A part-time CMO who owns the number.
Part-time, fractional, interim, full-time
| Part-time / fractional CMO | Interim CMO | Full-time CMO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours a week | 5 to 20 | Full time | Full time |
| Term | Ongoing, month to month | 3 to 9 months, while you recruit | Permanent employment |
| Who executes | Same owner, or the team they direct | Usually hands off to your team | Hires and directs staff |
| What it costs | $5,000 to $15,000 / mo | Close to full-time cost | ~$407K / yr, loaded |
If the arrangement ends and nothing was built in your name, you did not have a CMO. You had a rent-a-title.
What the fraction costs
Open the retainer bands by revenue
| Your revenue | Typical monthly retainer | What it covers | Billed separately |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1M to $3M | $5,000 to $7,500 | One constraint at a time. Usually offer, paid, or measurement. | Ad spend, software |
| $3M to $6M | $7,500 to $12,000 | Full channel mix plus the measurement rebuild. | Ad spend, software, production |
| $6M to $10M | $12,000 to $15,000 | Full marketing ownership plus team direction. | Ad spend, software, production |
Published August 2026, next reviewed February 2027.
Split attention is the failure mode
Who a part-time CMO fits
Fits you if
- You are between $1M and $10M with proven demand.
- Marketing spends money but nobody owns the number.
- Every decision still routes through you.
- You need senior judgment for a day or two a week, not a full-time salary.
Does not fit if
- You are pre-revenue. You need customers, not a CMO.
- You need someone on site five days a week managing a large team.
- You have a validated plan and only need production volume. That is an agency.
- You want a placement service to send you a rotating contractor.
Questions owners ask next
Is a part-time CMO the same as a fractional CMO?
In practice, yes. Companies use part-time CMO and fractional CMO for the same seat: a chief marketing officer who works one or two days a week instead of five. The label matters less than two things you should verify with any candidate: who owns the number, and who executes the work.
How many hours a week does a part-time CMO work?
Typical engagements run 5 to 20 hours a week. The more useful question is how many companies they carry at once, because that is what determines whether they know your business well enough to be useful. ROI.LIVE caps concurrent clients and publishes the current count.
What does a part-time CMO cost per month?
ROI.LIVE retainers start at $5,000 and most land between $5,000 to $15,000 a month, against a published US market range of $1,000 to $40,000. A full-time CMO costs roughly $407,000 a year fully loaded. Below roughly 13 hours a week of attention, the part-time route costs more per hour, and the saving only exists because you are buying less time.
When does a full-time CMO make more sense?
When marketing leadership is a five-day-a-week job: a large team to manage, several channels mature at once, or a board and investor layer that needs a full-time executive. That usually arrives north of $10M. I will tell you on the first call if that is where you are.
Do you place part-time CMOs into other companies?
No. This is not a placement or staffing business. Jason Spencer is the fractional CMO on every engagement, and named specialists build the work under his direction. You meet the operator on the first call, because there is no one else.