Fractional Savings Calculator
The full cost of a full-time hire is rarely what's on the offer letter.
Salary is one line. Benefits, payroll tax, recruiting fees, and the management overhead that comes with every permanent headcount decision are the rest. Use this calculator to see the number, and what a fractional engagement typically costs instead.
No email required. Results are shown immediately.
Build your comparison
Your numbers. Your role. Your actual savings estimate.
Select a service and role, then adjust the cost assumptions to match your situation. The comparison updates in real time. This tool is designed for planning purposes only. Salary benchmarks are based on US market averages for growth-stage companies and are updated periodically. Fractional engagement ranges reflect typical 512Financial arrangements and will vary based on specific scope, company stage, and hours required. This calculator does not constitute a price quote or commitment.
Full-time hire inputs
Base salary
Pre-filled with US market average for the selected role. Adjust to match your expectations.
Additional cost assumptions
Your cost comparison
Full-time hire: year one loaded cost
- Base salary$0
- Benefits & payroll taxes (25%)$0
- Annual bonus (30%)$0
- Recruiting fee (20% of base)$0
vs. Fractional
512Financial fractional engagement
$0–$0 / yr
Typical annual equivalent for this role and scope. Actual pricing depends on hours, engagement structure, and services required.
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These estimates are based on market averages. A conversation with our team takes about 20 minutes 
and results in a scope and pricing range specific to your company.
What the salary number leaves out
Four costs most founders discover after the hire.
The base salary is the visible line item. The loaded cost is what that hire costs the company in year one, and it is consistently 50–70% higher. Here is where the gap comes from.
01
Benefits and payroll taxes
Employer-side FICA (7.65%), health and dental coverage, 401(k) match, and any additional employee benefits. These typically run 18–28% of base salary for a fully-loaded package at a growth-stage company.
At $180,000 base, this adds $32,400–$50,400 before a bonus is considered.
02
Annual bonus
Most senior finance and people roles carry a target bonus of 10–20% of base. Even at the conservative end, this is a meaningful addition, one that compounds against benefits and payroll taxes.
A 10% bonus on a $180,000 base adds another $18,000 to year-one cost.
03
Recruiting fee
Retained and contingency search fees for CFO, Controller, and HR Director roles typically run 18–25% of first-year base compensation. For a single hire, that's often a six-figure fee paid before the person walks in the door.
At 20% on $180,000 base, the recruiting fee alone is $36,000.
04
Ramp time and infrastructure
A new permanent hire typically takes 90–120 days to reach full productivity. During that period, leadership time, onboarding costs, and tooling stand-up all represent real cost that rarely appears in a hiring forecast.
This calculator conservatively omits ramp cost.
How it works
How we calculate the numbers in this tool.
Where the salary benchmarks come from
Most senior finance and people roles carry a target bonus of 10–20% of base. Even at the conservative end, this is a meaningful addition, one that compounds against benefits and payroll taxes.
How benefits and payroll taxes are calculated
Benefits and payroll taxes are applied as a percentage of base salary. The default of 25% covers employer-side FICA (7.65%), a mid-market health and dental package, and a modest 401(k) match. Growth-stage companies with more generous packages often run closer to 28–32%. Use the slider to adjust to your company's actual loaded cost.
How the fractional cost range is derived
Fractional engagement ranges are based on 512Financial's hourly rates for each role, applied across two allocation levels: a minimum engagement of 35 hours per month and a higher engagement of 78 hours per month. The annual equivalent range you see in the results reflects those two levels. A fractional CFO at minimum allocation, for example, runs approximately $9,275 per month. Actual pricing is always scoped to your specific situation.
What this tool intentionally leaves out
This calculator does not include ramp time cost (the 90–120 day productivity deficit common with new permanent hires), management overhead, severance risk, or equity dilution from stock grants. Including these would make the comparison even more favorable toward fractional. We exclude them to keep the estimate conservative and credible.
Not everything fits the FTE model
Three of our practices work differently and cost comparisons require a different conversation.
Transaction Advisory
Due diligence, M&A readiness and quality of earnings are project-based, not headcount-based.
Transaction Advisory engagements are scoped around a specific event: a fundraise, acquisition, or sale process. The right question is what good diligence costs versus what a bad deal costs you after close.
Executive Retained Search
C-level searches run on a retained fee model, not headcount replacement.
Retained search engagements are scoped around a single, targeted hire: typically a C-level or senior leadership role critical to the company's next stage. We focus our search for the right person to take the company forward, and the engagement ends when that hire is made.
Strategic Talent Planningâ„¢
Org design and hiring roadmap work runs on retainer or project scope, not headcount replacement.
Strategic Talent Planning engagements address how a company structures itself for the next stage of growth. This is typically ahead of a funding round or major hiring wave. These are not replacing an internal hire; they are providing capability that most growth-stage companies do not have internally at all.
