Is a full-time or a fractional CGO better?

It depends on volume and the type of need. Full-time is justified when growth is a permanent workstream and the company is large enough to keep a CGO busy full-time over the long run. Fractional wins when the growth problem is real but doesn't fill a permanent role, or when you want immediate seniority and flexibility.

How much does a full-time CGO really cost?

Far more than the headline salary. In Canada, including base salary, payroll costs and benefits, bonus or equity and recruiting fees, the true cost of a senior CGO exceeds $280,000 in the first year, not counting the three-to-six-month ramp-up or the risk of a bad hire.

Is a Fractional CGO as involved as a full-time one?

They aren't present every day, but they're operational within weeks, with no ramp-up, and focused on high-impact workstreams rather than presence. For an SMB or agency, that level of targeted involvement is often enough to unlock growth without paying for full-time capacity.

At what size is a full-time CGO justified?

There's no universal threshold, but below a certain size (often agencies of 5 to 30 people), there usually isn't enough volume and complexity to keep a CGO busy full-time profitably. The need is a leadership problem, not a capacity one, which fractional solves better.

Fractional CGO vs full-time hire: the real math

Q: Can you start fractional then hire full-time?

Yes, it's often the best path. A fractional mandate puts the growth system in place and reveals, in practice, whether the volume justifies a permanent hire. You then hire with a clear role, calibrated expectations and far less risk.

At some point, a leader who senses a growth problem asks: "Do I hire a full-time CGO, or bring someone in fractional?"

The honest answer depends on two things people rarely look at together: the real cost (not the headline salary) and the type of need (continuous or in phases).

The trap

Comparing a CGO salary to a fractional monthly fee is comparing two different things. The true cost of a full-time hire includes far more than salary. And a fractional mandate doesn't buy time, it buys a result over a phase.

The true cost of a full-time hire

Salary is just the tip. Here is what hiring a senior CGO really costs, in the first year, in Canada.

True cost: senior CGO, year 1

Base salary $180,000

Payroll & benefits (~25%) $45,000

Bonus / equity $25,000

Recruiting (headhunter) $30,000

Onboarding ramp (3 to 6 months) opportunity cost

True cost, year 1 $280,000+

And that's if the hire works out. A bad hire at this level costs double, in money and in lost time.

Full-time vs fractional, attribute by attribute

Full-time

True year-1 cost: $280K+
Daily presence, full capacity
3 to 6 month ramp before full output
Permanent commitment, high bad-hire risk
Relevant above a certain size

Fractional

$5–15K/mo, no payroll or recruiting
Operational within weeks
Immediate seniority, no ramp
Phase-based, you stop when the system holds
Relevant as soon as there's a real growth problem

When each option wins

Choose full-time if…

You have the volume and complexity to keep a CGO busy full-time, sustainably.
Growth is a permanent workstream, not a phase.
You can absorb 6 months of ramp and the risk of a bad hire.

Choose fractional if…

You have a clear growth problem, but not enough to fill a full-time CGO role.
You want seniority now, not in six months.
You'd rather engage in phases and keep flexibility.

Most agencies between 5 and 30 people don't have a capacity problem: they have a leadership problem. Fractional solves the second without paying for the first.

The hybrid scenario

Often the right path isn't one or the other, but one then the other. A fractional mandate puts the growth system in place and reveals, in practice, whether the volume justifies a permanent hire. You then hire with a clear role, calibrated expectations and far less risk.

$280K+ True cost of a full-time hire, year 1

weeks To get a fractional operational, with no ramp

since 2002 Recruiting, onboarding and operating inside agencies

For the cost detail: how much a Fractional CGO costs. For the role: what is a Chief Growth Officer.

Find out which option fits you

30 minutes to look at your size, your need and your numbers, and decide between full-time, fractional or hybrid. No pitch.

Book a strategy call

François Painchaud

Fractional Chief Growth Officer in Montreal for digital agency leaders. In the agency world since 2002: co-founder, head of operations, operator. Two active mandates maximum.

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