---
title: Startup COOs Out-Earn Chief Executives by Series B
description: Kruze Consulting payroll data show startup COOs averaging $246,000 at Series B, ahead of chief executives on $216,000 and CTOs on $238,000.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-08-11T21:43:09.795Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/startup-coo-salary-overtakes-ceo-series-b
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/startup-c-suite-salary-chairs-141396.webp
categories: Startups
content_type: Analysis
region: United States
publication: Sovereign Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

By Series B the chief operating officer is the best-paid executive at a venture-backed startup, ahead of both the chief executive and the chief technology officer. Two rounds earlier the same role paid less than either of them. The reversal comes out of Kruze Consulting's 2026 C-Suite Salary Guide, released on 11 August and drawn from payroll records rather than from what founders report paying themselves, and it matters most to a board still setting bands off the last round.

## At Seed the Technical Hire Is the Expensive One

At seed stage the chief technology officer averages $155,000, the highest of the three roles. The chief operating officer averages $144,000 and the chief executive $135,000. By Series A that order has already turned over, with chief operating officers averaging $227,000. By Series B they reach $246,000, against $238,000 for chief technology officers and $216,000 for chief executives.

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