THE COMPARISON

FRACTIONAL
VS. FULL-TIME.

When does a fractional executive make sense? When should you hire full-time? The answer depends on your revenue, your needs, and your stage.

THE NUMBERS

COST COMPARISON.

$350K+ FULL-TIME EXECUTIVE/YEAR

Base salary $200-300K + benefits $40-60K + equity + bonus + severance risk. Plus 3-6 months to hire and 3 months to ramp up.

$60-180K FRACTIONAL EXECUTIVE/YEAR

$5-15K/month. No benefits. No equity. No severance. No recruiting fees. Starts producing in weeks, not months. Scale up or down anytime.

60-80% SAVINGS

Average cost reduction with fractional model. And because fractional executives serve multiple companies, they bring broader experience than any single full-time hire.

SIDE BY SIDE

FEATURE COMPARISON.

FACTOR	FRACTIONAL	FULL-TIME
Annual Cost	$60-180K	$280-400K+
Time to Start	2 weeks	3-6 months
Time to Impact	30 days	90-180 days
Flexibility	Month-to-month	Annual commitment
Industry Experience	Multi-industry	Usually 1-2
Availability	2-3 days/week	5 days/week
Severance Risk	None	$50-150K+

THE DECISION

WHICH IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

CHOOSE FRACTIONAL IF...

Revenue is $500K-$50M. You need expertise but can't justify full-time salary. You want flexibility to scale up or down. You need results faster than a 6-month hiring process allows. You want to prove the role before committing long-term.

CHOOSE FULL-TIME IF...

Revenue is consistently above $50M. You need 5 days/week presence. You have a strong internal team that needs daily leadership. You're ready for the full compensation package and long-term commitment.

THE VERDICT

WHEN TO CHOOSE
EACH OPTION

CHOOSE FRACTIONAL

You need executive-level strategy and leadership but your revenue is under $50M. You want speed. A fractional executive starts producing in week one, not month three. You need flexibility to scale engagement up or down.

CHOOSE FULL-TIME

Your company exceeds $50M in revenue and needs a dedicated executive 40+ hours per week. You have budget for $200-400K+ total compensation. The role requires deep institutional knowledge that takes years to build.

START FRACTIONAL, THEN HIRE

The smartest path for most growing companies: bring in a fractional executive to build the strategy and systems, then hire full-time once you know exactly what the role requires. We help you make that transition.

PROOF IT WORKS

FRACTIONAL IMPACT.
FULL-TIME RESULTS.

A $12M manufacturing company needed COO-level operations leadership but couldn't justify a $280K+ hire. Our fractional COO restructured fulfillment, implemented ERP workflows, and reduced operational costs. All at a fraction of full-time cost.

34% COST REDUCTION

12 PROCESSES SYSTEMATIZED

$190K SAVED VS. FULL-TIME HIRE

SEE MORE RESULTS →

FREQUENTLY ASKED

COMPARISON
QUESTIONS.

Can fractional turn into full-time?

Yes. Many fractional engagements are a "try before you buy" model. Some of our clients hire our fractional executives full-time after 6-12 months. Others find they never need full-time. The fractional model works perfectly through $50M+.

Is fractional leadership "part-time" leadership?

Part-time hours, full-time commitment. A fractional CMO or COO is available between scheduled days for critical decisions, team questions, and urgent matters. The difference is they're efficient enough to drive results in 2-3 focused days vs. 5 days of meetings.

What if we need more than 2-3 days per week?

We scale. Some engagements are 4 days/week. Some clients pair a fractional executive with an embedded team for full coverage. We design the engagement around your needs, not a fixed model.

FIND YOUR FIT