Fractional CTO,
UK.
A CTO's judgement without a full-time CTO. Magora gives UK founders and SMEs senior technical leadership from our London team: architecture, a costed roadmap, review of other suppliers' quotes and code, and a tech lead when we build. Start with a free 30-minute call; a two-week Discovery sprint is from £3,000.
What a fractional CTO does,
and what you can buy from us.
A fractional CTO (also sold as CTO as a service) is a part-time technical leader who makes architecture, hiring and supplier decisions for your company for a set number of days a month. Most do not build the product themselves. Magora does not sell a standalone monthly retainer under that name. What we do offer is the same judgement, delivered as part of a project: a senior Solution Architect and Product Owner in Discovery, a tech lead or Product Owner in a dedicated team, and a written review of an existing codebase. Comparing the options first? Read fractional CTO vs agency vs freelancer.
Architecture and roadmap
What to build, in what order, on what technology, with an estimate you can plan around.
Quotes, suppliers and code
An independent read of another agency's quote, or of an app built with AI tools.
Investor questions
Someone who can explain the architecture and who owns the technology, with code you own outright.
Technical leadership,
in the shape that fits.
These are the published steps we already sell. Each carries part of what a fractional CTO would do for you.
Free 30-minute call
With a senior software architect: your situation, what you cannot judge today, and what to do first.
Free coded prototype
A working version of your core idea in 5 to 10 working days, with an NDA from day one.
Discovery sprint, from £3,000
Two weeks with a senior Product Owner and Solution Architect: scope, architecture, estimate and roadmap. See Discovery phase.
Code and architecture review
For an AI-built app or an inherited codebase: a written view of what can be kept and what blocks launch. Priced on request. See AI-built app to production.
Tech lead in a dedicated team
Engineers, QA and a tech lead or Product Owner working only on your product. See dedicated development teams.
MVP and support
A startup MVP from £10,000 in 6 to 8 weeks, then support from £1,000 a month. See MVP development.
Do you need a CTO,
a team, or neither yet?
These are our criteria, not a formula, and the options combine well. A common pattern is technical leadership to set the plan and review quotes, then a team to build, then a full-time hire once the product justifies one.
Hiring or choosing between suppliers
You will hire freelancers or an in-house team, or compare agency quotes, and nobody on your side can judge technical work.
One party to take it live
You want a single supplier accountable from idea to a running service. Start with Discovery so the architecture and price are written down.
Testing an idea
A free prototype, or one you built with AI tools, is enough to prove demand before you pay for leadership.
From first call
to a decision you can defend.
Each step ends with something written down that you can show your co-founders, board or investors.
Call
30 minutesTell us what you cannot judge today: architecture, security, hiring, supplier quotes or investor questions. That list shows whether you need leadership, a team or a pair of hands.
Prototype or review
5 to 10 working daysA free coded prototype of your idea, or a look at the code and quotes you already have.
Discovery
2 weeksScope, architecture, estimate and roadmap from a senior Product Owner and Solution Architect.
Build with a tech lead
6 to 8 weeks for an MVPTwo-week sprints with weekly demos, if you want us to build. Or take the plan to your own hires or another supplier.
Handover
Launch weekCode in your repository, accounts in your name, IP transferred on payment.
What technical leadership
costs.
Our 2026 prices in GBP, excluding VAT, published on our pricing page. For a market reference, IT Jobs Watch reports a median UK contract day rate of £630 for a Chief Technology Officer over the six months to 23 October 2026, but that rests on only 10 quoted rates and describes full contract roles, not fractional retainers. We have not found a credible published survey of fractional CTO fees, so we quote none. Details are in our comparison guide.
A 30-minute call with a senior architect, and a coded prototype in 5 to 10 working days.
Two weeks: scope, architecture, estimate and roadmap.
A written review of an AI-built app or inherited codebase. We have not published a price for it, so ask.
Live in 6 to 8 weeks; you own the code and IP.
A full team with QA and product ownership; developers from £49 an hour, about £390 a day. Minimum four weeks, then monthly rolling.
Support, fixes and updates once the product is live.
Products we have taken
from idea to launch.
Two products our team designed, built and launched.
Interprefy
- Built
- iOS, Android and web apps for a cloud platform that streams event audio to interpreters and translated audio to the audience.
- Result
- Up to 100 languages and 400 interpreters during one event; used for UEFA EURO 2020 press conferences and UN sessions.
Dayinsure
- Built
- An iOS and Android app for a leading UK short-term insurer: cover from one hour to a month in three steps, with saved documents and vehicle preferences.
- Budget
- £25k to £60k, typically 3 to 5 months.
Related: MVP development, technical due diligence, how to choose a software development company. All projects →
Fractional CTO
questions.
A part-time technical leader who makes architecture, hiring and supplier decisions for your company for a set number of days a month. Most do not build the product themselves, so you still need developers or an agency.
Not as a separate monthly retainer. We offer a Discovery sprint from £3,000 with a senior Product Owner and Solution Architect, dedicated teams with a tech lead or Product Owner from £49 an hour per developer, and a written code and architecture review on request. A free 30-minute call with a senior software architect can be booked to discuss your situation.
We could not find a credible published UK survey of fractional CTO fees, so we do not give a monthly figure. For reference, IT Jobs Watch reports a median CTO contract day rate of £630 for the six months to 23 October 2026, based on only 10 quoted rates. Ask any provider for a written scope and price.
The terms are used interchangeably, and neither has a standard definition. Some providers bundle development with the leadership; others sell leadership only. Check which one you are buying, and write down the days a month, the deliverables and whether the person will review code.
When you want one party to own both the technical decisions and the delivery. For a first product an agency often removes the need for a CTO. The trade-off is that an agency's advice comes with an interest in the build, which is why some founders pay for an independent review of agency quotes. See the full comparison.
Someone independent of the person who will fix it: a code and architecture review or a Discovery sprint. The aim is a written view of what can be kept and what blocks launch. See our guide to taking an AI-built app to production.
Need a CTO's
judgement?
30-minute call with a senior Solution Architect. Bring the decision you are stuck on, and we will tell you whether you need leadership, a team or neither yet.