Fractional COO Hourly Rate 2025

Hourly Rate Breakdown

When Hourly vs Day Rate Makes Sense

Choose Hourly Billing When:

• You need occasional strategic input (5-10 hours/month)
• Project scope is unclear and may vary significantly
• You want to test working together before committing to days/week
• You need specific expertise for defined tasks

Choose Day Rate When:

• You need consistent, ongoing leadership (1-3 days/week)
• Engagement is 6+ months
• COO needs deep integration with your team
• You want predictable monthly costs

Most fractional COOs prefer day rates for ongoing work because hourly tracking creates admin overhead and doesn't capture strategic thinking time outside scheduled hours.

Converting Hourly to Day Rates

Standard conversion: Hourly rate × 8 hours = day rate. However, many fractional COOs offer slightly lower day rates to encourage longer engagements:

• $150/hour → $1,000/day (not $1,200) - 17% discount
• $200/hour → $1,400/day (not $1,600) - 12% discount
• $250/hour → $1,800/day (not $2,000) - 10% discount