Fractional CTO Pricing: Rates, Packages & What's Included

"How much does a fractional CTO cost?"

It's the first question every founder asks—and the honest answer is frustrating: it depends. But that doesn't mean fractional CTO pricing needs to be opaque.

This guide gives you transparent insight into UK and European market rates, what drives pricing differences, what you should expect to receive, and how to evaluate whether you're getting value for money.

Fractional CTO pricing typically ranges from £2,000-£12,000 per month in the UK (2025), depending on time commitment, experience level, and engagement scope. Day rates range from £800-£2,000. The "right" price is one where the CTO's impact exceeds their cost by a significant margin.

Quick Answer: What Does a Fractional CTO Cost?

UK Market Rates (2025):

• Day rates: £800-£2,000/day depending on experience
• Monthly retainers: £2,500-£12,000/month for 2-8 days
• Annual investment: £30,000-£144,000/year for ongoing engagement

What drives the price:

1. Experience level (years as CTO, track record)
2. Time commitment (days per month)
3. Industry specialisation
4. Engagement duration
5. Scope of deliverables

Rule of thumb: Budget £4,000-£8,000/month for meaningful fractional CTO engagement (4-6 days/month).

---

Who This Guide Is For (And Who It's Not For)

This guide is for you if:

• You're budgeting for fractional CTO support
• You want to understand what "fair" pricing looks like
• You need to justify the investment to co-founders or board
• You're comparing multiple fractional CTO options

This guide is NOT for you if:

• You're looking for interim CTO pricing (see fractional vs interim CTO)
• You want to hire a full-time CTO
• You need development contractors (different market entirely)

---

Pricing Models: Day Rate vs Retainer vs Hybrid

1. Day Rate Model

You pay a fixed amount per day of work. Billed for actual days used.

Experience Level	Day Rate (UK)	Context
Emerging (10-15 years)	£600-£900	First CTO role, limited fractional experience
Established (15-20 years)	£900-£1,400	2-3 CTO roles, proven track record
Senior (20-25 years)	£1,200-£2,000	Multiple CTO roles, exits, scale experience
Elite (25+ years)	£1,800-£3,000+	Serial CTO, significant exits, in-demand expertise

Pros of day rate:

• Pay only for time used
• Flexibility to scale up/down
• Clear cost per unit of work
• Good for irregular needs

Cons of day rate:

• Can be more expensive for regular engagement
• May compete with other clients for availability
• Less predictable access
• No retainer "insurance" for urgent needs

Best for: Project-based work, initial engagements, variable needs.

2. Monthly Retainer Model

Fixed monthly fee for a specified time commitment and scope.

Engagement Level	Days/Month	Monthly Cost (UK)	Annual Cost
Advisory	1-2 days	£1,500-£3,500	£18,000-£42,000
Standard	4-6 days	£4,000-£8,000	£48,000-£96,000
Heavy	8-12 days	£8,000-£15,000	£96,000-£180,000
Near full-time	12-16 days	£12,000-£24,000	£144,000-£288,000

Pros of retainer:

• Predictable budgeting
• Priority access guaranteed
• Relationship deepens over time
• Often better effective day rate (10-15% discount)
• "Insurance" for urgent needs

Cons of retainer:

• Pay whether fully utilised or not
• Less flexibility to pause
• Minimum commitment usually required

Best for: Ongoing strategic involvement, companies wanting consistent access.

3. Hybrid Model

Base retainer plus day rate for additional time.

Example structure:

• Base: £4,000/month (covers 4 days)
• Additional: £900/day beyond base
• Priority access maintained regardless
• Unused days don't roll over (or roll over 1 month max)

Pros of hybrid:

• Baseline predictability
• Flexibility for intensive periods
• Better value than pure day rate
• Fractional CTO has guaranteed minimum

Best for: Companies with variable needs but wanting guaranteed access.

4. Equity Component (Rare)

Some fractional CTOs accept reduced cash compensation in exchange for equity.

Typical terms:

• 20-40% fee reduction
• 0.1-0.5% equity (vesting over engagement)
• Usually offered at earlier stages
• Less common with experienced fractional CTOs

When this works: Very early stage, strong fit, multi-year expected engagement.

When this doesn't work: Established fractional CTOs with full practices rarely accept equity—the economics favour cash.

---

What's Included: Deliverables by Engagement Level

Starter Package (£2,500-£4,000/month, 2-3 days)

Included:

• Monthly strategy session (2-3 hours)
• Architecture review and guidance
• Ad-hoc advisory (async, limited)
• One team meeting per month
• Document/code review (limited scope)

Deliverables:

• Monthly strategic recommendations memo
• Architecture decision records (as needed)
• Vendor evaluation input
• Interview participation (1-2 candidates/month)

Best for: Companies needing strategic guidance without heavy involvement.

