ยท 6 min read
What a fractional CTO costs in Europe: day rates and engagement models.
The question every founder asks by email and most answers dodge. Here is the band, the monthly math, and what moves a rate inside it.
How much does a fractional CTO cost in Europe?
Most fractional CTOs in Western Europe charge a day rate of EUR 1 000 to EUR 1 600. At the usual 2 to 3 days a week, that comes to EUR 9 000 to EUR 20 000 a month. Advisory engagements of 2 to 4 days a month run EUR 2 500 to EUR 6 500. A full-time interim CTO sits higher, EUR 20 000 to EUR 35 000 a month, because the availability is total and the notice is short.
| Model | Time | Typical monthly cost | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advisory | 2 to 4 days a month | EUR 2 500 to EUR 6 500 | An SME with a working team that needs oversight of a supplier or a lead developer |
| Fractional | 2 to 3 days a week | EUR 9 000 to EUR 20 000 | A scale-up or SME in a restructure, a turnaround, or a CTO search |
| Interim, full time | 4 to 5 days a week | EUR 20 000 to EUR 35 000 | The CTO is gone and someone has to hold the org today |
The bands are wide because the market is unregulated and the title is self-awarded. The bottom of the band is usually an advisor who has never run an org through something hard. The top is usually someone who has, more than once, and prices the personal risk of restructuring work into the rate.
How does that compare with hiring a full-time CTO?
A full-time CTO in Belgium costs EUR 250 000 to EUR 400 000 a year once employer contributions, bonus, car and equity are counted. The search takes 6 to 9 months, and a wrong hire at that level costs a year and a round of trust. A fractional CTO at 2 days a week costs about EUR 100 000 a year, starts within weeks, and leaves without a severance case when the work is done.
That comparison only holds for bounded work. A 120-person engineering org does not need a fractional operator, it needs a full-time one, and part of an honest engagement is saying when that point is reached. The most common shape is the bridge: fractional cover while the search for the permanent leader runs, which is what CTO replacement looks like in practice.
What moves the rate inside the band?
- The mandate. Restructuring and exits price above advisory. The employment-law exposure and the board conversations travel with the person doing them.
- Days on site. Remote-first is the norm. A mandate that needs 2 fixed days in the building every week narrows who can do it and moves the price.
- Urgency. A start next Monday costs more than a start next quarter, for the same reason any short-notice capacity does.
- Duration. Discounts for long engagements are rarer than buyers expect. A fractional CTO carries 2 or 3 clients at most; a year of your Tuesdays is a year of someone's Tuesdays.
What do I charge?
My rates sit inside the bands above, invoiced monthly. No equity, no success fee. For smaller companies the shape is fewer days rather than a lower rate, so the total stays in proportion to the business. Exact numbers come on the intro call once the scope is clear, because scope is what sets them.
Bands reflect what I see quoted and paid across Western Europe in 2026. Single data points outside them exist in both directions.
Related: fractional, interim, or part-time CTO: which one do you need?