FractionalQuestAsk about this roleSign inBook a call

Fractional CFO Cost UK · Day Rates, Hourly & Retainers 2026

Fractional CFO Cost 2026

A typical fractional CFO day rate in the UK is £700–£1,400, averaging about £1,050; PE, VC and fundraising specialists charge £1,200–£1,600 (FD Capital).

On a retainer, fractional CFO pricing runs £2,500–£4,000 a month for one day a week, £5,000–£8,000 for two and £10,000–£15,000 for three or more (FD Capital) — with no employer NI, pension or recruitment fee on top.

Get a cost-shaped brief → →See the roles

How a brief runswhat we undertake

  1. 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
  2. 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
  3. 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
  4. 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
  5. 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief

Shortlist3–5

On the board · last 3 months

Fractional CFO jobs on the board

8 on the board · 0 confirmed open
Browse every role on the board →

Current fractional CFO opportunities

Fractional recruiting starts with the brief, not the CV pile. Send a CFO Cost brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five candidates, each through five-stage vetting.

Register for alertsBook a discovery call
£700–£1,400
Typical day rate · avg ~£1,050 (FD Capital)
£1,200–£1,600
Specialist day rate · PE / VC / fundraising (FD Capital)
£5,000–£8,000
2 days a week · per month retainer (FD Capital)
£86–£171
Hourly · implied from day rates, 7-hour day (FD Capital)

01/ the cross

Where a permanent hire becomes cheaper.

Move the day rate and the days a week: the rising line is a month of part-week cost, the flat line a permanent hire’s month. Where they cross, the seat should go full-time.

Fractional CFO, a monthPermanent CFO, a month

At 4.7 days a week a permanent hire costs less.

£0k£6k£11k£17k£23k0.511.522.5345days a week →
At 2 days a week: fractional CFO £9,093 a month · permanent £21,327 a month

Our arithmetic. Permanent a month = the salary ÷ 12 plus 15% employer NI, plus the 30% search fee spread over 12 months — the calculator’s inputs. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for each step.

Permanent = the £176,500 Robert Half 2026 median salary. The full calculator below adds the months, the totals and the currency tabs.

Fractional CFO at 2 days a weekInterim CFO, five days a weekPermanent CFO
  • The fractional CFO at 2 days a week never passes permanent inside 24 months.
  • Interim passes permanent at month 8.
£0k£143k£286k£429k£572k06121824months →
Month 12: fractional CFO £109,116 · interim £285,780 · permanent £255,925

Our arithmetic, cumulative. Permanent = the salary’s 30% search fee in month 0, then salary ÷ 12 plus 15% employer NI each month. Interim = the midpoint of the published interim band (£1,100 a day, FD Capital 2026) × 5 days × 4.33 weeks. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for each month.

02/ the route

Fractional, interim or permanent?

Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.

How much of the week does the work fill?
Is there a fixed end or a programme?
Does the seat sit on the board for years?
Is the need now, or can it wait for a search?

The route · Fractional

A fractional CFO cost.

The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.

A fractional CFO cost holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.

The fractional CFO cost routeTalk it through

03/ the role

What a fractional CFO costs in the UK in 2026

FD Capital puts the fractional CFO day rate at £700–£1,400, averaging around £1,050, with specialists who bring PE, VC or fundraising track records at £1,200–£1,600 (FD Capital).

FD Capital’s retainers scale with days: £2,500–£4,000/month at one day a week, £5,000–£8,000 at two, £10,000–£15,000 at three or more.

Over a year (× 12) FD Capital’s bands come to £30,000–£48,000, £60,000–£96,000 and £120,000–£180,000 — the arithmetic, not a separate survey.

For comparison, ScaleWithCFO works an example in which a £180,000 CFO base salary costs the business £225,000–£250,000 all-in once employer NI, pension and benefits are counted (ScaleWithCFO).

Retained search adds 25–35% of approximate first-year base salary on top of that (Headhunters.co.uk).

04/ scope

Day rate, hourly or retainer

Day rate by seniority

Published hourly tiers imply £600–£750 a day for growth-stage CFO work, £750–£950 for senior PE-backed or listed-company work, and £950–£1,200 for exit or IPO preparation (FD Capital, C-Suite Recruit, CFO Capital).

Hourly

On a 7-hour day those tiers are £86–£171 an hour (FD Capital).

Where a CFO bills hourly rather than by the day, C-Suite Recruit and CFO Capital put UK rates at £75–£300 an hour depending on experience.

Retainer

Most ongoing engagements are retainers — a fixed monthly fee for an agreed number of days — because it is simpler to budget and gives the CFO a stable seat.

Price the engagement off days a week, not off a salary: a fractional fee carries no employer NI, pension, holiday or recruitment fee.

05/ the maths

What the seat costs, by the days a week

Move the day rate, the days a week and the months: the totals and the permanent comparison for the period. The curve above shows where a permanent hire becomes the cheaper seat.

