Fractional vs. Full-Time Executive Calculator · Canada
Should you hire or rent your next executive?
Free Canadian fractional vs. full-time executive calculator — side-by-side cost, capacity, and 3-year total cost of ownership for COO, CFO, CHRO, CTO.
Configure Your Scenario
Full-Time Hire
All-In Annual Cost
$0K
Salary + 25% benefits + 15% equity
Recruiting & Onboarding
$0K
One-time, upfront cost
Time to Hire
3-6 months
Ramp-Up Period
2-4 months
Time to First Impact
5-10 months
Total First-Year Cost
$0K
Key Risk
If the fit doesn't work: $400K+ sunk cost including severance and knowledge loss.
Fractional Leadership
Monthly Rate
$0K
2 days/week, fully billed
Total for 18-Month Engagement
$0K
15 × 18 months
Time to Hire
1-2 weeks
Ramp-Up Period
1-2 weeks
Time to First Impact
2-4 weeks
Key Advantage
If scope changes or priorities shift, scale up/down monthly. Zero severance, zero transition risk.
Savings vs. Full-Time
$0K (44%)
Break-Even & Scenario Analysis
Break-Even Timeline
Fractional is the clear cost winner at 2 days/week for 18 months — saving 44% vs. full-time first-year costs.
At current settings:
- • Full-time: $479K year 1
- • Fractional (18 months): $270K total
- • Fractional wins by: $209K
Quick Timeline
Immediate Impact
Fractional: 1–2 weeks to first deliverables
Prove the Role
Use 3–6 months fractional to validate and build structure
Hire or Scale
Once validated, promote to full-time or stay fractional
When Does Fractional Make Sense?
You need a strategic function built, not just a seat filled. A fractional CFO or COO can design your finance or operations infrastructure in 6–12 months, then hand it off to a full-time hire who inherits a working system — not a blank slate.
You're between stages. Companies in the $5M–$50M range often can't justify a $250K+ C-suite salary but are past the point where the founder can wear every hat. Fractional fills that gap without the fixed cost.
You need speed. A fractional leader is typically operational in 1–2 weeks versus 5–10 months for a full-time hire (search + ramp). For urgent priorities — fundraising, M&A integration, compliance remediation — that time difference is material.
Get a PDF Summary
Receive your fractional-vs-full-time comparison as a PDF — TCO breakdown, capacity model, and 3-year projection — sent to your inbox.
Disclaimer: Pricing reflects Canadian market averages for mid-market ($15M–$100M revenue) companies based on Robert Half, Caldwell Partners, and proprietary 1205 Consulting engagement data. Actual costs vary by location, experience, market demand, and specific scope. Contact our team for a detailed scoping engagement tailored to your organization.
Hire or rent — with the math.
- 01Total cost of ownership over 3 years for both models
- 02Time-to-impact and ramp-up reality for each path
- 03The break-even threshold where full-time becomes the better deal
- 04Where Canadian market rates actually land for COO, CFO, CHRO, CTO
Fractional C-Suite — embedded operators, not advisors.
COO, CTO, CRO, or Managing Director. 15+ years of scaling experience, accountable for outcomes, building systems that outlast the engagement.
The model is the start. The match is the call.
Match your scenario with a fractional executive who's been in the seat — and walk through scope, cadence, and outcomes.