Free tool for fractional CTOs
Fractional CTO rate and pipeline calculator
Start from the income you want. See the day rate you need, how many clients that takes, what each retainer is worth, and how many discovery calls and inquiries a month keep your practice full. Defaults use 2026 data, and every number is editable.
Your practice
Drag a slider or type a number. Inputs tagged “Your estimate” have no reliable public benchmark, so set them from your own experience. All figures are USD.
Income
What you want to pay yourself before personal tax. Presets match 2026 full-time CTO base salaries.
Health cover and retirement contributions an employer would otherwise pay. Set to $0 if covered elsewhere, for example by a spouse's plan or by working on payroll.
Software, accounting, and marketing. Set to $0 if covered elsewhere, for example by a firm or marketplace you work through.
Capacity and rate
Exclude holidays, sick leave, and whole weeks unavailable for client work. Account for recurring weekly business development and admin in billable days below, not again here.
Only count days you can charge clients for. Leave time outside this number for business development, proposals, admin, and learning. For example, 3 billable days in a 5-day working week leaves 2 days for nonbillable work.
Default: the US fractional CTO average on Fractionus, October 2026.
Go Fractional lists about 15 hours a week as the typical fractional CTO scope (October 2026).
Pipeline
6 to 12 months is the most common band in the 2026 Fractional Jobs survey.
Your numbers
Break-even day rate
$283,000 revenue target ÷ 138 billable days, rounded up to the nearest $50. Based on 3 billable days a week for 46 weeks. Nonbillable work must fit outside those days.
$2,100
Days per week needed at your rate
$283,000 ÷ ($1,589 × 46 weeks)
3.9
Clients needed
At 1.5 days each, worth $10,329 a month per client. Each month a client slot sits empty costs you that amount.
3
Pipeline to stay full
Inquiries a month. That is 1.3 discovery calls a month to win 4.0 new clients a year, replacing engagements that end after 9 months.
2.7/mo
Need more inquiries each month?
Articles that answer your buyers' questions can bring in inquiries between referrals. A free strategy call maps the questions your buyers search for and picks the first article to write.
Assumptions and sources
Income target: the $238,000 default is the average Series B CTO base salary in Kruze Consulting's 2026 C-Suite Salary Guide, which uses payroll records from US venture-backed startups. Kruze reports CTO averages of $155,000 at Seed and $196,000 at Series A. Matching a full-time salary is a reference point, not a rule.
Day rate: the $1,589 default is the average US fractional CTO day rate on Fractionus, based on 83 operator-submitted rates in October 2026. Fractionus updates the figure weekly, so check the current number.
Billable days: in the 2026 Fractional Jobs survey of 1,733 fractional leaders, 20 to 24 client-facing hours a week was the most common band (21%). The survey notes that back-office work and business development come on top of those hours.
Days per client: Go Fractional lists about 15 hours a week as the typical fractional CTO scope in October 2026, close to 2 days. The 1.5-day default sits between one and two days a week.
Engagement length: in the same Fractional Jobs survey, 33% of recent engagements lasted 6 to 12 months, and two-thirds lasted 6 months or longer. The 9-month default is the middle of the most common band.
Your estimates: benefits, business costs, working weeks, close rate, and inquiry rate have no reliable public benchmark for fractional CTOs. The defaults are starting points to replace with your own numbers.
Formulas: revenue target = income + benefits + business costs. Break-even day rate = revenue target ÷ (weeks × billable days), rounded up to the nearest $50 because it is a floor. Days needed = revenue target ÷ (day rate × weeks). Clients needed = days needed ÷ days per client, rounded up. Monthly retainer = day rate × days per client × 52 ÷ 12. New clients per year = clients × 12 ÷ engagement months. Discovery calls a month = new clients a month ÷ close rate. Inquiries a month = calls a month ÷ inquiry rate.
Pricing is more than one number.
Read the companion guide for 2026 rate benchmarks, retainer structures, how many clients a fractional CTO practice needs, and when to charge above the average.
Read how much a fractional CTO should chargeHelping a founder compare hiring options? Use the fractional CTO vs. full-time CTO cost calculator.
This calculator provides planning estimates, not financial or tax advice.