",
- "quote",
- "syn",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "tokio"
 version = "1.28.2"
@@ -255,39 +221,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "tracing"
-version = "0.1.37"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "8ce8c33a8d48bd45d624a6e523445fd21ec13d3653cd51f681abf67418f54eb8"
-dependencies = [
- "cfg-if",
- "log",
- "pin-project-lite",
- "tracing-attributes",
- "tracing-core",
-]
-
-[[package]]
-name = "tracing-attributes"
-version = "0.1.24"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "0f57e3ca2a01450b1a921183a9c9cbfda207fd822cef4ccb00a65402cbba7a74"
-dependencies = [
- "proc-macro2",
- "quote",
- "syn",
-]
-
-[[package]]
-name = "tracing-core"
-version = "0.1.31"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "0955b8137a1df6f1a2e9a37d8a6656291ff0297c1a97c24e0d8425fe2312f79a"
-dependencies = [
- "once_cell",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "unicode-ident"
 version = "1.0.9"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index a9423f5..7b4138a 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -6,5 +6,6 @@ resolver = "2"
 noretry = { path = "crates/noretry" }
 
 anyhow = { version = "1.0.71" }
+fastrand = { version = "2" }
 tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
 tracing = { version = "0.1", features = ["log"] }
diff --git a/crates/noretry/Cargo.toml b/crates/noretry/Cargo.toml
index c2b5139..ef827ad 100644
--- a/crates/noretry/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/noretry/Cargo.toml
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 edition = "2024"
 
 [dependencies]
-anyhow.workspace = true
-either = "1.15.0"
-thiserror = "2.0.18"
+fastrand.workspace = true
 tokio.workspace = true
-tracing.workspace = true
+
+[dev-dependencies]
+anyhow.workspace = true
diff --git a/crates/noretry/src/lib.rs b/crates/noretry/src/lib.rs
index d63e408..d8d5e40 100644
--- a/crates/noretry/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/noretry/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,17 +1,22 @@
-use std::fmt::Display;
-
-use either::Either;
+use std::fmt;
+use std::time::Duration;
 
 pub fn builder() -> RetryBuilder {
     RetryBuilder {
-        max_attempts: Some(3),
-        retry_strategy: Some(RetryStrategy::ExponentialBackoff),
+        max_attempts: 3,
+        retry_strategy: RetryStrategy::ExponentialBackoff,
+        initial_delay: Duration::from_millis(100),
+        max_delay: Duration::from_secs(30),
+        jitter: true,
     }
 }
 
 pub struct RetryBuilder {
-    max_attempts: Option<usize>,
-    retry_strategy: Option<RetryStrategy>,
+    max_attempts: usize,
+    retry_strategy: RetryStrategy,
+    initial_delay: Duration,
+    max_delay: Duration,
+    jitter: bool,
 }
 
 pub enum RetryStrategy {
@@ -21,53 +26,155 @@ pub enum RetryStrategy {
 
 impl RetryBuilder {
     pub fn with_max_attempts(mut self, attempts: usize) -> Self {
-        self.max_attempts = Some(attempts);
+        self.max_attempts = attempts;
         self
     }
 
     pub fn with_exponential_backoff(mut self) -> Self {
-        self.retry_strategy = Some(RetryStrategy::ExponentialBackoff);
+        self.retry_strategy = RetryStrategy::ExponentialBackoff;
         self
     }
 
     pub fn with_linear_backoff(mut self) -> Self {
-        self.retry_strategy = Some(RetryStrategy::LinearBackoff);
+        self.retry_strategy = RetryStrategy::LinearBackoff;
         self
     }
 
-    pub fn build(mut self) -> RetryOptions {
+    pub fn with_initial_delay(mut self, delay: Duration) -> Self {
+        self.initial_delay = delay;
+        self
+    }
+
+    pub fn with_max_delay(mut self, delay: Duration) -> Self {
+        self.max_delay = delay;
+        self
+    }
+
+    pub fn with_jitter(mut self, jitter: bool) -> Self {
+        self.jitter = jitter;
+        self
+    }
+
+    pub fn build(self) -> RetryOptions {
         RetryOptions {
             max_attempts: self.max_attempts,
             retry_strategy: self.retry_strategy,
+            initial_delay: self.initial_delay,
+            max_delay: self.max_delay,
+            jitter: self.jitter,
         }
     }
 }
 
 pub struct RetryOptions {
-    max_attempts: Option<usize>,
-    retry_strategy: Option<RetryStrategy>,
+    max_attempts: usize,
+    retry_strategy: RetryStrategy,
+    initial_delay: Duration,
+    max_delay: Duration,
+    jitter: bool,
 }
 
