The short answer Choose a fractional CMO when your team already ships and needs a senior lead. Choose Track when you need customers in volume within six months, for £5,000 or £10,000 a month plus VAT. The table below shows what each route costs, with named sources. Here is what each gets you, what it costs and when it is the wrong choice, Track included.
Updated · Outfly senior team
Two of the five answers point away from Track.
Most founders start here. In Outfly's Growth Gaps 2026 sample, 92% of startups relied on the founder or a single hire for marketing (349 of 378). "Founder-led" was part of how startups were defined, so part of this follows from the definition.
On Pilot, Outfly's team runs the marketing end to end. On Co-pilot, your team runs it with Outfly's plan, senior partner and assets. Both are fixed for six months. Compare it with a fractional CMO.
A specialist agency is a sensible choice when you know who buys and your pages turn visits into customers. If results have stalled, check who you are targeting and the page they land on first.
A hire takes months to find and ramp up. Six months of Track shows which channels bring customers, and gives you a clear brief for the role.
If your team already ships, you may only need senior direction a few days a month. That is what a fractional CMO is for.
Swipe the table sideways on a phone. Every column has a main risk, Track included.
Track | Doing it yourself | Fractional CMO | Marketing hire | Agency retainer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | £5,000 (Co-pilot) or £10,000 (Pilot) a month plus VAT, six-month minimum. Ad spend on top. | No fee. Paid in your time | £3,000 to £10,000 a month, plus whoever carries out the plan | £48,188 to £65,711 salary a year, plus on-costs | £3,500 to £16,750 a month for full service |
| Who does the work | Outfly's team on Pilot. Your team on Co-pilot, with Outfly's plan, senior partner and assets. | You, between everything else | Your team or suppliers, directed by the CMO | One person, plus the budget they are given | Agency specialists in the channels you buy |
| Getting started | Growth plan built with you in week one | Today | Once the right person is found | After search, notice and ramp-up | After scoping and onboarding |
| Main risk | Six months committed before the results are in, with ad spend on top | It stops when you are busy | A plan nobody has time to carry out | One person carrying six jobs | Scope drift, with no set point to judge it |
| Best when | You need direction and delivery, and customers in volume, within six months | The product is early and you have the hours | Your team ships and needs a senior lead | Marketing is permanent and you know what the role owns | The buyer is known, the pages convert and one channel needs running for years |
| See pricing → | Full comparison → | Full comparison → | Full comparison → | Full comparison → |
Sources: Practicus, UK fractional CMO day rates and retainers, as of June 2025 (published date, may be out of date). Ashdown Group Marketing Salary Guide 2026, UK marketing salaries, as of November 2026. Whito UK agency retainer research, retainer ranges from a publisher with its own commercial interest, data collected January to May 2026, as of May 2026.
Each client figure is one client's result, and results vary.
If you want senior marketing without a full-time executive salary, there are four other routes. Each trades something different.
A fractional CMO's fee buys senior days. Delivery is usually paid for separately.
An in-house marketer stays and learns the business, but takes months to find and is one person. An agency brings specialists from the first month, but works on the channels you pay for and the brief you give it. For an app, clinic or consumer brand, the first question is which channels bring paying customers at a cost you can carry. Until you know, either route can end up running the wrong plan.
The routes also combine in sequence. Six months of Track leaves pages, campaigns and tracking that keep running, and a clear view of which channels bring customers. Then hire for the job that exists, keep an agency on the channel that proved itself, or bring in a fractional CMO to steer what Track built.
Through an agency, £1,250 to £3,500 a month for one channel or £3,500 to £16,750 for full service (Whito, May 2026). A fractional CMO costs £3,000 to £10,000 a month (Practicus, June 2025). A marketing manager's median salary is £56,950 a year before on-costs (Ashdown Group, 2026). Track costs £5,000 or £10,000 a month plus VAT for six months, with ad spend on top.
A marketing hire, an agency retainer, doing it yourself, or a fixed-price programme such as Track by Outfly. On Pilot, Track combines senior direction with the team that runs the marketing. On Co-pilot, your team runs it with Outfly's plan, senior partner and assets.
Choose a fractional CMO when the gap is direction and you already have people to do the work. Choose an agency when the direction is clear and you need specialists to run a channel. If both are missing, you need both, or a programme that covers both for a fixed term. See Track or a fractional CMO.
Yes. An in-house marketer owns the plan and the brand, and an agency runs the channels that need specialist skill. Track Co-pilot follows the same split, with your team running the campaigns and Outfly supplying the plan, the senior partner and the assets.
Yes. Six months of Track leaves pages, campaigns and tracking that keep running, and a clear brief for the role, so the hire starts from evidence. See Track or a marketing hire.
No. Ad spend is on top and paid to the platforms. Track's fee is £5,000 a month (Co-pilot) or £10,000 a month (Pilot) plus VAT, for a six-month minimum.
When doing your own marketing works, when it stops, and what your hours cost.
Read the comparisonWhat a fractional CMO costs in the UK, and who runs the plan once it exists.
Read the comparisonThe year-one cost of hiring a marketing manager, and the months before they deliver.
Read the comparisonWhat a marketing agency retainer costs in the UK, and who carries the risk.
Read the comparisonFree 30-minute call with our senior team. A growth plan within a week, yours to keep.
