How pricing works

Prabhjyot Kaur prices fractional CMO engagements as a monthly retainer with no long lock-ins. There is no rate card here, because the number depends on scope, and scope is agreed on the intro call. The anchor: a full-time CMO costs $250K+ a year. A fractional engagement gives you that seniority for a fraction of it.

The model, in four lines

Monthly retainer: for ongoing fractional leadership, not a project fee and not an hourly rate.
No long lock-ins: the work should be worth renewing every month. A lock-in mostly protects the person being paid.
Scope first, price second: the exact shape is agreed once scope is clear on the first call.
Priced against the alternative: senior ownership at a fraction of a full-time CMO's cost. You always know what you are paying for and why.

Why there is no rate card

Every fractional CMO site with a neat three-column pricing table is quoting you a number before knowing anything about your business. It looks transparent. It is actually the opposite, because the tiers exist to make the sale easy, not to fit your problem.

A startup that needs positioning fixed and a website that converts is a different engagement from one that needs a paid engine rebuilt and attribution that finally tells the truth. Pricing them identically would mean one of you is overpaying.

So the honest version: the model is fixed and public, the number is quoted after a conversation. If that costs a click, so be it.

What you are actually buying

Senior ownership of marketing strategy, channel mix, messaging, measurement, and the systems that make growth repeatable. Positioning and measurement are set up front. Then a weekly cadence of building and running the growth system, with regular check-ins. You stay on product truth and the final calls on direction and budget.

The output is not a deck. It is the Growth OS: 17 connected growth systems, sequenced for your stage, that keep running after the engagement ends. Campaigns end. Systems compound.

What is not in the retainer

Media spend, tooling and software subscriptions are yours and paid directly by you. There is no markup sitting between you and your own ad platform. Anything outside the agreed scope gets discussed before it is done, not billed after.

The comparison that matters

Full-time CMO: $250K+ a year, plus equity, benefits, and the team they will want to hire. The right call once marketing is a proven engine with headcount to lead.
Fractional CMO: a monthly retainer for the part of the week you actually need senior ownership. The right call when you have traction but marketing has no owner.
Cheaper options: a freelancer or an agency will invoice less per unit. The cost that never appears on that invoice is the strategy nobody owns. The full comparison.

How to get a number

Book the intro call. Twenty to thirty minutes on where the business is, where growth is leaking, and whether this is a real fit. Pricing is walked through once scope is clear. No pitch. If you are too early for this, you will be told straight, and pointed to the two things worth doing yourself first.

Pricing FAQ

How much does a fractional CMO cost?

Prabhjyot Kaur's engagements run on a monthly retainer for ongoing fractional leadership, with no long lock-ins. The exact figure depends on scope, which is agreed after the intro call. The anchor to hold in mind is that a full-time CMO costs $250K+ a year before equity, benefits and the team they would hire, and a fractional engagement is a fraction of that.

Why is there no rate card on this page?

Because a rate card would be a number invented before the scope exists, and quoting a price before understanding the business is how founders end up paying for work they did not need. Scope is agreed on the first call and priced against it. What is fixed is the model: a monthly retainer, no long lock-ins, and you always know what you are paying for and why.

Is it a retainer or project pricing?

A monthly retainer. Fractional CMO work is ownership of an ongoing system, not a project with an end date, and pricing it per project would push the work back toward campaigns. Campaigns end. Systems compound. The retainer is what lets the system keep being built.

Are there long contracts or lock-ins?

No long lock-ins. Senior marketing ownership should be earned month to month, and a lock-in mostly protects the person being paid. The Growth OS is deliberately built so the systems keep working after the engagement ends.

What does the retainer actually include?

Senior ownership of marketing strategy, channel mix, messaging, measurement, and the systems that make growth repeatable. In practice that is positioning and measurement set up front, then a weekly cadence building and running the growth system. The founder keeps product truth and the final calls on direction and budget.

What is not included?

Media spend, tooling and software subscriptions are yours and are paid directly by you, so there is no markup sitting between you and your own ad platform. Anything outside the agreed scope is discussed before it is done, not after.

How do I find out what it would cost for us?

Book the intro call. It is a focused 20 to 30 minute working session on where the business is, where growth is leaking, and whether this is a genuine fit. Pricing is walked through once scope is clear. There is no pitch, and if you are too early, you will be told.