The slider runs across the published band for a fractional CFO: £700–£1,400 a day (FD Capital 2026).

Cost over 12 months

£109,200

104 working days · 2 d/wk · 12 mo · before tax

Fractional CFO£109,200
Permanent CFO, same period£255,925

Fractional costs less over 12 months£146,725

Fractional CFO, 12 months£109,200

Fractional CFO, a month at 2 d/wk£9,093

Permanent CFO, same period£255,925

Book a 15-minute call →

Our arithmetic, indicative. Permanent = the £176,500 Robert Half 2026 median salary pro rata for the same months, plus 15% employer NI, plus a 30% search fee on the annual base (UK retained search runs 25–35%, Headhunters.co.uk). Excludes pension, bonus and equity.

06/ the week

How a week divides.

The days you buy are yours; the rest of the week goes to other clients. Move the days a week in the calculator above and the week redraws.

Your companyAnother clientA third client

Illustration only: one way a fractional CFO’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.

07/ the board

What the board holds.

A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.

On this board, last 90 days · 8 roles · Fractional CFO

Engagement

  • Fractional8

Days a week

  • Stated in the posting3
  • Not stated5

Day rate

  • Verified rate1
  • Estimated (est)7
  • Rate not stated0

Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)

  • Remote3
  • Hybrid2
  • On-site3

Newest posting on the board: 25 Oct 2026.

Postings per week on this board, last 90 days

this week: 113 weeks agonow

8 postings on this board in the last 90 days, counted by the week each was published.

08/ rates by stage

Fractional CFO pricing by days a week

Monthly retainers as FD Capital publishes them, with the annual figure worked out at 12 months.

CommitmentMonthly retainerA year (× 12)Source
1 day a week£2,500–£4,000£30,000–£48,000FD Capital (181); annual × 12
2 days a week£5,000–£8,000£60,000–£96,000FD Capital (181); annual × 12
3+ days a week£10,000–£15,000£120,000–£180,000FD Capital (181); annual × 12

09/ rates by commitment

Fractional CFO day rate by seniority

Day rates as FD Capital publishes them, and the tiers implied from published hourly rates on a 7-hour day.

TierDay rateHourlySource
Growth-stage£600–£750£86–£107FD Capital (160)
Senior · PE-backed / listed£750–£950£107–£136FD Capital (160)
Executive · exit / IPO£950–£1,200£136–£171FD Capital (160)
Typical UK band£700–£1,400—FD Capital (181)
PE / VC / fundraising specialist£1,200–£1,600—FD Capital (181)

10/ vetting

How we vet fractional CFOs

What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.

  1. 01

    Qualification screen

    Verify CFO Cost tenure, sector context and stage fit.

    SOURCING
  2. 02

    Mandate fit

    Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.

    MATCHING
  3. 03

    Reference deep-dive

    We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.

    VERIFY
  4. 04

    Shortlist

    Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.

    SHORTLIST OF 3–5

11/ interim vs fractional

Interim CFO day rate UK — and why it buys something different

An interim CFO day rate in the UK is quoted for full-time cover — a CFO who has left, a transaction, a turnaround — not for a set number of days a week.

Exec Capital publishes interim CFO rates of £700–£2,000 a day, against FD Capital’s fractional CFO band of £700–£1,400.

The day bands overlap; the bill does not, because an interim works every day of the assignment.

Compare the assignment total with a fractional retainer, not one day rate with the other.

For the wider interim market, the Institute of Interim Management runs an annual survey of UK interim managers, benchmarking day rates and assignment duration across functions (IIM survey).

It is a useful check on any interim quote, provided you read the rate as a full-time rate.

The tax position is set contract by contract for both.

Under the off-payroll rules, a medium or large client usually determines the worker’s employment status for each engagement and issues a status determination statement (HMRC); what decides it is how the engagement runs in practice, not the label.

HMRC’s off-payroll guidance for clients sets out which private-sector clients count as medium or large.

If the need is a gap with an end date, see Interim CFO Jobs UK; if it is an ongoing seat at one to three days a week, Fractional CFO Jobs UK.

12/ cfo or coo

The cost of hiring a fractional CFO or a fractional COO

Founders often price a fractional CFO and a fractional COO against the same budget line, because both take work off the CEO.

The cost is built the same way for each — a day rate times days a week, usually billed as a monthly retainer — so the choice turns less on rate than on which problem is binding.

Fractional CFO cost buys control of cash, forecasting, reporting, fundraising and the board relationship; a COO buys the operating rhythm, process and delivery.

The Companies Act 2006 says every company must keep adequate accounting records, and that duty does not shrink with the days bought.

On published figures, FD Capital puts a fractional CFO at £700–£1,400 a day and £5,000–£8,000 a month for two days a week.

The COO bands, and the arithmetic behind them, are on fractional COO cost.

