Fractional CMO · Hourly Rate & Conversions UK 2026
Fractional CMO Hourly Rate 2026
The fractional CMO hourly rate in the UK is £95–£240/hour (fractional-csuite), and Primewise’s top day band of £2,500+ works out at ~£330/hour (our arithmetic at 7.5 hours).
Porter Wills puts the equivalent day rate at £800–£2,500 (regional £800 to London £2,500+) and a monthly retainer at £3,000–£20,000+ depending on stage and region.
This page shows the hourly rate by seniority and how it converts to day, retainer and annual cost.
Sourced from fractional-csuite, Primewise and Porter Wills; reviewed 7 July 2026.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a fractional CMO
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with CMO Hourly Rate candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
On the board · last 3 months
Fractional CMO jobs on the board
No Fractional CMO roles on the board in the last three months. Showing fractional executive roles instead.
- FractionalSyndicatedFinancial Controller (fractional)
Fermtech · Oxford
est £550/dayOxford - FractionalSyndicatedFractional IT Director – Technology & AI (FTC)
Flat Iron · London
est £1,000/day2 d/wk - FractionalSyndicatedFractional IT Director – Technology & AI
Flat Iron · London
est £1,400/day2 d/wk - FractionalSyndicatedFractional Chief Medical Officer - Tricorder Systems
Founders Factory · Bristol
Rate not statedBristol - FractionalSyndicatedFractional People Director
People Puzzles Ltd · Cambridge
Rate not statedCambridge - FractionalSyndicatedFractional CFO
KeelCFO · England
Rate not statedEngland - FractionalSyndicatedFractional CFO
fin-house · London
£700–£1,000/dayLondon - FractionalSyndicatedFractional General Counsel
Ffern · London
est £1,000/day1 d/wk - FractionalSyndicatedPerformance & Development Lead (Fractional)
Unity Advisory · London
Rate not stated3 d/wk
Current fractional CMO opportunities
Fractional recruiting starts with the brief, not the CV pile. Send a CMO Hourly Rate brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five candidates, each through five-stage vetting.
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.
At 3.8 days a week a permanent hire costs less.
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 £147,000 Robert Half 2026 median salary. The full calculator below adds the months, the totals and the currency tabs.
- The fractional CMO at 2 days a week never passes permanent inside 24 months.
- Interim passes permanent at month 3.
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 (£1,350 a day, Exec 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.
The route · Fractional
A fractional CMO hourly rate.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional CMO hourly rate holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.
The route · Interim
An interim CMO hourly rate.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim CMO hourly rate takes the seat full time for that stretch and hands it over when it is done.
The route · Interim, then permanent
Interim now, a permanent CMO hourly rate after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim CMO hourly rate holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent CMO hourly rate.A full-time seat that sits at the table for years is a permanent hire.
There is time to run a search, so run one.
03/ the role
What a fractional CMO charges per hour in the UK in 2026
The UK fractional CMO hourly rate is £95–£240/hour (fractional-csuite), and Primewise’s enterprise day band (£1,800–£2,500+) is about £240–£330/hour at 7.5 hours — our arithmetic.
As with other C-suite roles, most fractional CMOs quote a day rate (£800–£2,500, Porter Wills) or a monthly retainer rather than pure hourly.
How it converts: at ~7.5 billable hours a day, fractional-csuite’s £95–£240/hour is a day rate of roughly £700–£1,800 (our arithmetic) — Porter Wills quotes £800–£2,500 across regions.
Porter Wills puts retainers at £3,000–£20,000+/month by stage and region: seed £3,000–£5,000, Series A–B £7,000–£12,000, Series C+ £15,000+.
Primewise puts FinTech and financial-services mandates at a premium.
For the fuller picture see Fractional CMO Salary UK and Fractional CMO Cost UK.
04/ scope
Hourly, day rate or retainer — which to use
Hourly
Best for occasional strategic consulting — a positioning workshop, a campaign review, a specific problem — where you pay only for the hours used.
Day rate
Best for project-shaped work — a rebrand, a GTM launch, a demand-gen build.
Primewise puts enterprise/ex-global CMOs at £1,800–£2,500+.
Monthly retainer
Best for embedded marketing leadership on a set number of days a week, scaling with company stage.
