A full-time CTO's cost goes beyond base salary. Benefits, payroll burden, recruiting fees, equity and the time a role stays open all affect the first-year investment. A fractional CTO has a different scope and should be compared against outcomes, not treated as a like-for-like salary substitute.
Use the calculator as a planning model. It estimates a recruiting fee as a share of salary and an indicative opportunity cost during the search. Fractional pricing is organized into Fractional CTO Advisory, Fractional CTO Leadership and Fractional CTO Embedded starting points with progressively greater monthly availability. Replace the full-time assumptions with your own recruiter quotes and business impact wherever possible.
The right question is what level of leadership your current stage requires. A growing team may need architecture ownership, roadmap decisions, hiring support and delivery structure before it needs a full-time executive. A fractional model can provide that coverage while leaving room to hire permanently when the role and company are ready.
Before deciding, write down the outcomes needed in the next two quarters, the time commitment required to deliver them, and how the company will measure progress. Confirm what the engagement includes, how engineering capacity is staffed, and what happens if your needs change.