One quote says a monthly retainer. Another says two days a week. A third includes “strategic oversight”, which is a phrase capable of concealing almost any amount of actual work.
Before comparing the prices, put the scope and the arithmetic on the same page.
The short answer: compare the total commitment, included capacity, responsibilities and extra costs. Convert to one reporting currency using a declared assumption. A cheaper quote for a different job is not a saving.
Calculate the total commitment
Compare two quotes in one reporting currency. Enter the quoted monthly fee, term and additional costs. For GBP quotes use 1 GBP per GBP; for AED quotes enter your own GBP-per-AED conversion assumption. No live exchange rate is fetched. Inputs stay in your browser.
The calculator uses: (monthly fee × months + other costs) × (1 + contingency ÷ 100) × GBP conversion factor. Other costs are entered once for the whole engagement. Enter all figures consistently before or after any applicable tax; tax is not calculated here.
Use 1 as the conversion factor for a GBP quote. For an AED quote, enter how many GBP you assume one AED buys. This is a planning input, not a live rate or a market forecast. If you prefer to work entirely in GBP, convert each quote first and use 1 for both.
A worked arithmetic example
Suppose Quote A is an illustrative £2,000 monthly fee for three months, with £500 of additional costs and 10% contingency. The total is (£6,000 + £500) × 1.10 = £7,150.
Suppose Quote B is an illustrative AED 10,000 monthly fee for three months, with AED 2,000 additional costs, 10% contingency and a deliberately assumed conversion of £0.20 per AED. The total is AED 35,200 × 0.20 = £7,040.
These are invented inputs for demonstrating the calculation, not UK or UAE rate benchmarks or an exchange-rate quotation. The £110 difference is meaningful only if the scope and delivery assumptions are comparable.
Compare what the fee buys
| Question | Record for each quote |
|---|---|
| Capacity | Days, hours or availability and how unused time is handled |
| Responsibility | Advisory decisions, team leadership, delivery ownership or hands-on work |
| Access | Response expectations, meetings and escalation windows |
| Deliverables | Roadmap, hiring, architecture, supplier decisions or specific improvements |
| Additional work | Rate or approval mechanism for work beyond scope |
| Exit | Notice, minimum term and handover obligations |
A fractional CTO is not automatically a full development team. Clarify who builds, tests and operates the software. If the engagement includes hands-on delivery, identify its limits so leadership time does not disappear into an endless ticket queue.
Make UK and UAE assumptions explicit
Record location, remote or on-site work, travel and the practical overlap with the team. Agree the currency used for invoicing and who bears exchange-rate movement. Revisit conversion assumptions when comparing a longer commitment.
Taxes, employment status and cross-border contractual obligations depend on the arrangement. Obtain the appropriate advice and include the resulting costs; this calculator does not determine them.
For a useful comparison, use the same planning horizon. If one quote requires six months and another allows three, that difference is part of the buying decision even if their monthly fees match.
Run a difficult-case scenario
Increase the term or additional costs to reflect plausible delays, travel or an extended handover. Keep the contingency explicit rather than presenting the worst case as a precise prediction.
Ask what happens if the priority changes halfway through. Can capacity move from hiring to supplier remediation, or would that require a new scope? The answer can matter more than a small difference in price.
Use the result to ask better questions
The calculator compares entered budgets. It does not rank the people or predict the value of their judgement. Use it alongside evidence of relevant experience, clarity of responsibilities and a credible way of measuring progress.
Buy enough leadership to resolve the decisions holding the business back. A retainer that produces no clear decisions is expensive at almost any price.
Sources and scope
Reviewed 1 November 2026. The examples and worksheets are my suggested working methods, not measured client results or official standards.
