A senior technology leader for 1–3 days a week. They make the architecture calls, hire and manage engineers, and tell the board the truth about what you're building.
Tell us what you need and our team will introduce you to people who fit.
A fractional CTO is a senior technology executive who leads your engineering and technical strategy part-time, usually one to three days a week. They own architecture and stack decisions, engineering hiring, delivery process, security basics and technical due diligence, for $8,000–$25,000 a month instead of $350,000+ for a full-time CTO's first year.
Startups usually look for a fractional CTO in one of three situations: the founders aren't technical, the product was built by an agency or freelancers and nobody senior owns it, or the engineering team has grown past what a lead developer can manage.
In each case the gap is judgment, not coding hours. A fractional CTO decides what to build and how, what to buy instead, who to hire, and how to ship without the codebase collapsing a year later. They often work alongside a strong tech lead or engineering manager who handles the daily work.
Most engagements are month-to-month with 30 days' notice. Many end when the company hires a full-time CTO or VP of Engineering, often with the fractional CTO running the search.
TL;DR
Fractional CTO services typically cost $9,600–$15,000 a month for about 15 hours a week, based on GoFractional's average rate of $210 an hour. Provider rate cards run from $8,000 a month for one day a week to $25,000 for three or more days. Hourly work ranges from $150 to $500, with healthtech, fintech and AI work at the top.
Typical monthly retainer
$12,000–$18,000/mo
Hourly rate in live job posts
$160–$250/hr
Monthly cost in live job posts
$9,600–$15,000/mo
| Pricing model | Typical range | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly or advisory | $150–$500 per hour | Code and architecture reviews, technical due diligence, fundraising prep |
| Day rate | $1,500–$4,000 per day | Planning sessions and diligence sprints |
| Retainer, 1 day/week | $8,000–$12,000 per month | Early-stage oversight and key decisions |
| Retainer, 2 days/week | $12,000–$18,000 per month | Embedded leadership: roadmap, hiring, architecture |
| Retainer, 3+ days/week | $18,000–$25,000 per month | Rebuilds, critical launches, near full-time periods |
| Project | $15,000–$75,000 flat | A defined deliverable like an architecture plan or a platform migration |
| Full-time CTO (first year) | $350,000–$550,000+ | Post-Series B, large teams, long-term platform ownership |
A full-time CTO's first year typically costs $350,000–$550,000 once you include salary, benefits, equity and a recruiting fee. That's before the three to six months a CTO search usually takes. A fractional CTO at 2 days a week costs around $180,000 a year and can usually start within two weeks.
Most CTOs price by days per week. Two days a week is the most common setup for B2B SaaS.
Healthtech, fintech and applied AI work runs 20–40% above generalist rates because of compliance and specialist depth.
A CTO who writes production code as well as leading costs more hours. Decide up front whether you need a builder or a leader.
Managing ten engineers and an offshore agency takes more time than guiding one tech lead.
Fractional CTO services fall into a few common packages. Most engagements combine an initial review with ongoing leadership.
A review of your codebase, architecture, infrastructure, security and team. You get a plain-language report: what's solid, what's risky, and what to fix first.
Stack and build-vs-buy decisions, a technical roadmap tied to the product roadmap, and a plan for scaling.
Job specs, interview loops, technical assessments and offers. Many fractional CTOs also help pick and manage dev agencies.
Sprint rhythm, code review, CI/CD, incident handling and the metrics that show whether the team is shipping.
Preparing for investor or acquirer diligence, or running diligence on a company you plan to buy.
Where AI actually helps your product and team, which vendors to use, and how to handle data and costs.
A typical week for a two-day-a-week CTO looks something like this.
Reviews designs, approves architecture changes and settles build-vs-buy debates.
Runs 1:1s with the tech lead or engineering manager and sits in on key hiring interviews.
Turns the product roadmap into a realistic delivery plan, and pushes back when scope doesn't fit.
Writes the technical section of the board deck: progress, risks and costs.
Negotiates with cloud and tool vendors and keeps security and compliance basics in place.
Is on hand for outages and urgent decisions that need senior judgment.
The question is who owns the technology decisions and who answers for them.
| Option | Time | Role | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fractional CTO | 1–3 days/week, ongoing | Owns architecture, hiring and delivery | $8,000–$25,000/mo |
| Dev agency | Project or retainer | Builds what you spec; doesn't own strategy | Priced by team size and hours |
| Technical advisor | A few hours/month | Opinions and introductions, no ownership | Often equity or a small fee |
| Full-time CTO | Full-time | Owns technology long-term | $350,000–$550,000+ first year |
A common setup for seed and Series A startups: a fractional CTO for decisions plus an engineering manager or tech lead for daily execution. It usually costs less than one full-time CTO and covers more ground.
These are the situations where the fractional model works best.
When not to hire one: Past roughly 25 engineers, or when technology is the core of what you sell to large customers, you usually need a full-time CTO or VP of Engineering. A fractional CTO can help you hire one.
You need someone to translate business goals into technical decisions and to check the work of developers you can't evaluate yourself.
Nobody in-house understands the codebase, and you're not sure whether to extend it or rebuild.
A strong senior developer is now managing five to fifteen people and the process is creaking.
Investors or an acquirer are about to look at your code, security and team.
A simple rule of thumb from practitioners: pre-seed to seed with fewer than 10 engineers, go fractional. Series A with 10–25 engineers, pair a fractional CTO with a strong engineering manager. Series B with 25 or more engineers, it's time for a full-time CTO.
Avoid equity-only arrangements and rates far below $100 an hour. Senior CTOs don't work for free, and the ones who do usually aren't giving you much time.
Tell us what you need and our team will introduce you to people who have done this job before, so you can talk to them before you commit.
Tell us what you needAsk about specific outcomes, not credentials. A good candidate will tell you what didn't work as readily as what did.
Which products have you built or scaled, and how big were the teams?
Have you worked with our stack and domain (for example, healthcare, payments, AI)?
Will you write code, or only lead?
What would your first 30-day technical assessment cover?
How do you work with an existing agency or tech lead?
Still have questions? Email our team and we'll help you work out what you need.
Most fractional CTO engagements cost $9,600–$15,000 per month for about 15 hours a week. Provider rate cards range from $8,000 a month for one day a week to $25,000 for three or more days. Hourly rates run $150–$500.
Fractional CTO hourly rates run $150–$500. Generalist B2B SaaS work usually sits at $200–$350 an hour, while healthtech, fintech and AI work commands the upper end. GoFractional's live data shows an average of $210 an hour.
Typical services include a technical assessment, architecture and roadmap decisions, engineering hiring, delivery process, technical due diligence and AI strategy. Most engagements combine an initial review with ongoing leadership.
Startups with non-technical founders, agency-built products or engineering teams under about 25 people are the best fit. Past that, most companies need a full-time CTO or VP of Engineering.
Some do, especially at the earliest stage, but most focus on decisions, hiring and process. If you need hands-on building, say so up front, because it changes the hours and the price.
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