Our conversion convention: day rate ≈ hourly × 7.5 billable hours; annual cost ≈ day rate × days-per-week × 46 working weeks.
05/ rates
Fractional CMO hourly vs day vs retainer
Published day-rate bands for a CMO, each with its source. The full-time band is a salary divided by 220 working days — our arithmetic.
Published UK day-rate bands · £ a day · the marker is the calculator’s day rate
- Fractional£750–£1,400Connectd 2026£1,100
- Interim£700–£2,000Exec Capital 2026
- Permanent, per day£501–£835Robert Half 2026 salary ÷ 220 days
The permanent band is the published salary ÷ 220 working days — our arithmetic, for comparison only.
06/ 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 CMO: £750–£1,400 a day (Connectd 2026).
Cost over 12 months
£114,400
104 working days · 2 d/wk · 12 mo · before tax
Fractional costs less over 12 months£98,750
Fractional CMO, 12 months£114,400
Fractional CMO, a month at 2 d/wk£9,526
Permanent CMO, same period£213,150
Fractional CMO, 12 months$151,569
Fractional CMO, a month at 2 d/wk$12,621
Permanent CMO, same period$282,402
Converted from £ at $1.3249 per £1 (Bank of England spot rate), 2 Oct 2026. A conversion, not a US market rate. Source ↗
Fractional CMO, 12 months€134,374
Fractional CMO, a month at 2 d/wk€11,189
Permanent CMO, same period€250,366
Converted from £ at €1.1746 per £1 (Bank of England spot rate), 2 Oct 2026. A conversion, not a EU market rate. Source ↗
Our arithmetic, indicative. Permanent = the £147,000 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.
07/ 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.
Illustration only: one way a fractional CMO’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.
08/ 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 · 9 roles · fractional executive
Engagement
- Fractional9
Seat
- CFO2
- Financial controller1
- CTO1
- CIO1
- Other1
- CHRO1
- Other seats2
Days a week
- Stated in the posting4
- Not stated5
Day rate
- Verified rate1
- Estimated (est)4
- Rate not stated4
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote1
- Hybrid6
- On-site2
Newest posting on the board: 8 Oct 2026.
Postings per week on this board, last 90 days
7 postings on this board in the last 90 days, counted by the week each was published.
09/ rates by stage
Fractional CMO Hourly Rate by seniority
UK fractional CMO hourly rate by experience, with the day-rate equivalent (≈ 7.5 billable hours). fractional-csuite £95–£240/hour; Primewise day-rate tiers, hourly = day ÷ 7.5 (our arithmetic).
10/ rates by commitment
Hourly vs day rate vs retainer engagement models
The three UK fractional CMO engagement models and when each wins. Retainers by stage from Porter Wills.
11/ vetting
How we vet fractional CMOs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify CMO Hourly Rate tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
12/ day rate
Fractional CMO day rate: what the day buys
A fractional CMO day rate from Porter Wills or Primewise is a starting point, not a like-for-like price.
Before comparing quotes, ask what a day includes — preparation, agency and team calls between days, written follow-up — how part days are charged, whether travel and expenses sit on top, and whether the rate is quoted before VAT for an executive whose business is VAT-registered.
Agree payment terms too: GOV.UK explains when a commercial payment becomes late and what a supplier can then claim.
Then check who you are paying for.
Chartered Marketer status from the Chartered Institute of Marketing requires graded CIM membership, continuing professional development and an online assessment — one signal alongside references and a track record at your stage.
A CMO rebuilding positioning or launching into a new market suits a block of day-rate days; owning demand generation and the marketing team suits a retainer.
See fractional CMO cost for the monthly view and fractional CMO salary for the full-time comparison.
Write the scope, days a week and notice on each side into the contract.
IR35 status depends on how the engagement runs in practice rather than on the rate or billing model; medium and large clients make the status determination (HMRC off-payroll guidance).
HMRC’s Check Employment Status for Tax tool gives its view on a specific engagement.
An hour of CMO time is only good value if the work it directs is lawful.
Email and SMS campaigns fall under the ICO’s direct marketing and PECR guidance, and non-broadcast advertising answers to the CAP Code the ASA enforces.
For how UK companies are moving their marketing budgets quarter to quarter, the IPA publishes the Bellwether Report.
13/ questions
Fractional CMO Hourly Rate FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional CMO.
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.
