---
type: Comparison
title: Head of Growth vs Chief Marketing Officer
roleA: head-of-growth
roleB: chief-marketing-officer
canonical: "https://www.growthtalent.org/compare/role-vs-role/head-of-growth-vs-chief-marketing-officer"
---

# Head of Growth vs Chief Marketing Officer

A side-by-side of the two roles based on live data from Growth.Talent.

| | Head of Growth | Chief Marketing Officer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Open jobs | 151 | 11 |
| Median salary midpoint | $180K | $190K |
| Anchor mid range | $140K-$200K | $230K-$320K |
| Anchor senior range | $180K-$280K | $280K-$450K |
| Primary category | growth-marketing | growth-marketing |
| Remote-friendly | 6/151 | 0/11 |

## Head of Growth

The Head of Growth role sits between marketing, product, and data. They own the funnel, acquisition, activation, retention, monetization, and are accountable for the metric the CEO checks every Monday. Most companies that hire one are between $1M and $50M ARR, scaling past founder-led growth. Strong candidates have 5-10 years of operator experience, a proven channel they can scale (paid, SEO, lifecycle, partnerships), and the ability to make a hire on day 30 and a roadmap on day 60. The biggest signal is past P&L responsibility, not the title on the previous role.

## Chief Marketing Officer

The CMO owns the entire marketing P&L: brand, demand generation, product marketing, communications, and growth. At seed and Series A companies, the role is operator-heavy and often functionally equivalent to Head of Growth. At Series C and beyond, it skews toward team leadership, narrative, partnerships, and external presence. Strong CMO candidates have a proven category: SaaS B2B, consumer apps, fintech, or marketplaces. They've built and led a marketing org of 10+, owned a number that mattered to the board, and have the trust capital to push back on a CEO when the brief is wrong.

## Browse live jobs

- [/role/head-of-growth](https://www.growthtalent.org/role/head-of-growth)
- [/role/chief-marketing-officer](https://www.growthtalent.org/role/chief-marketing-officer)

---
Canonical: https://www.growthtalent.org/compare/role-vs-role/head-of-growth-vs-chief-marketing-officer