Nobody wants to say the number first, so here it is.
What does a fractional CMO cost in 2026?
Across the country, fractional CMO retainers run roughly $3,000 to $15,000 a month, and $150 to $350 by the hour (MarketerHire's 2026 cost guide). The low end is ten to fifteen hours of strategy a month.
My prices come in three levels:
- About two days a month, $3,500. The plan, the priorities, a monthly review, and a phone that answers. Good for a company doing one to five million in revenue that needs a grown-up in the marketing seat, just not every week.
- About a day a week, $6,500. I own the marketing roadmap, run the vendors and freelancers, and sit in on the leadership meeting.
- About two days a week, $11,000. I run the function. Hiring, agencies, budget, the whole thing, until you are ready for a full-time person, and then I help you hire them.
What do I get for that?
Someone who has done the job before and is on the hook for the result. A marketing agency does what you tell it. A fractional CMO decides what to tell the agency, manages it, and tells you straight whether it is working.
You get a plan you can read on one page, a budget that matches it, the right vendors picked and managed, and a monthly conversation about what is working and what gets cut.
When is a business too small for one?
If you are under about a million in revenue, a monthly retainer is probably more than you need. Do a one-day brand and marketing workshop instead, get the plan, and run it yourself or with a freelancer for six months. Come back when it is working and you cannot keep up with it.
Over fifty million, you probably want a full-time CMO, and I will tell you so on the call.
Why are you cheaper than the big fractional firms?
There is no firm. There is me, in Minneapolis, with no office rent and no sales team. The big fractional shops charge $10,000 and up to cover a bench, a brand, and a margin. Some businesses need the bench. Most companies under ten million need one good person who answers the phone.
What does the seat not cover?
If you need five days a week, that is a full-time hire, and I will help you make it. I also do not do the hands-on marketing work in the seat: the writing, the ads, the posting. I find and manage the people who do, and they cost you less than my rate.
Answered by Jared Lukes, Minneapolis. Twenty-five years in brand, UX, and technology, currently holding fractional AI and technology seats at three companies. About Jared.