Fractional CTO Services
A fractional CTO gives a startup the thing it most often lacks and can least afford to get wrong: experienced technical judgment. You might be a non-technical founder who needs someone to own the technology decisions, a technical founder who's stretched too thin to also set architecture and hire well, or a team that needs senior direction for a critical stretch without committing to a full-time executive salary.
MetaProject provides fractional CTO and senior architect support: real leadership on the decisions that shape your next few years, plus the hands-on architecture depth to make sure those decisions are sound.
What a fractional CTO does for you
Where the "expertise gap" usually is
How we work
Why us
When to bring us in
Fractional CTO cost
Fractional vs interim vs full-time CTO
| Fractional CTO | Interim CTO | Full-time CTO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 1–3 days a week | Full time for 3–9 months | Full time, permanent |
| Typical cost | $3k–$20k a month | $15k–$30k a month | $250k–$400k a year with equity and benefits |
| Best for | Seed to Series A, or a gap in senior technical judgment | A sudden leadership gap: the CTO left, a crisis or an acquisition | A team large enough to need a full-time technical leader |
| Time to start | 1–2 weeks | 2–4 weeks | 3–6 months to hire |
What a fractional CTO does in the first six months
“Their level of commitment and dedication to the success of the overall effort is their most impressive attribute.”
“They ran the project well, integrated technology into the process, and were brilliant communicators.”
Fractional CTO FAQ
Provides experienced technical leadership part-time, without the cost and commitment of a full-time executive. That means setting architecture and technical direction, de-risking major decisions, owning technical hiring, representing technology to investors and customers, and keeping delivery realistic.
An advisor gives opinions from the sidelines. A fractional CTO takes ownership of technical decisions and outcomes, works inside your team, and can also go hands-on with the architecture. We do both the leadership and the depth.
It flexes to your stage, from a few days a month for ongoing direction to a more intensive engagement through a critical period. We scope it to what you actually need.
Yes. Part of the role is often to give a future full-time CTO or founding engineers a solid foundation, and to help scope and run that hire. Our involvement is designed to step back as your permanent leadership takes over.
Yes. Alongside the fractional CTO role we can bring in senior engineers for architecture, platform, MVP, or product work. See MVP Development and Software Product Development.
Most engagements run $3k–$12k a month, depending on how many days a week you need. Intensive periods, such as a raise or a security review, cost $12k–$20k a month. A full-time US CTO costs $250k–$400k a year.
Usually 6–12 months. The first month sets direction and fixes the riskiest decisions; by month six the team should run day to day without us, and we step back or help hire a permanent CTO.
Tell us what you are building. On a 30-minute call a senior engineer walks through your technical direction and team. Or get a first view of the team and timeline in two minutes.