Fractional Head of Data or an analytics agency?
A fractional data lead decides which questions matter, owns the data model and the definitions, and hires the first analyst. An analytics agency builds the dashboards and pipelines against a scope. The data lead costs £5,367 to £9,200 a month at two days a week; an agency charges per project or on a retainer. Agencies deliver best against a model somebody senior already owns.
Below is what each one actually owns, what they cost on the same basis, how each one fails, and when to pick the other one.
| A fractional Head of Data | An analytics agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the outcome | Which questions are worth answering, and which are noise | Building the thing, quickly, with people who do it daily |
| Commitment | One to three days a week, flexing with the work, no end date assumed | Project by project, or a monthly retainer |
| How it is priced | £700 to £1,200 a day | A project fee or a monthly retainer, with anything outside the original scope quoted separately. |
| Typical monthly cost | £5,367 to £9,200 a month at two days a week | No like-for-like monthly figure is published here; see how it is priced |
| How it fails | Being asked to build the pipelines personally, which is a senior seat doing engineering work at a senior seat's rate. | Building dashboards on a data model nobody owns, which produces beautiful reporting that quietly disagrees with itself within six months. |
| Pick it when | Two dashboards disagree and nobody owns which one is right | The model and the definitions are already settled and just need building |
What an analytics agency actually is
An external team that builds dashboards, tracking and reporting, usually project by project.
What each one owns
| A fractional Head of Data | An analytics agency |
|---|---|
| Which questions are worth answering, and which are noise | Building the thing, quickly, with people who do it daily |
| The data model, and whether it will still make sense in a year | Tooling knowledge across a stack you do not employ for |
| Who owns which number, and what happens when two disagree | Delivery to a fixed scope and a fixed date |
| Hiring the first analyst, and what to look for | Capacity, without a hiring process in front of it |
What neither of them does
Neither makes the decisions the data is for. A dashboard nobody acts on is a cost, and that is a leadership problem rather than a data one.
How each one fails
The fractional Head of Data: Being asked to build the pipelines personally, which is a senior seat doing engineering work at a senior seat's rate.
An analytics agency: Building dashboards on a data model nobody owns, which produces beautiful reporting that quietly disagrees with itself within six months.
What they cost, on the same basis
A fractional Head of Data charges £700 to £1,200 a day, which is £5,367 to £9,200 a month at two days a week. A project fee or a monthly retainer, with anything outside the original scope quoted separately. The monthly and annual arithmetic for the fractional side, against a full-time equivalent, is on the cost page for this seat.
Pick an analytics agency when
- The model and the definitions are already settled and just need building
- It is one defined project with a start and an end
- You have somebody internal who will own it once it is delivered
We would rather say that plainly than win an engagement that was the wrong shape. Nobody pays us to list on the bench, so there is nothing in it for us either way.
When you want both
Often the right combination. The fractional seat sets the model and the definitions, and an agency builds against them.
Common questions
Should I hire a fractional Head of Data or an analytics agency?
A fractional data lead decides which questions matter, owns the data model and the definitions, and hires the first analyst. An analytics agency builds the dashboards and pipelines against a scope. The data lead costs £5,367 to £9,200 a month at two days a week; an agency charges per project or on a retainer. Agencies deliver best against a model somebody senior already owns.
Is a fractional Head of Data cheaper than an analytics agency?
On a like-for-like basis it usually is, because you buy the days you need rather than all of them. A fractional Head of Data runs £700 to £1,200 a day, most often one to three days a week. A project fee or a monthly retainer, with anything outside the original scope quoted separately. But cheaper is the wrong question if the work genuinely needs the other one.
When is an analytics agency the better choice than a fractional Head of Data?
The model and the definitions are already settled and just need building. It is one defined project with a start and an end. You have somebody internal who will own it once it is delivered.
Can I use a fractional Head of Data and an analytics agency at the same time?
Often the right combination. The fractional seat sets the model and the definitions, and an agency builds against them.