Free tool · Side-by-side comparison

Fractional CMO vs full-time CMO cost calculator.

Compare a fully loaded full-time CMO — base, bonus, benefits, overhead and equity — against a fractional engagement, side-by-side. See annual savings and breakeven. Honest estimates, not a sales quote.

Your inputs

Adjust to your situation
US B2B SaaS CMO base commonly lands here; fully loaded cost is higher.
Annual on-target bonus, as a percent of base salary.
Health, payroll taxes, tooling and overhead on top of cash comp.
Annualized equity or other costs. Equity is genuinely hard to value — treat as a rough planning input.
A full-time CMO search often runs months; pick a gap to factor lost momentum (charged at fractional cost).
Most fractional CMO engagements run 1–3 days a week.
Per day-worked rate. Or size a monthly retainer with the calculator below.

Side-by-side

Updates live
Full-time CMO, fully loaded (annual)$487kbase + bonus + benefits + equity
Fractional CMO (annual)$260kdays × rate, annualized
Breakeven days/week vs full-time3.7days before costs converge
You save with fractional$227k~47% per year

At these inputs, fractional is the cheaper path while you build the marketing motion.

Get a scoped quote → Size the fractional retainer

These are 2026 market estimates for planning, not a quote, and not a guarantee. Equity is genuinely hard to value and a multi-month full-time search has real cost not fully captured here; a fractional CMO is also not a full-time replacement for every stage. To size the fractional side, use the fractional CMO cost calculator. For the real number, a short scoping call sizes the right engagement. See fractional CMO cost and hire a fractional CMO.