If cash visibility, investor reporting or a raise is the pressure, start with the CFO; if the business breaks at each new volume step, the COO.

The British Business Bank’s guides to business finance set out the funding options a raise would weigh.

Some companies need both, a day or two each, before either seat is full-time work.

Whichever you choose, check the credentials the rate is paying for.

ICAEW notes that anyone can call themselves an accountant; the professional bodies publish member directories — ICAEW and ACCA — so a qualification on a CV can be checked before the first meeting.

13/ questions

Fractional CFO Cost FAQ

The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional CFO.

In the UK, £700–£1,400 a day, averaging about £1,050 (FD Capital). FD Capital puts CFOs with PE, VC or fundraising track records at £1,200–£1,600. By seniority, FD Capital’s published hourly tiers imply £600–£750 for growth-stage work, £750–£950 for senior PE-backed or listed work, and £950–£1,200 for exit or IPO preparation.
FD Capital publishes retainers of £2,500–£4,000 a month for one day a week, £5,000–£8,000 for two days and £10,000–£15,000 for three or more. That is the whole fee — there is no employer NI, pension or recruitment fee on top.
FD Capital’s published hourly tiers run £86–£171 an hour on a 7-hour day. Where a CFO bills by the hour rather than the day, C-Suite Recruit and CFO Capital put UK rates at £75–£300 an hour depending on experience.
It depends on days a week. On FD Capital’s monthly retainers, × 12, one day a week comes to £30,000–£48,000 a year, two days to £60,000–£96,000 and three or more to £120,000–£180,000. Those are retainer figures only; agree the scope, the days and any travel in the engagement letter so the annual number holds.
Two days a week on FD Capital's £5,000–£8,000 monthly retainer is £60,000–£96,000 a year (× 12). A full-time CFO on a £180,000 base costs £225,000–£250,000 all-in in ScaleWithCFO's worked example, before a retained-search fee of 25–35% of approximate first-year base salary (Headhunters.co.uk). The UK CFO salary median is £161,241 (Glassdoor), and Robert Half benchmarks £132,500–£220,500.
No. Exec Capital puts a fractional FD at £30,000–£80,000 a year for one to two days a week at a growing business (£2m–£20m revenue), and an interim FD at £500–£1,200 a day — below FD Capital's fractional CFO band of £700–£1,400. The difference is scope: a CFO owns strategy, fundraising and the board relationship; an FD runs the finance function.
Not the ones a permanent hire carries: no employer NI (15% from April 2025, per HMRC’s rates for employers), no employer pension contributions, no recruitment fee and no notice-period cost. Agree the scope, the days and any travel in the engagement letter so the retainer is the whole cost.
Exec Capital publishes interim CFO day rates of £700–£2,000. That is a full-time rate — an interim CFO works every day of the assignment — so compare the assignment total, not the day rate, with FD Capital’s fractional CFO band of £700–£1,400 at one to three days a week. The Institute of Interim Management’s annual survey benchmarks interim day rates across functions.
Both are priced as a day rate times days a week. FD Capital puts a fractional CFO at £700–£1,400 a day, or £5,000–£8,000 a month for two days a week; the fractional COO figures are on fractional COO cost. Choose by the problem: cash, reporting and funding point to a CFO; operating rhythm and delivery to a COO.

Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5

Bring the brief. We architect the team.

A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.

Book a call →Submit a brief

14/ related

Keep exploring

Adjacent roles and reading.

/part-time-cfo-jobs-hireHire a CFO

Part-time CFO Jobs: the roles, and how to hire

/advisory-cfo-jobs-hireHire an Advisory CFO

Advisory CFO Jobs: the roles, and how to hire

/hire-interim-cfoHire an Interim CFO

Full-time interim cover: £700–£2,000 a day (Exec Capital).

/hire-a-fractional-cfoHire a Fractional CFO

Live availability, how the brief works, and fractional CFO jobs UK.

/fractional-cfo-salaryFractional CFO Salary

What a full-time CFO is paid, and what a fractional CFO earns.

/fractional-cfo-servicesFractional CFO Services

What the CFO seat covers when you buy it as a service.

/fractional-cfo-hourly-rateFractional CFO Hourly Rate

The same bands, converted to an hourly rate.

/rate-calculatorRate Calculator

Model a fractional CFO against a permanent hire.

/fractional-cfoWhat Is a Fractional CFO?

What fractional means for this seat

Hire a Fractional CFOFractional CFO SalaryRate CalculatorHMRC employer NI rates

For hiring managers

Bring the brief. We bring the shortlist.

Sign up now →Book a call

  1. A shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position
  2. Fractional, interim, part-time, temporary or permanent — and non-executive directors
  3. Every candidate through our five-stage vetting
  4. Your briefs and their candidates, in one room
Fractional Quest logo — how much does a fractional CFO cost, fractional CFO cost UK