If you are trying to hire a marketing leader for your startup, the equity question comes up fast, and it is uncomfortable. Give away too much and you regret it at your next raise. Offer too little and the person you want walks. Here is the honest, owner-to-owner answer: the typical range, how vesting works, when equity is the right call, and the option most founders overlook, which is not giving away any equity at all.
How much equity should a startup CMO get?
A startup CMO typically receives 0.1% to 0.5% equity, vested over four years with a one-year cliff.
That is the headline range, but it moves with two things: stage and commitment.
- Pre-seed and seed: a senior marketer joining when the risk is highest, often taking a below-market salary, can command more, sometimes 0.5% to 2%. They are betting on you before there is much to see, and the equity reflects that risk.
- Series A and beyond: the range compresses toward 0.1% to 0.5%. The equity is worth more in real terms, the company is less risky to join, and the cash to pay a competitive salary usually exists.
- Part-time or fractional: a CMO who is not full-time on your company usually takes little or no equity, because the arrangement is not a long-term bet on a single business.
The vesting schedule matters as much as the percentage. The standard is a four-year vest with a one-year cliff: the hire earns nothing for the first twelve months, vests a quarter at the one-year mark, then accrues the rest monthly. The cliff protects you if the hire is wrong in year one; the four-year schedule keeps a good one invested in the outcome.
What does giving a CMO equity actually cost you?
Equity feels cheap when you hand it over, because no cash leaves the business. It is not cheap. It is the most expensive currency you have, and its cost shows up later.
Every point of equity you give a hire is a point you do not have for the next one, for your investors, or for yourself at exit. Half a percent sounds small on the day you sign. On a business that becomes worth real money, it is a meaningful line on the cap table, and it is permanent once vested.
Equity is also not the only cost of a full-time CMO. The cash cost is substantial on its own. Total compensation for a full-time CMO in the US runs $200,000 or more a year once you include base salary, benefits, payroll tax, and equity. Even a full-time senior marketing hire below CMO level costs $152,000 or more a year all-in once you add tax, benefits, and tools. So the real question is not just how much equity to give. It is whether you need a full-time executive on the payroll and the cap table at all.
When does CMO equity make sense, and when does it not?
Equity is the right tool in one specific situation: you need a permanent, full-time marketing leader, you cannot yet pay a full market salary, and you want that person genuinely tied to the long-term outcome. A founding-team-level CMO who will build and run marketing for years earns their equity, and the alignment is real.
It is the wrong tool when your actual gap is senior judgment and execution, not a permanent executive. A lot of founders reach for a full-time CMO because marketing feels stuck, when what they really need is someone experienced to set the direction and a team to run the work. Solving that with equity means diluting your company to fix a problem that did not require a permanent hire.
Be honest about which situation you are in before you open the cap table.
Full-time CMO vs fractional CMO vs managed service
| Full-time CMO | Fractional CMO | Managed marketing service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equity | 0.1% to 0.5% (more at seed) | Usually none | None |
| Cash cost | $200,000+/yr, plus benefits | $8,000 to $15,000/mo (strategy only) | From $319 to $2,700/mo, strategy and execution |
| What you get | Full-time senior leader | Senior strategy, part-time | Strategy and the team that runs it |
| Execution | You still build the team | Not included; you supply the team | Included |
| Commitment | Salary, benefits, equity, notice | Rolling retainer | Month-to-month, cancel any time |
| Best for | You need a permanent exec | You have a team to run the plan | You need it planned and done |
The row that decides it for most early startups is the last one. A full-time and a fractional CMO both hand you a plan and expect you to have the hands to run it. A managed marketing service closes that gap, covering strategy and execution together, with no equity and no payroll.
The no-equity alternative: senior marketing without the dilution
Here is the option most founders skip past, because “hire a CMO” is the default script. You can get senior marketing judgment without giving away a single point of equity.
A fractional CMO brings the strategy and direction of an experienced marketing leader, two to three days a week, on a monthly retainer rather than a salary and an equity grant. The industry range is $8,000 to $15,000 a month; Gameplan’s own fractional CMO service starts from $7,500 a month. No dilution, no benefits, no notice period.
A managed marketing service goes a step further and covers both the thinking and the doing. Instead of a plan you then have to staff, you get brand, website, awareness, and collateral built and run by one team, from $319 to $2,700 a month. For a founder with no marketing team, that is usually more marketing per dollar than a strategy-only hire, and still no equity.
Either way, you keep your cap table intact for the decisions that truly warrant it: your investors, your co-founders, and the permanent hires who will build the company for years.
So how much equity should you give?
If you have decided you genuinely need a permanent, full-time CMO: 0.1% to 0.5%, four-year vest, one-year cliff, with more at the earliest stages where the risk is highest. That is the market, and paying it is fair.
But run the honest test first. If what you actually need is senior marketing direction and the work done well, not a permanent executive on the cap table, then the right amount of equity to give is none. A fractional CMO or a managed marketing service gets you there without the dilution.
When you are ready, talk to us and we will tell you honestly whether you need a full-time CMO, a fractional one, or a managed service that handles the whole thing, even if the answer is not us.
Related reading: How much a fractional CMO costs in 2026 | The fractional CMO alternative for startups | Our fractional CMO service
Gameplan is a managed marketing service built for startups and small businesses without a marketing team. We handle strategy and delivery together: brand, website, awareness, and collateral on a flat monthly fee, from $319 to $2,700/month, no equity, cancel any time. See pricing or talk to us and we will honestly tell you if we are the right fit.