Fractional CTO for a small business: what it covers
What a fractional (part-time) CTO does a few days a month, when a small business needs one, and how the role differs from a developer or an agency.
A fractional CTO is an experienced technical lead who works for your company a few days a month instead of full time. They make the decisions a developer is not hired to make and a vendor is not neutral enough to make: what to build next, which quote to trust and which risks are quietly piling up in the software you already run.
Quick answer
- A fractional CTO owns technical decisions part time: roadmap, architecture, vendors, security and the software budget.
- For a small business that usually means 2-4 days a month, not the 1-3 days a week that guides written for funded startups assume.
- You need one when software runs part of the business but nobody in-house can judge a quote, a vendor or a risk.
- A developer writes code, an agency delivers a scope, a CTO decides what is worth building and checks both.
- A few off-the-shelf tools and no custom software? You don’t need one yet.
- A CTO is not IT support: computers, networks and Microsoft 365 stay with your IT provider.
What a fractional CTO does in a month
The job is decisions and checks, not code. Here is a three-day month (24 hours) at a 20-person company with a web shop, an internal tool and two outside vendors - illustrative, not a client case.
| Task | Hours | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Roadmap review with the owner | 4 | A ranked list for the next quarter, with rough effort per item |
| Reviewing quotes and vendor work | 6 | A written opinion per quote: accept, renegotiate or reject |
| Architecture and code review | 6 | A list of risks and the order to fix them in |
| Access and security check | 4 | Who holds the domain, hosting, repositories and backups - moved into the company’s name |
| Hiring or briefing developers | 4 | A clear brief or job description and an interview with a technical eye |
The access check alone often pays for the month: owners regularly find the domain or code repository registered to a former freelancer - see who owns the software you paid for.
When a small business needs one
- You are about to sign a large software quote and nobody can tell whether it is fair - comparing line by line, as in how to compare software quotes, only works if someone understands the lines.
- A web shop, automations or custom software run daily operations, and the person who built them has left.
- Two vendors blame each other for the same fault.
- You plan to hire your first developer and cannot judge a candidate.
- You are asked what the company spends on software and why, and nobody knows.
You don’t need one for a single, well-defined project - a good vendor with a fixed price is enough. And if you need hands rather than decisions, hire developers.
Fractional CTO vs developer vs agency
| Developer | Agency or vendor | Fractional CTO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main job | Writes code | Delivers the agreed scope | Decides what to build and checks the work |
| Time | Full time or by the hour | Per project | A few days a month |
| Sees | Their own tasks | Their own project | All your software and vendors |
| Answers to | A lead or the owner | The contract | The owner |
One honest caveat: when the CTO role comes from the company that builds your software, there is a conflict of interest. Ask for written reviews, accounts in your name and the right to a second opinion - that applies to us too. For the wider in-house question, see in-house developers vs an agency.
What it costs
US guides set the price expectations: Kompella’s 2026 fractional CTO cost guide puts a retainer at $8,000-$25,000 a month, with one day a week at $8,000-$12,000. That is for funded startups needing a CTO every week.
A full-time hire in Croatia is a different scale. According to the MojaPlaca.hr salary survey, 80% of technical directors in Croatia earn €1,886-€4,429 net a month - across all industries, not only software, and before the employer’s taxes and contributions.
The 24-hour month above, billed at our hourly rate of €40-60 (excluding VAT), comes to €960-€1,440. For most small companies the realistic choice is not a full-time CTO but a few days of senior judgment a month.
How we cover the role
We don’t sell a “CTO” title. The decision-making part of the role comes with our monthly partnership: the Partner level includes a quarterly review and roadmap, and the Development team level adds reserved developer capacity and regular progress demos on top. For a one-off second opinion on a quote or a codebase we work by the hour; all four ways of working are on the engagement models page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a fractional CTO and a consultant? A consultant delivers a report and leaves. A fractional CTO stays for months, owns the decisions they recommend and is answerable when they turn out wrong.
How many hours a month does a small business need? Usually 16-32 hours, more in a month with a big decision such as choosing a vendor or replacing a system, less once things are stable.
Can a fractional CTO also write code? Some do, but it is the expensive part of their time. A small company gets more from a CTO who decides and reviews while developers build.
Is a fractional CTO the same as IT support? No. IT support looks after computers, networks and email accounts. A CTO looks after the software the business runs on and the people and vendors who build it.
When should we hire a full-time CTO instead? When software is the product you sell, or when your development team grows large enough to need a manager every day.
Related Articles
- Technical co-founder vs development partner - for founders building a product, not running a business on software.
- In-house developers vs agency - the cost and risk of each model.
- How to choose a development agency - the questions that reveal a real partner.
Need a technical lead, not a full-time hire?
Tell us what software you run and which decision is stuck. The first call is free, and we will say honestly whether a few days a month of technical leadership makes sense for you. Reach us at info@tsunami-digital.com or via the form on our homepage.