Growth Package (£4,500-£8,000/month, 4-6 days)

Included:

• All Starter items, plus:
• Weekly check-in calls
• Regular team meeting participation
• Hiring process involvement
• Investor/board preparation
• Technical roadmap development
• Code review (regular cadence)

Deliverables:

• Technical roadmap (quarterly update)
• Team structure recommendations
• Due diligence preparation (if fundraising)
• Monthly progress report
• Interview scorecards and hiring recommendations

Best for: Companies actively building/scaling engineering function.

Scale Package (£8,000-£15,000/month, 8-12 days)

Included:

• All Growth items, plus:
• Near-operational involvement
• Daily/near-daily availability
• Engineering leadership mentoring
• Process implementation
• Security and compliance oversight
• Vendor negotiation support

Deliverables:

• Comprehensive technical strategy document
• Engineering playbook/handbook
• Interview frameworks and rubrics
• Performance review frameworks
• Board-ready technical updates
• Due diligence documentation suite

Best for: Companies approaching or post-Series A needing heavy support before full-time CTO hire.

---

Sample Monthly Plan: What a £6,000/Month Engagement Looks Like

Week 1

• Day 1: Founder/CEO strategy session (2 hours) + team standup (1 hour) + architecture review (4 hours)
• Async: Slack questions, document review

Week 2

• Day 2: Engineering team 1:1s (4 hours) + code review (2 hours) + hiring call (1 hour)
• Async: Interview feedback, PR reviews

Week 3

• Day 3: Technical roadmap workshop (3 hours) + vendor evaluation (2 hours) + ad-hoc support (2 hours)
• Async: Document drafting, email advisory

Week 4

• Day 4: Board prep session (2 hours) + team retrospective (1 hour) + strategy refinement (4 hours)
• Deliverable: Monthly summary + priorities for next month

Total: 4 days on-site/synchronous + ongoing async support Output: Clear technical direction, team development, investor-ready materials

---

Example Packages (Scope, Not Exact Prices)

These represent typical engagement structures, not fixed products:

Package A: "Strategy Sprint"

Duration: 1-3 months Commitment: 3-4 days/month Focus: Specific strategic challenge

What you get:

• Deep assessment of one area (architecture, team, process)
• Comprehensive recommendations document
• Implementation roadmap
• 2-3 months of light follow-up support

Use case: Pre-fundraising assessment, post-mortem after technical incident, architecture decision.

Package B: "Steady State Advisory"

Duration: 6+ months ongoing Commitment: 2-3 days/month Focus: Ongoing strategic guidance

What you get:

• Monthly strategy session
• Ad-hoc advisory access
• Quarterly deep-dives
• Interview participation
• Document review as needed

Use case: Non-technical founder needing regular sanity check and strategic input.

Package C: "Active Technical Leadership"

Duration: 6+ months ongoing Commitment: 6-8 days/month Focus: Near-operational involvement

What you get:

• Weekly presence with team
• Active participation in key decisions
• Hiring process ownership
• Team development responsibility
• Architecture ownership
• Board/investor communication

Use case: Seed-to-Series A company building engineering function.

---

How to Evaluate ROI: Framework + Examples

The ROI Framework

Cost of fractional CTO: £X/year Value generated: Must exceed X by meaningful margin

Value sources:

1. Mistakes avoided (architecture, hiring, vendor)
2. Time saved (founder focus, team efficiency)
3. Revenue enabled (faster delivery, better product)
4. Funding unlocked (due diligence passed, credibility)
5. Risk reduced (security, compliance, scalability)

ROI Calculation Examples

Example 1: Pre-Series A Due Diligence

Investment	Value Created
4-month engagement: £24,000	Due diligence passed, £3M raised
	Alternative: Failed DD, lost deal
ROI	Immeasurable (deal wouldn't happen)

Example 2: Architecture Decision

Investment	Value Created
6-month engagement: £48,000	Avoided £200,000 rewrite
	Team velocity +30% from right decisions
ROI	4-5x direct return

Example 3: Hiring Improvement

Investment	Value Created
12-month engagement: £72,000	3 senior hires that worked out
	Avoided 1 bad hire (£150,000 cost)
	Team productivity from better structure
ROI	2-3x direct return

Questions to Assess Potential ROI

Before engaging, ask yourself:

1. What decisions are you facing that could cost £100,000+ if wrong?
2. What's the cost of your current technical uncertainty?
3. How much founder time is spent on technical decisions vs growth?
4. What would passing due diligence be worth?
5. What would avoiding a bad senior hire be worth?