 impl RetryOptions {
-    pub async fn run<T, TFut, TOk, TError>(
-        mut self,
-        f: T,
-    ) -> Result<TOk, Either<TError, RetryError>>
+    pub async fn run<T, TFut, TOk, TError>(self, f: T) -> Result<TOk, RetryError<TError>>
     where
         T: Fn() -> TFut + Send + 'static,
-        TFut: Future<Output = Result<TOk, TError>>,
+        TFut: Future<Output = Result<TOk, Retryable<TError>>>,
     {
-        match f().await {
-            Ok(success) => return Ok(success),
-            Err(e) => return Err(either::Left(e)),
+        let mut last_error = None;
+
+        for attempt in 1..=self.max_attempts {
+            match f().await {
+                Ok(success) => return Ok(success),
+                Err(Retryable::Permanent { error }) => {
+                    return Err(RetryError::Permanent { error });
+                }
+                Err(Retryable::Transient { error }) => {
+                    last_error = Some(error);
+
+                    if attempt < self.max_attempts {
+                        let delay = self.get_delay(attempt);
+                        tokio::time::sleep(delay).await;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        Err(RetryError::Exhausted {
+            last_error: last_error.unwrap(),
+            attempts: self.max_attempts,
+        })
+    }
+
+    fn get_delay(&self, attempt: usize) -> Duration {
+        let base = match self.retry_strategy {
+            RetryStrategy::LinearBackoff => self.initial_delay * attempt as u32,
+            RetryStrategy::ExponentialBackoff => self.initial_delay * 2u32.pow(attempt as u32 - 1),
         };
 
-        Err(either::Right(RetryError::ExhaustedAttempts))
+        let capped = base.min(self.max_delay);
+
+        if self.jitter {
+            // Random factor in [0.5, 1.0) to avoid thundering herd
+            let jitter_factor = 0.5 + fastrand::f64() * 0.5;
+            capped.mul_f64(jitter_factor)
+        } else {
+            capped
+        }
     }
 }
 
-#[derive(thiserror::Error, Debug)]
-pub enum RetryError {
-    #[error("retry stopped because attempts exceeded budget")]
-    ExhaustedAttempts,
+pub enum Retryable<E> {
+    Transient { error: E },
+    Permanent { error: E },
+}
+
+impl<E> From<E> for Retryable<E> {
+    fn from(value: E) -> Self {
+        Self::Transient { error: value }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub enum RetryError<E> {
+    /// All retry attempts were exhausted.
+    Exhausted {
+        last_error: E,
+        attempts: usize,
+    },
+    Permanent {
+        error: E,
+    },
+}
+
+impl<E> RetryError<E> {
+    /// Extract the underlying error, discarding retry context.
+    pub fn into_inner(self) -> E {
+        match self {
+            RetryError::Exhausted { last_error, .. } => last_error,
+            RetryError::Permanent { error } => error,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl<E: fmt::Display> fmt::Display for RetryError<E> {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+        match self {
+            RetryError::Exhausted {
+                last_error,
+                attempts,
+            } => write!(f, "retry exhausted after {attempts} attempts: {last_error}"),
+            RetryError::Permanent { error } => {
+                write!(f, "{error}")
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl<E: std::error::Error + 'static> std::error::Error for RetryError<E> {
+    fn source(&self) -> Option<&(dyn std::error::Error + 'static)> {
+        match self {
+            RetryError::Exhausted { last_error, .. } => Some(last_error),
+            RetryError::Permanent { error } => Some(error),
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/crates/noretry/tests/mod.rs b/crates/noretry/tests/mod.rs
index e1e2519..1ac93f2 100644
--- a/crates/noretry/tests/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/noretry/tests/mod.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
+use noretry::Retryable;
+
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn test_can_call() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    let res = noretry::builder().build().run(my_func).await??;
+    let res = noretry::builder()
+        .build()
+        .run(my_func)
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| e.into_inner())?;
 
     assert_eq!("output", res.as_str());
 
@@ -8,20 +14,52 @@ async fn test_can_call() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 }
 
 #[tokio::test]
-async fn test_can_fail() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    let res = noretry::builder().build().run(fail).await?;
+async fn test_can_fail() {
+    let res = noretry::builder()
+        .with_max_attempts(2)
+        .build()
+        .run(fail)
+        .await;
 
-    assert_eq!("output", res.as_str());
-
-    Ok(())
+    if let Err(noretry::RetryError::Exhausted {
+        attempts,
+        last_error,
+    }) = res
+    {
+        assert_eq!(2, attempts);
+        assert_eq!("fails", last_error.to_string());
+    } else {
+        panic!("expected error")
+    }
 }
 
-async fn my_func() -> anyhow::Result<String> {
+async fn my_func() -> Result<String, Retryable<anyhow::Error>> {
     println!("my func was called");
 
     Ok("output".into())
 }
 
-async fn fail() -> anyhow::Result<String> {
-    anyhow::bail!("fails")
+async fn fail() -> Result<String, Retryable<anyhow::Error>> {
+    Err(anyhow::anyhow!("fails"))?
+}
+
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn test_permanent_error() {
+    let res = noretry::builder()
+        .with_max_attempts(5)
+        .build()
+        .run(fail_permanent)
+        .await;
+
+    if let Err(noretry::RetryError::Permanent { error }) = res {
+        assert_eq!("not retryable", error.to_string());
+    } else {
+        panic!("expected permanent error")
+    }
+}
+
+async fn fail_permanent() -> Result<String, Retryable<anyhow::Error>> {
+    Err(Retryable::Permanent {
+        error: anyhow::anyhow!("not retryable"),
+    })
 }