Fractional CISO Cost UK
Hire a fractional CISO across the UK at £900–£1,650/day (rising to £1,500–£2,500 for FCA-regulated or FTSE-level work). Typical engagements 2 days/week at £85k–£160k loaded annually — versus £150k–£300k for a permanent CISO including NI, pension and recruitment.
Fractional CISO Cost by Engagement Tier.
Day rates and monthly retainers scale with regulatory exposure and programme intensity. Source: FACTS row `fractional-ciso-retainers-uk-2026`.
| Engagement Tier | Typical Context | Day Rate | Monthly Retainer | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light-touch governance | SME / single-product SaaS | £900–£1,100 | £3,000–£5,000 | Board reporting, policy upkeep, audit prep |
| Active programme | Scale-up, certification-bound | £1,100–£1,400 | £5,000–£8,000 | ISO 27001, SOC 2, vendor security |
| Intensive transformation | PE-backed, post-incident, M&A | £1,400–£1,800 | £8,000–£12,000 | Programme rebuild, team scale-out |
| FCA / FTSE / Critical-infra | Regulated entity, high-stakes | £1,500–£2,500 | £12,000–£20,000 | Regulatory engagement, board exposure |
| Advisory (vCISO hourly) | Ad-hoc, fractional sessions | £150–£300/hr | Project-scoped | Specific reviews, RFP responses |
Fractional CISO Cost vs Permanent CISO Total Cost.
How fractional engagements compare to permanent loaded cost.
Permanent UK CISO total cost runs £150k–£300k loaded — base £110k–£180k (higher in London and financial services), plus employer NI (15% from April 2025), pension (3–12%), bonus, benefits, and recruitment fees of 20–30% on first-year base. Source: FACTS row `permanent-ciso-salary-uk-2026`.
Fractional CISO at 2 days/week (£1,300/day × 2 × 46 weeks = ~£120k annually) delivers board-level security leadership at 40–60% savings versus permanent loaded cost — no recruitment fees, no notice period, no employer NI. For light-touch governance retainers (£3k–£5k/mo) the cost drops to ~£36k–£60k/year.
Virtual CISO (vCISO) hourly at £150–£300/hr suits sub-1-day-per-week engagements — typically £15k–£40k/year for advisory cadence. Below that threshold, retained CISO becomes uneconomic versus a vCISO arrangement.
Frequently asked.
Common questions from hiring teams comparing fractional and permanent engagements.
Keep exploring.
Adjacent pages for the same hiring intent.
Fractional CISO Jobs UK
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