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Fractional vs. full-time CTO

Compare the real annual cost of a fractional AI leader, a full-time CTO, and a one-off consultant, using your own assumptions.

The math · Cost of senior leadership

What does senior AI leadership actually cost?

An estimate built from your own numbers. Compare a full-time CTO against a fractional AI and technology leader, and against a one-off consultant for the same scope. It is an estimate, not a quote.

Full-time CTO

per year, fully loaded

Full-time presence, full-time cost
Months to hire, then they own it all
Hard to scale down if the need shifts

Recommended

Fractional AI leader (IntellaGrow)

per year, no overhead

Senior owner, governed delivery
Scale up or down by the month
Starts in days, not months

One-off consultant

one-time, then you are on your own

Advice, then it is yours to run
No ongoing owner of the outcome
Re-engaging means a new fee

Assumptions: Overhead and recruiting are amortized into year one. The CTO figure is base plus your overhead load plus first-year recruiting. The fractional figure is days per month times day rate, times twelve. Every number is an estimate from the figures you entered, not a quote.

Want a quicker read? The two-input cost comparison calculator gives a fast full-time vs. fractional side-by-side without the sliders.

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