Chief Technology Officer Salary Overview
CTOs at SaaS companies own the technical vision, architecture, and technology strategy for the business. They lead the engineering organization, overseeing the VP of Engineering, Director of Engineering, Head of Engineering, and Engineering Managers, while reporting to the CEO.
CTO compensation reflects the role's technical leadership scope and its critical importance at technology-driven SaaS companies. The CTO partners closely with the CPO on product-engineering alignment and is one of the most equity-heavy C-suite roles. View all SaaS salary benchmarks.
Detailed Chief Technology Officer Compensation Breakdown
Percentile Band | Average Base Salary | # of salaries |
|---|---|---|
| Top 25% | $349,214 | 186 salaries |
| Middle 50% | $153,786 | 360 salaries |
| Bottom 25% | $64,645 | 167 salaries |
What Drives Higher CTO Pay?
Technical vision scope — platform, infrastructure, and product architecture
Company stage and ARR — Series C+ CTOs earn 25–40% more than seed-stage
Engineering team size managed (50+ engineers commands top-tier pay)
Prior startup exits or successful scaling of technical organizations
CTO Compensation Structure
Base salary is 50–65% of total cash compensation
Equity is the dominant component — typically 1.0–4.0% at early stage
Performance bonuses tied to technical milestones and delivery goals
Retention and milestone grants for platform launches or scale events
