A service against a person
Pilot describes itself as outsourced accounting, with bookkeeping from $99 a month and CFO Services as tiers on top. What you are buying is a finance service run by Pilot's team. You do not pick an individual CFO from a set of profiles. For a lot of companies that is exactly right: the books, the close and the finance support come from one supplier at one price, and the continuity sits with the firm rather than with one person.
A fractional CFO is the other model. You choose a specific executive, you know their name before you meet them, and they sit in your leadership team for an agreed number of days a week. They own the forecast, the board pack and the raise, and they answer to you rather than to a service tier. They do not keep your books. They work alongside whoever does, which might be Pilot.
Pilot CFO Services and a named fractional CFO, side by side
| Pilot CFO Services | A fractional CFO from getoperators | |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A finance service run by Pilot's team | One named executive you choose |
| Published price | $1,750, $3,150 or $5,250 a month, billed annually, as published on pilot.com in November 2026 | Most profiles show the executive's own day rate. US market band $1,000 to $2,200 a day |
| Bookkeeping | Offered, from $99 a month as published | Not what you are buying. The CFO works with your bookkeeper |
| Choosing the person | Not offered as a choice of named individual | You read profiles, rates and availability, then pick |
| How you pay | The published plan | The executive's own rate, plus a getoperators fee set out in the Terms of Business |
| Speed | Not compared here | Meet someone within days, in the seat within one to three weeks |
What a fractional CFO costs in the US
The US band for a fractional CFO is $1,000 to $2,200 a day. At one day a week that is about $3,800 to $8,400 a month, and at two days about $7,700 to $16,900 a month. US CFOs often quote monthly rather than daily, and the usual monthly range is $5,000 to $15,000 a month. Pilot's CFO Services tiers, as published, sit at or below the bottom of that range.
So on price alone Pilot is the cheaper line on the budget, and anyone who tells you otherwise is not reading the same numbers. The useful question is not which is cheaper but what the money buys. A named CFO at two days a week buys a person who will stand up in front of your board and your investors and own the numbers. A service tier buys finance capacity from a team. If you need the second, paying for the first is waste.
Who Pilot suits better
- Early companies whose main finance need is clean books, a reliable monthly close and some CFO-level support on top, at a price known in advance.
- Founders who would rather have one supplier for bookkeeping and finance support than manage a bookkeeper and a CFO separately.
- Companies that value continuity from a firm over a relationship with one individual.
- Budgets that sit below what a named CFO costs at one day a week.
When a named fractional CFO earns the difference
When the work is a raise, a board, a lender or an acquirer, the person matters. Investors ask who your CFO is, and "our accounting provider's finance team" is a different answer from a name with a track record in the seat. The same goes for building the finance function you will eventually hire into, pricing decisions that need someone in the room, and a forecast someone is accountable for.
As of November 2026, Pilot publishes its prices, which is more than most finance providers do, but it does not put a named CFO in front of you to choose. getoperators shows named executives with their own day rate on most profiles and their availability, before you speak to anybody. Every executive is checked by hand against LinkedIn and CV and has held the CFO seat, not just advised on it.
Plenty of companies end up with both: Pilot or another provider on the books, and a fractional CFO two days a week on top. That is a sensible shape, not a compromise.
Common questions
Is Pilot CFO Services cheaper than a fractional CFO?
Usually, yes. Pilot published CFO Services at $1,750 to $5,250 a month, billed annually, on pilot.com in November 2026. A US fractional CFO typically runs $5,000 to $15,000 a month. The difference is what you buy: a service from Pilot's team, or one named executive who owns the numbers in front of your board.
Can a company use Pilot for bookkeeping and a fractional CFO for strategy?
Yes, and it is a common shape. Pilot keeps the books and closes the month, and the fractional CFO uses those numbers to run the forecast, the board pack and the raise. Agree early who owns which report so nothing is done twice.
Can I choose which CFO I work with at Pilot?
Pilot positions CFO Services as a service run by its team rather than a named individual you pick from profiles. If choosing the person is the point, a fractional CFO is the better fit: on getoperators you can read named profiles, most with the executive's own day rate, and their availability before you contact anyone.
More of them, on hiring, contracts and what a fractional engagement costs, on the fractional executive FAQ.