The honest answer is "it depends on scope", which is unhelpful unless you know what scope means. Here is how fractional CFO pricing actually works, so you can compare proposals on the same basis.
Three pricing models
Monthly retainer
The most common model. A fixed monthly fee for a defined set of deliverables and a cadence — for example a weekly forecast update, a monthly CFO meeting and a monthly board pack. Predictable for you, and it aligns the CFO with outcomes rather than hours logged.
Hourly or daily rate
Common for short engagements or highly variable work. Simple to understand, but it makes the CFO more expensive exactly when you need them most, and it creates an incentive to ration the relationship.
Project fee
A fixed price for a defined project: a fundraising model and data room, a lender application, an acquisition review. Often combined with a retainer.
What drives the price
Cadence — a weekly forecast and a monthly meeting cost more than a quarterly review
Complexity — entities, currencies, revenue models and the state of the books
Stakeholders — a board, investors or a lender add reporting requirements
Milestones — a raise or a sale in the next year is a project, not business as usual
Seniority — someone who has done your stage before costs more and is usually worth it
How to compare proposals
Ask each firm for the same three things: the list of deliverables, the cadence, and who specifically will do the work. A cheaper proposal with a junior analyst behind it is a different product. A proposal without a named person is a proposal for a queue.
Then ask what happens in the first ninety days. A credible engagement has a plan: forecast in place by week two, model rebuilt within two months, first full board pack by month three. If the answer is vague, the price is not the problem.
A rule of thumb
Companies commonly budget a small percentage of revenue for their entire outsourced finance function, with the CFO layer a portion of that. The right question is not whether the fee is high but whether the decisions it improves — pricing, hiring, funding — are worth multiples of it. Usually, they are.
Note: Sample pricing on this site is illustrative. Published market ranges vary by country, stage and firm; edit this article to reflect your own pricing philosophy.
