Fractional CTO Cost Calculator

How much does a fractional CTO cost?

In this calculator, a fractional CTO cost is the fully loaded full-time wage times the share of a five day week you need. The full-time wage is the national OEWS figure for Computer and Information Systems Managers (SOC 11-3021), loaded with the ECEC benefits share. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026 (released September 9, 2026).

Formula

• Benefits load. Total compensation per hour divided by wages and salaries per hour. That is $78.88 divided by $54.06. Benefits are 31.5 percent of total compensation ($24.82 of $78.88). The formula uses the dollar row, not the rounded percent.
• Fully loaded full-time cost. Annual wage times the benefits load. The wage is the band company size selects: annual mean of $192,160, 75th percentile of $220,730, or 90th percentile of $297,510.
• Time fraction, days. Days per week divided by 5, times the fully loaded full-time cost.
• Time fraction, hours. Hours per week divided by 40, times the fully loaded full-time cost. 40 is 2,080 divided by 52, from the OEWS May 2025 methods.
• Monthly time-fraction cost. The annual time-fraction cost divided by 12.
• Annual difference. If you type a monthly quote, annual quote equals that quote times 12. The difference is the fully loaded full-time cost minus the annual quote.

Assumptions

• Company size does not change the BLS wage. Under $50 million uses the annual mean through the 75th percentile. $50 million to $250 million uses the 75th through the 90th. $250 million or more uses the 90th percentile only, because OEWS does not publish a higher percentile. That mapping is an assumption on this page.
• A full-time week in the days formula is 5 days. The hours formula uses 40 hours. The hours field starts at 16, which is an assumption, not a BLS wage.
• Scope and engagement model are recorded on the estimate. They do not multiply the cost. A project or an interim seat still shows the annualized cost of the weekly time fraction. This page does not add a separate project fee.
• Displayed dollars are rounded to the nearest whole dollar from the unrounded formula. They are not recomputed from the rounded lines.
• Wages: OEWS profile for SOC 11-3021, May 2025. Benefits: ECEC news release, June 2026, Table 4. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for private industry workers by occupational and industry group.

Worked example with the default inputs

The form opens at $50 million to $250 million in revenue, architecture and vendor oversight, a monthly retainer, and 2 days per week. The quote field is blank.

• Wage band. 75th percentile $220,730 through 90th percentile $297,510.
• Fully loaded full-time cost. 220,730 times 78.88 divided by 54.06 is $322,071 after rounding. 297,510 on the same load is $434,103. The screen shows $322,071 to $434,103.
• Time fraction. 2 divided by 5 is 0.4. Times the loaded band, the screen shows $128,829 to $173,641 a year.

How does a fractional CTO cost compare with a full-time CTO?

The full-time figure is the loaded annual wage for the band you selected. The fractional figure is that amount times the share of the week. At the default of 2 days, the share is 2 divided by 5, so the time-fraction estimate is $128,829 to $173,641 a year against a full-time estimate of $322,071 to $434,103. If you type a monthly quote, the page subtracts quote times 12 from the full-time loaded cost and labels the gap as an estimate.

What changes the cost?

• Revenue band, because it selects the mean, the 75th percentile, or the 90th percentile.
• Days per week, or hours per week if you switch the time unit.
• A quoted fractional rate per month, if you enter one.
• Scope and engagement model do not change the cost. They name the work the estimate is about.

How do you use the calculator?

1. Choose a revenue band. That picks the wage band, which is an assumption labeled on the form.
2. Choose a scope and an engagement model so the estimate is labeled.
3. Enter days per week, or switch to hours per week.
4. Optional: type a quoted fractional rate per month from a proposal you already have.
5. Read the estimate. Then use the chat link if you want a person to walk through it.

FAQ

Next steps

• Advisory chat · walk through the estimate with a person
• Fractional CTO services · what the seat covers
• Interim CTO vs full-time CTO · which seat fits the moment