Best Chief Outsiders Alternatives in 2026: Top Fractional CMO & CRO Firms
Seven fractional marketing and revenue leadership options, ranked on the same criteria, with live rate data.
Founder & CEO, Go Fractional
Last Updated October 21st, 2026
Growing companies use Chief Outsiders alternatives and other fractional hiring platforms to fill leadership gaps quickly and navigate transitions. In 2026, 97% of U.S. fractional job postings came from small and medium-sized companies, according to Lightcast. Chief Outsiders, a Houston-based firm that places fractional chief marketing officers (CMOs) and chief sales officers (CSOs) with mid-sized companies, was built for this moment. But there are also many alternatives worth considering, depending on your hiring needs.
A Chief Outsiders alternative fills the same fractional roles but through different models, like a matched marketplace, a productized CMO firm, or an agency with a team.
For a quick rundown, the top Chief Outsiders alternatives in 2026 are Go Fractional for matched fractional CMOs, CROs, and the rest of the C-suite; CMOx for one structured CMO method; Kalungi for B2B SaaS companies that need a team with their CMO; and Marketri for mid-market B2B marketing.
In this guide, we'll cover what Chief Outsiders offers, how the top alternatives compare, the costs of fractional executives, and how to make your next high-level hire.
What Is Chief Outsiders?
Chief Outsiders is a fractional executive firm founded in 2009. It now has more than 120 fractional executives, and every CMO and CSO has held a VP-level role or higher at a large operating company, many of them Fortune 500 firms.
Engagements come in two forms: an outsourced CMO or CSO who works inside your leadership team, or an advisory CMO or CSO. Each executive also reviews your growth plan with a panel of peers from the firm, which Chief Outsiders calls its GrowthImpact Council.
The model's strength is depth in those two functions, backed by peer review.
Why Do Companies Look for Chief Outsiders Alternatives?
Companies might look for Chief Outsiders alternatives when their hiring need falls outside a two-seat, firm-matched model.
Common reasons to seek other options include:
- You need a hire beyond marketing and sales. Chief Outsiders places CMOs and CSOs. If you're hiring another C-suite role, like a CRO across sales, marketing, and customer success, or a CFO alongside your CMO, you need another provider.
- You want a wider candidate pool. Chief Outsiders matches you with one or two executives from its bench of about 120. Some buyers want to interview more leaders and cast a wider net.
- You want to see pricing before committing. Chief Outsiders scopes each engagement individually and doesn't publish a rate card.
- You want a path to full time. Instead of just setting up an ongoing consultant or advisor relationship, you might want a contract-to-hire option.
- You're a startup rather than a mid-market company. Seed-stage to Series B teams often need leaders with recent startup experience and a narrower scope.
How We Ranked These Chief Outsiders Alternatives
We scored every provider, Chief Outsiders and Go Fractional included, according to the same six criteria:
- Roles covered: whether the provider fills CMO, CRO, and other C-suite seats, or one function only.
- Engagement models: whether it offers fractional, interim, and contract-to-hire options.
- Time to match: whether it publishes how quickly you'll meet a candidate.
- Pricing transparency: whether rates or benchmarks are public before you talk to sales.
- Visible seniority: whether you can see who the executives are and where they've worked before you sign.
- Industry fit: whether the bench includes leaders from your sector, such as manufacturing, health care, or SaaS.
Disclosure: Go Fractional publishes this guide and ranks itself first. Every other provider's information is pulled from its own published materials.
The 7 Best Chief Outsiders Alternatives
Here's how the seven alternatives compare with Chief Outsiders based on the criteria above.
