Fractional executive rates by role and engagement

We take a published salary and add employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 (HMRC, 2026/27).

For a CFO on the £176,500 Robert Half 2026 median that is £202,225; for a COO on Glassdoor’s £115,590 average base (via Intelligent People), £132,179 — our arithmetic.

We leave out pension, bonus, benefits and a search fee because we hold no source for a general figure, so the comparator is conservative.

A retained search would add 25–35% of approximate first-year base salary (Headhunters.co.uk, 2026).

We no longer use a single “loaded” multiplier.

The seat first — the published bands differ by role (see the rate comparison).

Then experience: Connectd splits the fractional COO band into £600–£750 at entry, £900–£1,050 mid-market and £1,100–£1,400 senior (Connectd, 2026).

Then specialism and location: FD Capital puts PE, VC and fundraising CFOs at £1,200–£1,600 a day and says London-based companies pay fractional CFOs a 15–20% premium (FD Capital); regional CTO engagements run £200–£400 a day below London.

Engagement structure matters too — see IR35 below.

It depends on the role, the day rate and the days per week, so there is no single percentage — which is why the calculator shows your own numbers.

Two worked examples, our arithmetic: a CFO at £1,000 a day, two days a week across 46 weeks, comes in well below the £202,225 loaded CFO comparator (Robert Half 2026 median plus HMRC employer NI).

A COO at the same rate and days is below its £132,179 comparator; at three days a week it is above it, and a full-time hire is the cheaper answer.

Run your own role, days and rate through the calculator.

The bands are what their sources publish, and most do not say.

What we know: the IIM’s 2026 survey put the average interim day rate at £949 outside IR35 and £830 inside (IIM).

Status depends on how the engagement runs, not on the rate, and we set out the IR35 position on every brief.

HMRC’s guidance: IR35 — find out if it applies.

Both.

Day rates suit project work and irregular weeks; retainers suit an ongoing seat with a predictable rhythm.

FD Capital publishes both for CFOs: £700–£1,400 a day, or £2,500–£4,000 a month for one day a week up to £10,000–£15,000 for three or more (FD Capital, 2026).

Connectd puts monthly retainers generally at £5,000–£16,000 (Connectd, 2026).

FD Capital’s two-day retainer sits below two days a week at its own day-rate band — £5,367–£10,733 a month, our arithmetic.

The published bands overlap more than they differ: CFO £700–£1,400 fractional against £650–£1,500 interim (both FD Capital); CTO £1,000–£1,600 against £800–£1,800 (Exec Capital); COO £800–£1,400 fractional (Connectd) against £800–£2,000 interim (Exec Capital).

The IIM’s 2026 average interim day rate is £907 (IIM).

The real difference is density: an interim works five days a week for a fixed period, a fractional executive one to three, so the annual cost diverges far more than the day rate.

The executive’s time, expertise and strategic input, and the costs of running their own business — equipment, insurance, accountancy.

There is no holiday pay, sick pay or employer pension: those come out of the rate.

Light travel is often absorbed; extensive travel or overnight stays are typically charged separately or built into project pricing — agree it in the contract.

See what a day rate includes.

Yes.

Set the day rate to your COO figure — Connectd publishes £800–£1,400 a day for a fractional COO, £900–£1,050 mid-market (Connectd, 2026) — and choose the days a week.

The calculator’s full-time comparator is the CFO example, so compare the year-one cost against £132,179 instead: Glassdoor’s £115,590 average UK COO base (via Intelligent People) plus employer NI — our arithmetic.

The COO section has the worked numbers; to hire, see fractional COO.

Brief us on the role, the days a week and the budget.

We search against that brief, take candidates through the five stages on how we vet, and come back with a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.

To compare agencies first, see fractional executive search firms and how a fractional recruitment agency works.

A fixed number of days a month for a fixed monthly fee, with three terms agreed in writing: the days, what happens to unused days, and the notice either side gives.

Published examples: FD Capital’s CFO retainers of £2,500–£4,000 a month for one day a week up to £10,000–£15,000 for three or more (FD Capital), and Connectd’s £5,000–£16,000 across roles (Connectd).

The retainer section sets out the structure and how payment works.

Connectd publishes fractional COO rates of £800–£1,400 a day (2026): £600–£750 at entry, £900–£1,050 mid-market and £1,100–£1,400 senior.

An interim COO, full-time for a fixed period, is £800–£2,000 a day (Exec Capital, 2026).

These are published bands, not rates we have observed.

Against a full-time COO, compare the year-one cost with £132,179 — Glassdoor’s £115,590 average UK COO base (via Intelligent People) plus employer NI, our arithmetic — as the COO section sets out.

Multiply the day rate by the days you will actually bill: days a week × working weeks.

For a full-time contractor we use 220 days — our assumption, not a standard — so £600 a day is £132,000 a year, £650 is £143,000, £700 is £154,000, £800 is £176,000, £850 is £187,000 and £1,200 is £264,000 (our arithmetic).

The IIM’s 2026 survey found interims billed 148 days on average, which puts £800 a day at £118,400.

Either way it is gross billings, not a salary: holiday, pension and gaps come out of it.

The conversion table has every tab.

£80 an hour on a 7.5-hour day, or £85.71 on a 7-hour day — our arithmetic.

Neither is a standard: we use 7.5 hours, and FD Capital’s implied hourly rates use 7.

And £220 a day is £29.33 an hour at 7.5 hours (£31.43 at 7).

£16,500 a month if billed 220 days a year (£900 × 220 ÷ 12), or £6,900 a month at two days a week across 46 weeks — our arithmetic.

As a comparison with a salary, remember a salary also pays holiday, pension and employer NI; the day rate has to cover all of them.

It means the fee-payer treats the payment like employment income and deducts income tax and National Insurance before it reaches you (HMRC), so £750 inside IR35 nets less than £750 outside.

At 220 days it is £165,000 gross, £100 an hour at 7.5 hours — our arithmetic.

For context, the IIM’s 2026 survey put the average interim day rate at £949 outside IR35 and £830 inside (IIM).

Your net figure depends on your own tax position — check it with an accountant.

The rate a fractional executive charges for part of their week — usually a day rate, sometimes a monthly retainer for a fixed number of days.

The published fractional bands by role are in the rate comparison, each with its source; a calculator turns one into a year at your days a week.

Set your day rate in the calculator’s “I’m an executive” view: two days a week across 46 weeks at £1,000 a day is £92,000 in gross billings from one mandate, before tax and expenses — our arithmetic.

The model is built for more than one client.

The roles are on the UK fractional jobs board, and each role hub — CFO, CTO, COO — carries its own.

We don’t score individual rates or compute percentiles.

What we publish is a band for each role with its source, so you can see where your rate sits against a named benchmark — type it into the chart in the rate comparison.

Start from the published band for your seat and place yourself within it by fractional experience: Connectd splits the fractional COO band into £600–£750 entry, £900–£1,050 mid-market and £1,100–£1,400 senior.

Check the rate covers what a salary would have — holiday, pension, gaps between contracts.

Raise it at a change of scope or with new clients, with the review date and notice written into the contract.

The rate-setting section has more.