Choose a full-time hire
when there is enough product surface to keep a senior PM busy five days a week, you can wait three to six months, and your compensation band can attract the seniority you actually need.
Compare the options
Fractional, full-time, or agency
Three ways to get product management into a company, each genuinely better than the others in a specific situation. Here is the version we would give you on a call, including the cases where you should not hire us.
A fractional product manager typically costs 50–70% less than a full-time senior hire and starts in 5–10 working days rather than three to six months. A full-time hire wins on depth once the role is genuinely full-time. An agency wins when you want a finished artefact rather than an owner.
| Dimension | Fractional (us) | Full-time hire | Agency / consultancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual costExpressed against a full-time senior product hire, all-in. | Typically 50–70% less than a full-time senior hire | 100% baseline — salary, equity, benefits, recruiter fee | Comparable or higher, with overhead margin on top |
| Time to startFrom signed agreement to someone doing product work. | 5–10 working days | 3–6 months to source, hire, notice-period, and onboard | 4–8 weeks from first call to kickoff |
| Seniority you actually getWho does the work on a Tuesday afternoon. | Senior, for every hour you buy | Capped by what your compensation band can attract | Senior on the pitch, frequently junior on delivery |
| FlexibilityWhat happens when the need changes. | Move hours up or down monthly, 30-day notice | Fixed cost; a change becomes a severance decision | Locked to a statement of work; changes are change orders |
| ContinuityWhether the same brain shows up next month. | The same named person for the whole engagement | Permanent, until they resign | Staffed from a bench; people rotate between accounts |
| Depth of contextHow much of your domain lives in their head. | Deep, but bounded by the hours you buy | Deepest — this is the honest advantage of hiring | Shallow by design; the engagement ends with the artefact |
| ExitWhat you are left holding. | Documented handoff, hire spec, four-week overlap | Not applicable | Ends with the deliverable; context leaves with the team |
Annual cost
Expressed against a full-time senior product hire, all-in.
- Fractional (us)
- Typically 50–70% less than a full-time senior hire
- Full-time hire
- 100% baseline — salary, equity, benefits, recruiter fee
- Agency / consultancy
- Comparable or higher, with overhead margin on top
Time to start
From signed agreement to someone doing product work.
- Fractional (us)
- 5–10 working days
- Full-time hire
- 3–6 months to source, hire, notice-period, and onboard
- Agency / consultancy
- 4–8 weeks from first call to kickoff
Seniority you actually get
Who does the work on a Tuesday afternoon.
- Fractional (us)
- Senior, for every hour you buy
- Full-time hire
- Capped by what your compensation band can attract
- Agency / consultancy
- Senior on the pitch, frequently junior on delivery
Flexibility
What happens when the need changes.
- Fractional (us)
- Move hours up or down monthly, 30-day notice
- Full-time hire
- Fixed cost; a change becomes a severance decision
- Agency / consultancy
- Locked to a statement of work; changes are change orders
Continuity
Whether the same brain shows up next month.
- Fractional (us)
- The same named person for the whole engagement
- Full-time hire
- Permanent, until they resign
- Agency / consultancy
- Staffed from a bench; people rotate between accounts
Depth of context
How much of your domain lives in their head.
- Fractional (us)
- Deep, but bounded by the hours you buy
- Full-time hire
- Deepest — this is the honest advantage of hiring
- Agency / consultancy
- Shallow by design; the engagement ends with the artefact
Exit
What you are left holding.
- Fractional (us)
- Documented handoff, hire spec, four-week overlap
- Full-time hire
- Not applicable
- Agency / consultancy
- Ends with the deliverable; context leaves with the team
Cost is expressed as a percentage of a full-time senior product hire, all-in — salary, equity, benefits, and recruiter fee. ThynkBlox publishes no absolute rates; every engagement is quoted in a written proposal after a scoping call.
The short version
When each one is the right call
A full-time hire wins on depth the moment you have enough product surface to keep a senior PM busy five days a week. An agency wins when you want a finished artefact rather than an owner. Fractional wins in the gap between those two — which is where most companies spend a year or more.
Choose an agency
when you want a finished artefact — a research report, a redesign, a launch — with a defined end date, and you do not need anyone to own the consequences afterwards.
Choose fractional
when the product decisions are real every week but do not fill a week, you need seniority now rather than after a search, and you want the engagement to end with your own hire in the seat.
On money
Why there is no price list
- Why do you not publish prices?
- Because the honest number depends on scope, weekly hours, and time zone coverage, and a published band would be wrong for most readers in one direction or the other. What we do commit to is the shape: a fractional PM typically costs 50 to 70 percent less than a full-time senior hire, all-in. You get an exact figure in a written proposal within three working days of the scoping call, before you commit to anything.
- Is fractional cheaper than an agency?
- Usually, but that is not the main difference. An agency prices a deliverable and staffs it from a bench; a fractional engagement prices a named senior person's time and makes them accountable for outcomes in your standups. Two teams can pay similar amounts and get very different things.
- What is the real cost of waiting for a full-time hire?
- Three to six months of search, notice period, and onboarding, during which the roadmap is set by whoever has the loudest opinion. That opportunity cost rarely appears in the hiring budget, and it is the single most common reason teams call us.
More of the same, at length, on the questions page.
Still deciding
Tell us your situation and we will say which one to buy
Including when the answer is a full-time hire and not us. A 45-minute scoping call, and a written recommendation you can take to your board either way.
Scoping call within 48 hours · written proposal in three working days · no absolute rate quoted until we understand the scope.