Fractional CTO cost calculator
Part-time against full-time technical leadership. All figures editable.
Rates vary widely by country and market conditions. Replace these with figures from your own market.
Excludes equity, which is usually the largest cost of a full-time hire and the hardest to value. Indicative figures only: rates and salaries differ enormously by country and move with the market. Nothing you type here leaves your browser.
A fractional CTO is paid for hours actually used, with no benefits, equity, recruitment cost or notice period attached. The comparison against a full-time hire is not salary against salary: the full-time figure includes payroll costs, recruitment, equipment and equity, while the fractional figure is hours multiplied by a rate. Rates vary widely by country and market conditions.
What the calculator does
Enter the hours a month and the rate, and it compares annual cost against a full-time equivalent including the costs that do not appear on a salary line.
The presets are stage-based, since hours needed tend to scale with company size rather than with ambition. All figures are editable, and they should be edited: rates differ enormously between markets and move with demand.
What the full-time column includes
Salary is the visible part. The rest is recruitment cost, payroll taxes and benefits, equipment, workers’ compensation where applicable, and equity, which is the largest and least visible of them.
That is why the comparison is not as simple as dividing a salary by the hours you need.
What this page does not do
We do not sell fractional CTO services and we do not take a commission from anyone who does. This is a reference tool.
If you want to understand the model from the other side, how the work is structured, what it pays and how engagements are scoped, that is in Becoming a Part-Time CTO.
FAQ
How much does a fractional CTO cost? It depends on hours, market and seniority, and rates vary widely by country. The calculator uses editable indicative ranges rather than fixed figures for that reason.
Is a fractional CTO cheaper than a full-time hire? Usually, for companies that need judgement rather than constant availability. The saving comes from paying only for hours used and avoiding the costs attached to employment.
How many hours a month does a company need? It scales with size and stage. Early companies typically need fewer hours than growth-stage ones, which is what the presets reflect.
When does a full-time CTO make more sense? When the technical work is continuous rather than periodic, when the team is large enough to need daily leadership, or when the role includes managing people rather than making decisions.
More calculators: Free Tools