A fractional executive is a senior leader who runs a function for your business on a part-time, dedicated basis, typically 15 to 40 hours per month. Not a consultant who advises from outside. Not a contractor doing project work. An actual member of your leadership team, with the same authority and accountability, just at 25-40% of the hours.
A fractional executive sits inside your org. They're on your leadership Slack, in your board meetings, owning a function. They report to you (or your board). They're paid a flat monthly fee, typically $5,000-$25,000/month depending on the role, and engage on a 30-day-notice basis rather than as an employee.
They're distinct from consultants (who advise from outside, deliver a project, leave) and from advisors (who help quarterly but don't run anything). They're also distinct from contractors doing project work, the fractional title implies ongoing functional ownership.
Fractional CMO, Owns marketing strategy, brand, demand generation. $6.5K-$12K/mo typical.
Fractional CRO, Owns the full revenue function: sales, marketing, RevOps, customer success. $8K-$15K/mo.
Fractional CFO, Owns financial strategy, forecasting, fundraising support. $5K-$15K/mo.
Fractional CTO, Owns engineering strategy and team leadership. Typically more expensive: $10K-$25K/mo.
Fractional COO, Owns operations, process, vendor management. $6K-$15K/mo.
Three signals that point to fractional rather than full-time hire:
1. The role is genuinely needed but not full-time. You need senior leadership in this function, board reporting, strategy, team coaching, but the actual work doesn't fill 40 hours. Hiring full-time creates make-work.
2. You can't afford a real full-time hire. A real CMO is $250K+ loaded. Pre-Series-B companies often can't justify that. The fractional gets you the seniority at 30% of the cost.
3. You're not sure what you're looking for. A 6-month fractional engagement lets you see what the function actually needs at your stage before committing to a 3+ year executive hire.