If answers to these questions suggest £50,000+ value potential, a £30,000-£70,000 annual fractional CTO investment likely pays for itself.

---

Contract Terms Checklist

Before signing any fractional CTO agreement, ensure these terms are clear:

Scope and Time

• Days/hours per month clearly specified
• Rollover policy for unused time (forfeit vs carry forward)
• Additional time rate for beyond-scope work
• Response time expectations (same day, next day, etc.)
• Emergency availability protocol

Duration and Termination

• Minimum commitment (typically 1-3 months)
• Notice period (30 days standard)
• Termination conditions for either party
• Transition obligations (documentation, handoff)

Compensation

• Monthly fee or day rate clearly stated
• Payment terms (net 15, net 30)
• Expense policy (travel, tools, third-party costs)
• Annual review process for rate adjustments

Confidentiality and IP

• NDA terms appropriate to your industry
• IP ownership — Work product belongs to you
• Non-compete provisions (usually limited for fractional)
• Client list disclosure — Can they reference you?

Decision Rights

• Authority level — Advisory vs autonomous decisions
• Spending authority — Can they approve vendors/tools?
• Hiring input — Recommendation vs decision-maker
• Team communication — Direct or through you

---

Contract Template: Key Sections

Here's what a professional fractional CTO agreement should include:

FRACTIONAL CTO SERVICES AGREEMENT

1. ENGAGEMENT SCOPE
   - Services to be provided: [List specific services]
   - Time commitment: [X] days per month
   - Duration: [Minimum term, ongoing thereafter]
   - Reporting: Reports to CEO

2. COMPENSATION
   - Monthly retainer: £[X]
   - Additional days: £[X] per day
   - Payment terms: Net [X] days from invoice
   - Expenses: [Policy]

3. AVAILABILITY & RESPONSE
   - Scheduled days: [Days of week]
   - Response time: [X hours] for non-urgent
   - Emergency protocol: [Description]

4. CONFIDENTIALITY
   - Standard NDA terms
   - Duration: [X years] post-engagement

5. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
   - All work product owned by Company
   - Pre-existing IP retained by Consultant

6. TERMINATION
   - Notice period: [30 days]
   - Transition obligations: [Description]
   - Final deliverables: [List]

7. OTHER TERMS
   - Non-compete: [Limited scope]
   - References: [Permission to reference]
   - Liability: [Standard terms]

---

Get a Tailored Plan + Estimate

Every company's needs are different. Generic packages don't always fit.

Here's what I offer:

Send me your current situation—stage, team size, biggest technical challenges—and within 48 hours I'll reply with:

1. Assessment of what level of fractional CTO support makes sense
2. Recommended engagement structure
3. Indicative pricing for your specific needs
4. What the first 30 days would look like

No commitment, no pitch—just honest assessment of fit.

Get a tailored estimate or review our standard plans.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a fractional CTO cost per hour?

Converting day rates: If day rate is £1,200 and a "day" is 7-8 hours, hourly equivalent is £150-£170/hour. However, fractional CTOs rarely work hourly—retainer or day-rate models are standard because strategic work doesn't divide neatly into hours.

Is fractional CTO cheaper than full-time?

Yes, significantly. Full-time CTO in UK costs £180,000-£350,000/year fully loaded (salary, equity, benefits, recruiting). Fractional CTO costs £36,000-£144,000/year for meaningful engagement. You get 60-80% cost savings but 20-30% of the time commitment.

What's included in a fractional CTO retainer?

Varies by engagement, but typically: strategy sessions, architecture review, hiring support, team meetings, async advisory, document review. See detailed breakdown above.

Do fractional CTOs take equity?

Rarely. Experienced fractional CTOs with full practices prefer cash. Equity is sometimes offered at very early stages in exchange for reduced cash fees, but it's not standard.

How do I know if I'm paying too much?

Compare: (1) rates to market benchmarks in this guide, (2) value generated to fees paid, (3) outcomes to expectations. If ROI is clearly positive and rates are within market range, you're not overpaying.

Can I negotiate fractional CTO rates?

Yes, especially for: longer commitments (6+ months), higher time commitment (8+ days/month), or multiple engagements (referral to portfolio companies). 10-15% discounts are reasonable; 30%+ suggests desperation.

What's the minimum commitment for a fractional CTO?

Usually 2-3 months. Less than that doesn't allow for proper onboarding and impact. Month-to-month arrangements exist but typically at premium rates.

How does fractional CTO pricing compare to consulting firms?

Consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain digital) charge £2,000-£5,000/day for senior consultants. Fractional CTOs at £800-£2,000/day are significantly cheaper, with the advantage of ongoing relationship vs project-based engagement.