| Provider | Model | Roles covered | Engagement types | Time to match | Rates published? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Outsiders (baseline) | Partner firm | CMO, CSO | Fractional, advisory | Not published | No |
| Go Fractional | Matched marketplace | Full C-suite, including CMO and CRO, plus VP roles | Fractional, interim, contract-to-hire | As little as 48 hours | Yes (live benchmarks) |
| CMOx | Productized CMO firm | CMO | Fractional, advisory | Not published | Starting prices listed |
| Kalungi | B2B SaaS agency | CMO plus execution team | Coaching, full-service | Not published | No rate card |
| Marketri | B2B marketing firm | CMO, CGO | Fractional, outsourced department | Not published | No |
| Sales Xceleration | Advisor network | Sales leadership | Fractional VP of Sales | Not published | No |
| TechCXO | Partner firm | Full C-suite | Fractional, interim, project | Not published | No |
| Independent executives | One operator | One function | Fractional, project | Depends on availability | Varies by person |
1. Go Fractional (Best Overall Chief Outsiders Alternative)
Overview: Go Fractional is an executive talent platform that matches companies with pre-vetted fractional executives, interim leaders, and contract-to-hire talent from a network of 18,000+ executives. A talent specialist learns what you need, then presents qualified candidates, often in as little as 48 hours to three days.
Roles covered: Every C-suite seat, including fractional CMOs and fractional CROs.
Engagement models: Fractional (part-time, ongoing), interim (full-time for a defined stretch), and contract-to-hire.
Pricing: Published. Role-level CMO and CRO benchmarks are public and refresh from live job posts and candidate profiles.
Best for: Founders and operators who want to interview more than one leader, see rates up front, and keep the option to hire full-time.
Consider: You work with your executive directly, with no firm partner layered on top.
Transforming B2B SaaS Marketing with Strategic Vision and Operational Depth
2. CMOx
Overview: CMOx (also known as CMO Exponential) is a fractional CMO company that runs every engagement on its Functional Marketing framework.
Roles covered: Marketing leadership only.
Engagement models: An advisory tier and an engaged CMO tier that works inside the client organization about 10 hours a week.
Pricing: Starting prices listed on its site.
Best for: Companies that want one repeatable marketing method more than a particular executive's background.
Consider: Ask about the individual operator's industry and stage experience, since the CMOx network includes marketers the firm has trained into the role.
3. Kalungi
Overview: Kalungi is a B2B SaaS marketing agency that pairs a fractional CMO with an execution team (demand generation, content, and marketing operations) built around its T2D3 growth playbook.
Roles covered: A CMO plus marketing specialists, for B2B SaaS companies only.
Engagement models: CMO coaching for an existing team, or a full-service engagement that acts as your marketing department.
Pricing: Quoted by scope.
Best for: Early-stage B2B SaaS companies with no marketing team that want strategy and execution from one provider.
Consider: If you already have a team and need only a leader, you'd pay for execution capacity you won't use.
4. Marketri
Overview: Marketri is a Philadelphia-based B2B marketing firm founded in 2004. It embeds fractional CMOs and fractional chief growth officers (CGOs) in mid-market companies.
Roles covered: CMO and CGO.
Engagement models: Fractional leadership, or an outsourced marketing department.
Pricing: Not published.
Best for: Mid-market B2B companies in professional services, financial services, manufacturing, and technology.
Consider: The focus is marketing; a leader who also runs sales is a CRO seat.
5. Sales Xceleration
Overview: Sales Xceleration is a fractional sales leadership network founded in 2013. Its April 2026 announcement lists more than 225 advisors and over 8,000 businesses served.
Roles covered: Sales leadership, delivered as a fractional VP of Sales who works inside the firm's sales operating system.
Engagement models: Fractional, with a defined sales process and platform.
Pricing: Not published.
Best for: Small and mid-sized businesses that need a sales process built, the closest match to Chief Outsiders' CSO offering.
Consider: The model centers on VP of Sales work. If you need a fractional CRO who owns revenue across functions, confirm that fit before signing.
6. TechCXO
Overview: TechCXO is an Atlanta-based firm of fractional and interim executives founded in 2003.
Roles covered: The full C-suite, from one firm.
Engagement models: Fractional, interim (through its CXO Partners brand), and project work.
Pricing: Not published.
Best for: Companies that need several executives at once and want a single accountable vendor.
Consider: The trade-offs resemble Chief Outsiders'; our TechCXO alternatives guide goes deeper.
7. Independent Fractional Executives
Overview: Many fractional CMOs and CROs sell directly through referrals and LinkedIn.
Roles covered: One function per person.
Engagement models: Fractional and project work, on the executive's own terms.
