How much does fractional marketing cost in Australia?
The short answer
At Elba, fractional marketing costs from $2,000 to $8,000 a month + GST for a senior marketing lead working 8 to 50 hours a month. Bespoke packages cover more hours, more specialists or short term contracts. A full time senior marketing manager costs just over $200,000 a year once super is added. Our most popular package, Fractional Core, is $51,000 a year. That is around 75% less.
If you have been Googling this, you have probably read a lot of "it depends". It does depend, but not as much as people make out. Below are the real numbers: what a full time hire actually costs, what fractional costs, what moves the price, and how to work out which level you need.
New to the model? Start with how fractional marketing works, then come back for the numbers.
How much does a full time senior marketing manager cost in Australia?
A senior marketing manager in Australia costs $201,600 a year before they have written a single brief.
Cost | Amount |
Base salary (top of the senior marketing manager band) | $180,000 |
Superannuation at 12% | $21,600 |
Total each year | $201,600 |
Recruitment fee in year one (15%) | $27,000 |
Year one total | $228,600 |
Leave is already inside that salary, so it does not get added again. But you are paying for 52 weeks of a senior marketer whether your business has 52 weeks of senior marketing work or not.
Then there is the part nobody puts in the spreadsheet. A full time hire is on the clock 9 to 5. Meetings, coffees, lunch, the Friday afternoon slump. You pay for all of it.
Salary: mrkt Talent Australian Marketing Salary Guide, April 2026. Super: the ATO super guarantee rate of 12%.
How much does fractional marketing cost at Elba?
Elba's retainers run from $2,000 to $8,000 a month + GST, with the same senior marketer every month. No super, no leave, no recruitment fee.
Package | Hours a month | Monthly (+ GST) | Yearly | Saving vs a $201,600 hire |
Strategic Direction | 8 | $2,000 | $24,000 | $177,600 (88% less) |
Fractional Core | 25, about one day a week | $4,250 | $51,000 | $150,600 (75% less) |
Growth Partner | 50, about two days a week | $8,000 | $96,000 | $105,600 (52% less) |
Who each one is for:
Strategic Direction. You already have marketers who can execute. They just need someone senior setting the direction.
Fractional Core. A light touch on both strategy and execution. Marketing led properly and moving each month, without hiring.
Growth Partner. You are actively growing. Campaigns, a launch or a new channel are coming and you need the horsepower.
Not ready for a retainer? Ad hoc work has no commitment:
Marketing Health Check from $1,500
Strategy Foundations from $4,000
Consultancy blocks: 5 hours for $1,250 or 10 hours for $2,000
Need more than 50 hours? Bespoke packages go beyond the three retainers: more hours each month, more specialists across design, paid media, social media, content, SEO and web, or a short term contract for a launch, a campaign or a gap in your team. We scope it with you and price it as one engagement. Full details are on the fractional marketing pricing page.
Why do fractional hours go further?
With fractional, you are not paying for the 9 to 5. You are paying for the work.
Elba works in hour blocks. When we are working on your business, we are working: no commute, no long lunches, no meetings about meetings. So 25 focused hours of senior time goes a lot further than the maths suggests.
Every Elba marketer is a senior leader with 10+ years' experience. There is no ramp up and nobody learning on your budget.
We also build AI into how we work, so the heavy lifting gets done faster and more of your hours go into thinking and doing. Then human insight decides what actually matters for your business. Faster work, same senior judgement.
Fractional CMO or fractional marketing manager: why the price gap?
A fractional CMO in Australia typically costs $10,000 to $18,000 a month on retainer (Fractionus, 2026), with some providers quoting $4,000 to $25,000 depending on scope (Expert360). That buys executive level leadership: board reporting, team building, repositioning a business.
Most growing businesses do not need that yet. They need a senior marketer who sets the strategy, manages the specialists and does the hands-on work in between. That is what a fractional marketing manager does, and it is where Elba's packages sit.
A quick way to tell which you need:
No one owns your marketing. You need a fractional marketing manager first. Fractional Core or Growth Partner.
You have marketers, they need direction. Strategic Direction gives you that senior layer from $2,000 a month.
You are restructuring, raising or rebuilding a marketing team. That is CMO territory.
What changes the cost of fractional marketing?
Four things move the number. Your industry is not one of them.
Hours. More hours each month means more strategy and more execution. Most businesses start at around one day a week. Beyond 50 hours, we build a bespoke package.
Strategy only, or strategy and execution. Direction for a team that already executes costs less than a lead who also does the work.
Specialists. When you need paid media, SEO, design, social, content or web, specialist support comes from the Elba team and works under your marketing lead. We price it as one engagement.
Ongoing, ad hoc or short term. Retainers run monthly on a rolling agreement, with three months to start, because strategy only pays off once it has been executed. Ad hoc work has no commitment at all, and short term contracts cover a launch, a campaign or a gap in your team.
We work across B2B, retail, SaaS, consumer, health and professional services. The method stays the same: data first, strategy second, execution third.
What does it cost when no one leads your marketing?
The cheapest option is not free. Leaving marketing without a senior lead has a price too.
80% of businesses with no dedicated marketing function struggle with strategic alignment and have lower profitability than competitors with strong marketing teams (McKinsey, 2019).
x2.5 slower growth among companies with ineffective marketing teams, compared to those with well organised functions (Bain, 2020).
30% of marketing budget wasted in organisations with disjointed marketing and ineffective campaigns (Forrester, 2020).
Put that last one in dollars. If you spend $50,000 a year on ads, agencies and suppliers, 30% is $15,000. That is more than three months of Fractional Core.
What it looks like in practice
SurePact grew conversion actions 222% year on year, with a fractional lead and no in-house marketing team.
"We didn't need a full-time marketing hire. We needed direction, and someone senior enough to join up what we were already doing. Nicole did that. She works like an owner rather than a contractor." Dan Pritchard, CEO, SurePact
Fractional marketing cost: common questions
How much does fractional marketing cost per month in Australia?
At Elba, retainers run from $2,000 a month + GST for 8 hours of strategic direction, to $8,000 a month + GST for 50 hours of strategy and execution, with bespoke packages beyond that. Fractional CMO retainers across the market generally sit higher, around $10,000 to $18,000 a month. See the full pricing.
Is fractional marketing cheaper than hiring a marketing manager?
Yes. A senior marketing manager costs about $201,600 a year with super. Fractional Core is $51,000 a year, around 75% less, with no super, leave or recruitment fee.
Are your prices GST inclusive?
No. All prices are + GST.
Is there a lock-in contract?
Retainers run monthly on a rolling agreement. We ask for three months to start, because strategy in month one only pays off once it has been executed. Ad hoc work has no commitment.
Can I start small?
Yes. A Marketing Health Check from $1,500 or a 5 hour consultancy block for $1,250 are both good first steps.
Can I get more than 50 hours a month, or a short term contract?
Yes. Bespoke packages cover more hours, extra specialists or a short term contract for a launch, campaign or team gap. We scope it on a discovery call and price it as one engagement.
Who actually does the work?
A senior marketing manager with at least ten years' experience, matched to your business. The same person every month, supported by the wider Elba team.
Work out what you would actually need
Most businesses do not need everything. They need the one piece that is missing, and the right level of senior time to fill it.
Book a free discovery call. We will talk through where your marketing is now and whether fractional is the right fit. No pitch deck.
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