Pricing
What a fractional CMO costs.
Fractional CMOs are priced as a monthly retainer, a day rate or a project fee. A retainer is the norm because the work is ongoing. A real number depends on the company stage, the scope, the cadence and the engagement length.
Monthly retainer
The standard model. Fixed monthly fee for an agreed cadence (typically 1–3 days per week). Predictable for both sides and aligned with how marketing leadership actually works.
Day rate
Useful for short, defined sprints or board advisory. Higher per-day cost; lower commitment on either side.
Project fee
Scope-bound work like a positioning reset, GTM relaunch or martech rebuild. Fixed price for a defined deliverable.
What drives the number.
- Days per week1 day a week for a tight advisory mandate to 3 days a week for an operating CMO role.
- Engagement lengthShorter mandates carry a premium. 6 to 18 months is the sweet spot for fractional.
- Stage & complexityA €5M SaaS scale-up is not a €50M PE-backed group with 6 markets and an agency roster.
- ScopePure advisory is cheaper than an operating mandate with team and agency ownership.
- Travel & on-siteMilan-based; on-site days across Europe affect the price.
Indicative European market ranges.
For context only. A senior European fractional CMO retainer typically lands somewhere between roughly €6,000 and €25,000 per month depending on the cadence, scope and company stage. Day rates typically sit between €1,500 and €3,500. A full-time CMO at the same seniority is normally €250k–€400k all-in. Fractional is roughly 30–60% of that for the leadership layer, not the execution layer.
The personal quote for this site is set on a call, because the right number depends on things only you can describe: the situation, the timeline and what success has to look like.
Next step
Let's see if it's a fit.
Twenty minutes on a call. You describe the growth problem and the timeline. I tell you straight whether renting a fractional CMO is the right move, and what it would look like.
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