Pricing: Varies; some publish rates, most don't.
Best for: Companies with one narrow problem and a trusted referral.
Consider: You handle sourcing, vetting, contracts, and replacement yourself.
How to Choose a Chief Outsiders Alternative
Start by asking every provider for the names and recent companies of the executives you'd work with. Fortune 500 veterans suit a PE-backed company preparing board reporting; a Series A SaaS company may get more from someone who recently built a startup marketing function.
Next, scope the first three months to a measurable outcome: a pipeline target, a repositioning launch, or a first marketing hire. Engagements on Go Fractional typically run 10 to 25 hours a week with a three-month minimum, which is long enough to see whether the plan is working.
Finally, decide up front whether you want the option to convert. Lob filled its first role through Go Fractional, a VP of Engineering, within 12 days of the first call, and that leader converted to full-time within 30 days. A fractional CFO brought in to guide a transformation converted within 45 days. Neither was a marketing role, but the same trial structure applies to a CMO or CRO. For long-term partnerships, you can keep a fractional leader on Go Fractional for a year or more, or convert them.
Most importantly, match your hiring needs to the right model for your business:
- You need a fractional CMO for a mid-market B2B company. Go Fractional, Marketri, and Chief Outsiders all fit; ask each for the specific leader's industry background before you compare price. Our guide to what a fractional CMO does covers scope and hours.
- You need a fractional CRO who owns revenue end to end. Go Fractional matches CROs who lead sales, marketing, and customer success together.
- You run a manufacturing SME. Look for leaders who've sold through distributors or OEM buyers. Go Fractional tracks fractional CMOs with manufacturing experience separately, so you can see current rates and bench depth.
- You're in health care technology. Regulated buyers and long sales cycles reward sector experience; our health care CRO benchmark shows 16 recently active fractional CROs with industry experience.
- You're an early-stage B2B SaaS company with no marketing team. Kalungi bundles execution; Go Fractional can match a hands-on CMO to lead freelancers.
- You need several executives at once. TechCXO sells coverage under one firm, while Go Fractional matches each seat individually under one platform relationship.
Fractional CRO: Driving SaaS and Tech Growth: Master Strategist in Revenue Generation & GTM Excellence
How Much Do Chief Outsiders and Its Alternatives Cost?
Chief Outsiders doesn't publish its pricing. Its own guide to fractional CMO costs says executives-as-a-service firms like it bill by retainer, from $1,500 to over $30,000 a month, and suggests treating that as roughly $300 to $500 an hour.
Go Fractional publishes live benchmarks instead. Fractional CMOs average $174/hr, and the middle 50% of rates fall between $125 and $200 an hour. At a typical 15 hours a week, that's $7,500 to $12,000 a month. Fractional CROs average $200/hr and are usually scoped lighter, around 8 hours a week, for $4,800 to $8,000 a month.
Compared with a full-time hire, a fractional CMO at that scope costs about 52% of the loaded annual cost of a full-time marketing manager, and a fractional CRO about 36% of a full-time sales manager's, based on the BLS comparisons on each benchmark page. For trends across every role, see our State of Fractional Work report.
Among the other alternatives, CMOx lists starting prices on its site, from $3,000 a month for an advisory tier to $7,000 a month for an engaged CMO. Kalungi, Marketri, Sales Xceleration, and TechCXO quote each engagement individually.
When you compare quotes, ask what each one includes: the executive's hours alone, or firm oversight, peer review, and execution staff as well. Those extras have real value for some buyers.
Hire a Fractional CMO or CRO
Chief Outsiders suits mid-market and PE-backed companies that want a veteran CMO or CSO with firm-level peer review behind them. If you need a CRO, want to interview several candidates, want to see rates before the first call, or want a path to full-time, a matched model like Go Fractional fits better.
For companies: Tell us the seat you're filling and we'll introduce pre-vetted fractional CMOs or CROs, often within 48 hours. Schedule a call or start with our fractional CMO and fractional CRO hiring pages.
For fractional leaders: If you're a CMO, CRO, or sales executive building a fractional practice, apply to join Go Fractional. We handle matching, contracts, and invoicing so you can focus on client work.
