Fractional CMO day rates and how the pay is structured

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How fractional CMO pay is usually set up, with the pay that open roles on the board actually posted.

Fractional CMO pay usually comes in one of four shapes. A day rate is common in the UK and Europe, where roles are often described as a number of days a week. A monthly retainer is common in the US and covers a set amount of time or a set scope each month. Hourly rates show up for advisory and coaching work. Some early-stage companies offer equity on top of cash, or in place of it.

We don't publish survey averages here, because we can't check them. The table below shows only the pay that companies wrote into roles that are open on the board right now, exactly as they posted it, with the hours next to it so you can compare roles with a similar time commitment.

To turn a retainer into a rough day rate, divide the monthly figure by the number of days the role expects each month. A role that pays a monthly retainer for about 20 hours a week works out to roughly two and a half days a week, or ten to eleven days a month.