Fractional Data Engineer
Cost Calculator

What does a full-time data hire really cost you?

Adjust the inputs to see your true first-year cost of a full-time data engineer, and how it compares to a senior fractional engagement.

Your inputs
Seniority you'd need to hire
$180k
$100k$280k
30%
20%55%

Payroll tax (~7.65%), health benefits, equity, tooling, and office costs on top of base salary.

$30k
$0$75k

Recruiter fees plus the 4–9 months of reduced output while a new hire ramps.

Our engagements are self-managed: we translate business needs directly, so there's no extra partner headcount on the fractional side.

Fractional engagement

Our most common engagement: enough weekly hours to own and ship your data roadmap.

Your first-year comparison
Full-time hire (all-in)$264k
Fractional engagement$108k–$132k
Estimated first-year savings
$132k–$156k
50–59% less than a full-time hire
Full-time
4–8 months
to hire & get productive
Fractional
~2–4 weeks
to a senior engineer shipping

No gate, your numbers are already above. We'll send a copy you can share.

Estimates only, for planning. Full-time cost = base × (1 + overhead) + one-time recruiting & ramp-up. Fractional cost is the annualized engagement range. Your actual scope may vary, book a call for a real number.

Want the full breakdown of when each option makes sense? Read our fractional vs full-time data engineer comparison.

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Want a real number for your setup?

Book a free 30-minute call. We'll scope your data needs and give you an exact quote, no full-time salary required.

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