New Kruze Consulting Data Reveals COOs, Not CEOs, Command the Highest Pay at Growth-Stage Startups

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Kruze Consulting, a leading accounting and finance firm serving venture-backed startups, today released its 2026 C-Suite Salary Guide, a benchmarking report on CEO, CTO, and COO cash compensation drawn from actual payroll records rather than self-reported surveys. The findings challenge a common assumption in startup compensation planning: That the CEO is always the highest-paid executive.

The study focuses solely on base salary, not equity compensation like stock options or restricted stock units.

According to the report, startup CEOs, CTOs, and COOs each earn an average of roughly $165,000 to $167,000 in overall cash salary. But that convergence masks a striking pattern beneath the surface: The highest-paid role changes as companies mature.

CTOs command the top average salary at the Seed stage, at $155,000, reflecting fierce competition for scarce technical talent. The average salary at Seed for CEOs is $135,000, while COOs earn an average of $144,000.

By Series B, however, COOs overtake both CEOs and CTOs, reaching average salaries of $246,000 at Series B. In comparison, CEOs earn an average of $216,000, and CTOs earn an average of $238,000 at Series B. This shows boards pay a premium for experienced operators who can scale day-to-day execution.

"The data shows compensation planning can't be a flat rule applied across the leadership team," said Vanessa Kruze, CPA, Founder and CEO of Kruze Consulting. "Founders and boards need a stage-specific and role-specific view of pay, because the executive who commands the top salary at Seed is often not the same one commanding it by Series B."

Key findings from the report include:
 

• Convergent averages, divergent stories: CEO, CTO, and COO cash pay each average close to $165,000-$167,000 overall, but the roles reach that figure through very different trajectories by stage.
• CTOs lead early; COOs lead later: CTOs post the highest average pay at Seed ($155,000). COOs take the lead at Series A ($227,000) and hold it at Series B ($246,000).
• Medians reveal a small pool of outliers: Median pay sits below the average for all three roles, indicating that a smaller group of well-funded, later-stage executives is pulling each average upward.
• CTO pay is the most consistent benchmark: CTO average and median compensation differ by less than $1,000, making it the most reliable figure for hiring against.
• COO pay is the most stage-dependent: COO compensation starts lowest of the three roles at Seed, then rises fastest, ultimately becoming the highest-paid role by the growth stage.

The report attributes these patterns to the post-2022/2023 correction in venture funding, which pushed startups toward smaller, more milestone-driven early rounds and more disciplined cash compensation overall. As companies reach Series B with proven product-market fit, larger rounds allow boards to fund the technical and operational leadership needed to scale — which shows up directly in CTO and COO pay.

Unlike many published salary benchmarks, which rely on surveys that can lag market conditions by a year or more and skew toward the best-funded respondents, Kruze Consulting's figures are drawn directly from the payroll systems of its US-based, venture-backed client companies. All data was anonymized and aggregated before analysis, so no individual company or executive can be identified.

The full C-Suite Salary Guide includes detailed average and median compensation breakdowns by role and funding stage (Seed, Series A, and Series B), along with guidance for founders and boards on benchmarking executive pay responsibly in the current fundraising climate. A companion report, the Startup CEO Salary Report, offers a deeper, founder-focused analysis with historical trends and year-over-year data.

About Kruze Consulting

Kruze Consulting provides accounting, finance, tax, and advisory services to venture‑backed startups, helping founders manage their finances, understand their metrics, and make data‑driven decisions about compensation, fundraising, and growth.

Media Contact

Bryan Long
Kruze Consulting
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://kruzeconsulting.com

SOURCE Kruze Consulting