Judgement
Someone who chooses and defends the choice in the boardroom. That is what you buy with fractional and interim. With consultancy you buy analysis that leads to a choice, but the choice stays yours.
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Comparison
Fractional, interim, consultancy or agency?
Four ways to buy senior commercial leadership. What you get, what it costs, and who is responsible when it goes wrong.
I supply two of these four, so read this knowing that. Which is why each format also states when it is the better choice, including when that means you do not need me.
The underlying choice
You are not choosing a format. You are choosing who carries the decision.
Almost every comparison on this subject argues about days and rates. That is the wrong axis. The question that counts is: who makes the call, and who is still there when the consequences show up?
Capacity
Hands that do the work. That is what you buy from an agency and from interim. Fractional explicitly does not deliver it: one to two days a week is not execution capacity.
Continuity
Someone who is still there in nine months and remembers the trade-offs. Fractional scores highest here precisely because it is small and long. A four-week sprint scores lowest by definition.
The four side by side
What you actually buy in each format.
The two highlighted columns are what I deliver. The other two I do not, and I refer people to them when that is the better route.
| Fractional | Interim | Consultancy | Agency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you buy | Senior judgement and ownership, in a fixed cadence | The seat itself, temporarily and fully | Analysis, method and a team to work it out | Execution on instruction |
| Time commitment | 1 to 2 days a week | 4 to 5 days a week | Project team, variable | Ongoing, on call |
| Duration | 6 to 18 months | 3 to 9 months | 4 to 12 weeks per engagement | Rolling contract |
| Who carries the decision | The fractional, inside the agreed scope | The interim, fully | You. Advice is advice | You. The agency executes what you ask |
| Cost indication | €6,000 to €9,000 a month | Day rate, on request | €25,000 to €150,000+ per engagement | €3,000 to €15,000 a month |
| Time to first value | 1 to 3 weeks | 1 to 2 weeks | 4 to 8 weeks, at delivery | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Does the knowledge stay | Yes, through the long runway | Only with explicit handover | Partly, in the document | No, it stays with the agency |
| Choose this when | Direction is missing, not hands. And you want someone who stays. | The seat is empty and someone has to sit in it today. | The question is large, bounded and analysis-heavy. | You know what needs doing and want execution. |
| Do not choose this when | You need execution capacity, or will not hand over a mandate. | The question is direction, not coverage. | You need someone to make the call on Monday. | The strategy is not settled. You would be scaling a mistake. |
Amounts are indications and exclude VAT. The consultancy and agency columns are based on market observation, not on my own price list. Verify them for your own situation before you base a decision on them.
The arithmetic
What it costs per year, with the assumptions attached.
Not to show that fractional is always cheaper, because it is not. But to show which costs usually stay outside the comparison.
| Route | Direct cost per year | What is usually forgotten | Notice period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time CCO on payroll | €250,000 to €330,000 employer cost | Recruitment at 20 to 25% of annual salary, 3 to 6 months to full productivity, and the risk of a bad hire | Months, with a termination route |
| Interim via agency | €250,000 to €350,000 at four days a week | Agency margin, and the chance you get the third candidate instead of the first | Usually 1 month |
| Consultancy engagement | €25,000 to €150,000 per engagement | Execution is not included. After delivery the work starts | Per engagement |
| Fractional | €72,000 to €108,000 | No execution capacity. Whatever must be built you place yourself or elsewhere | Usually 1 month |
Assumptions, not facts. The figures for full-time, interim and consultancy are market indications based on my own observation in the Netherlands, not from a published study. Employer charges are calculated at roughly 20 to 25% on top of base salary. Interim is calculated on 46 workable weeks. Check these assumptions against your own situation and your own quotes before you base a decision on them. The fractional figure is my own price.
Decision aid
Three questions that usually settle it.
01
Is the problem direction or coverage?
Direction means people work hard and it returns too little. That is fractional or a sprint.
Coverage means a seat is empty and work is piling up. That is interim, or simply hiring.
02
Is there something to decide, or something to execute?
If the answer is already known and only needs doing, buy execution. An agency is cheaper and faster than me.
If the answer is precisely what is unclear and opinions are split, buy judgement.
03
How long does it need to last?
For a board meeting six weeks out, a sprint or Board & Investor Prep is the right size.
For a commercial rebuild spanning two quarters, a sprint is too short and the effect disappears the moment the document goes in a drawer.
Frequently asked
What else people ask about this.
What is the difference between fractional and interim?
Fractional is a small, fixed cadence over a long period: one to two days a week for six to
eighteen months, aimed at direction and at the decisions that fall at the top. Interim is temporary full-time
replacement: four to five days a week for three to nine months, aimed at taking the seat completely.
You buy fractional for judgement, interim for judgement and coverage.
What does a full-time CCO cost in the Netherlands?
Indicatively around €250,000 to €330,000 in total employer cost per year, plus a one-off
twenty to twenty-five percent of annual salary in recruitment and three to six months to full productivity.
Those are market assumptions based on my own observation, not a published study. Verify them before you base
a decision on them.
Can you switch from fractional to interim and back?
Yes, and it happens regularly. A fractional track starts at one day a week and temporarily goes
to four or five when a departure, a funding round or an integration lands, then drops back. The reverse also
happens: an interim period that continues as a fractional sounding board after handover to the new CCO.
When is a consultancy or agency the better choice?
Consultancy when the question is large, bounded and analysis-heavy: multi-country market research,
due diligence, or a transformation with dozens of workstreams. An agency when you already know what needs doing
and want execution capacity: campaigns, content, lead generation. In both cases I am not the cheapest or fastest
route, and I will say so.
Why trust a comparison the author is in?
You do not have to. Which is why every format states when it beats what I deliver, and why the
assumptions under the arithmetic are written out so you can check them. If you finish this page concluding you
need an agency, the page did its job.
Book a call
Still not sure which format fits?
Put it to me in thirty minutes. I will tell you which of the four I would pick in your situation, even if it is one I do not supply.