CTO vs Lead Dev: Differences, Salaries, Responsibilities 2025

Confusing CTO and Lead Dev costs a lot: wrong hire = 6 months lost + €60K. Here's the complete guide to understand the 2 roles and choose the right one.

Definitions: CTO vs Lead Dev

Lead Developer (Lead Dev)

Definition:

Senior developer who technically guides a team of 3-8 devs. Focus: code + architecture.

Synonyms:

• Tech Lead
• Engineering Lead
• Staff Engineer (at Google, Netflix)

Hierarchy Level:

CTO
 └─ Engineering Manager
     └─ Lead Developer
         └─ Senior Dev
             └─ Mid Dev
                 └─ Junior Dev

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Definition:

Executive who defines tech strategy and manages the engineering organization (team + budget + roadmap).

Hierarchy Level:

CEO
 ├─ CTO (tech)
 ├─ CMO (marketing)
 ├─ CFO (finance)
 └─ COO (operations)

C-level = Member of executive committee

Complete Comparison Matrix

Responsibilities

Dimension	Lead Dev	CTO
Code	60-80% time	10-30% time
Architecture	Feature-level	System-level
Management	3-8 devs	Entire tech team (5-50+ people)
Budget	Influence	Responsible (100K-2M€/year)
Recruiting	Participates	Decides + approves
Roadmap	Technical	Business + tech
Stakeholders	Engineering Manager	CEO, Board, investors
Decisions	Techno, patterns	Make or buy, build or outsource

Required Skills

Lead Dev

Technical (90%):

• ✅ Expert in 2-3 stacks (e.g., React + Node + PostgreSQL)
• ✅ Architecture patterns (microservices, event-driven, CQRS)
• ✅ Performance optimization (profiling, caching, scaling)
• ✅ Code review (give constructive feedback)
• ✅ Refactoring (technical debt)

People (10%):

• ✅ Mentoring (pair programming, workshops)
• ✅ Junior onboarding
• ✅ Technical communication (docs, ADRs)

Business (0-5%):

• ⚠️ Understand product objectives (optional)

CTO

Technical (40%):

• ✅ System architecture (scalability, reliability, security)
• ✅ Tech stack strategy (build vs buy, migration)
• ✅ DevOps/SRE (CI/CD, monitoring, incident response)
• ⚠️ Occasional coding (code reviews, PoCs)

People (40%):

• ✅ Recruiting (sourcing, interviewing, closing)
• ✅ Manage managers (Engineering Managers, Lead Devs)
• ✅ Team culture (rituals, values, onboarding)
• ✅ Performance reviews (promotions, raises, PIPs)
• ✅ Conflict resolution

Business (20%):

• ✅ Tech budget (salaries + infra + tools)
• ✅ Product roadmap (prioritize features)
• ✅ Vendor negotiations (AWS, Stripe, etc.)
• ✅ Fundraising (technical due diligence)
• ✅ Board presentations (OKRs, KPIs)

Typical Profile

Lead Dev

Average Age: 30-40 years Experience: 8-15 years dev Education:

• Engineering school (X, Centrale, ENSTA, INSA)
• University (Master CS)
• Senior self-taught

Career Progression:

Junior Dev (0-2 years)
 → Mid Dev (2-5 years)
  → Senior Dev (5-10 years)
   → Lead Dev (10+ years)

CTO

Average Age: 35-50 years Experience: 12-20 years tech Education:

• Engineering school + MBA (optional)
• Strong business training (M&A, finance, strategy)

Career Progression:

Track 1: Engineering path

Senior Dev → Lead Dev → Engineering Manager → VP Engineering → CTO

Track 2: Founder path

Dev → Tech co-founder → CTO (founder)

Track 3: Consultant path

Dev → Senior Consultant → Freelance CTO → Interim CTO

Salaries 2025 (Île-de-France)

Lead Developer

Company	Exp	Fixed Salary	Variable	Total
Early Startup (<50p)	8-10 years	€55-70K	€0-5K	€55-75K
Scale-up Startup (50-200p)	10-12 years	€65-85K	€5-15K	€70-100K
Scale-up (200-500p)	12-15 years	€75-95K	€10-20K	€85-115K
Corp (500p+)	15+ years	€85-110K	€15-30K	€100-140K

+ Startup Equity: 0.2-0.8% (early) or 0.05-0.2% (late)

CTO

Company	Exp	Fixed Salary	Variable	Total
Pre-seed Startup	12-15 years	€50-70K	€0-10K	€50-80K
Seed/Series A Startup	15-18 years	€70-100K	€10-30K	€80-130K
Series B-C Scale-up	18-22 years	€100-150K	€30-70K	€130-220K
Tech Corp (500p+)	20+ years	€120-180K	€50-120K	€170-300K

+ Startup Equity:

• Pre-seed/Seed: 3-10%
• Series A: 1-5%
• Series B+: 0.5-2%

Freelance CTO: €700-1500/day = €160-350K/year (if 220 billed days)

Concrete Comparison (Same Company)

Series A Startup, 30 people including 12 tech:

Role	Fixed Salary	Equity	Total Cash Y1	Equity Value*
Lead Dev	€75K	0.3%	€75K	€30K
CTO	€95K	3%	€95K	€300K

*If exit at €10M in 5 years

Gap:

• Cash: +27% for CTO
• Equity: +10x for CTO

Daily Responsibilities

Typical Lead Dev Week

Monday (8h):

• 9h-10h: Sprint planning with team
• 10h-12h: Code (current feature)
• 12h-13h: Lunch
• 13h-14h: Code review (3-4 PRs)
• 14h-17h: Code (feature + tests)
• 17h-18h: Pair programming junior

Tuesday-Thursday (24h):

• 60% code (features + bugfix)
• 20% reviews (PRs + architecture decisions)
• 15% meetings (daily, refinement, retro)
• 5% mentoring (unblocking juniors)

Friday (8h):

• 9h-10h: Sprint retrospective
• 10h-12h: Tech debt (refactoring)
• 12h-13h: Lunch
• 13h-15h: Documentation (ADR, README)
• 15h-17h: Tech watch (articles, conf talks)
• 17h-18h: Beer with team

% Time:

• 65% code
• 20% reviews/mentoring
• 15% meetings

Typical CTO Week

Monday (9h):

• 9h-10h: Weekly exec meeting (CEO, CMO, CFO, COO)
• 10h-11h: Review tech metrics (uptime, perf, incidents)
• 11h-12h30: 1-on-1s (Engineering Manager, Lead Dev)
• 12h30-14h: Lunch + networking
• 14h-16h: Q2 roadmap planning
• 16h-17h: Vendor call (AWS pricing negotiation)
• 17h-18h: Emails/Slack

Tuesday-Thursday (27h):

• 30% management (1-on-1s, performance reviews, conflict resolution)
• 25% strategy (roadmap, budget, OKRs)
• 20% recruiting (sourcing, interviews, closing)
• 15% external meetings (investors, partners, clients)
• 10% technical (architecture review, POCs, critical code review)

Friday (9h):

• 9h-11h: All-hands meeting (OKRs presentation to entire company)
• 11h-13h: Board prep (slides for investors)
• 13h-14h: Lunch
• 14h-16h: Code (finally! Review complex PR + new feature POC)
• 16h-18h: Beer with team

% Time:

• 50% management
• 30% strategy/business
• 20% technical

When to Move from Lead Dev to CTO?

Signals You're Ready

✅ You're Lead Dev and:

• You've managed 3-8 devs for 2+ years
• You already recruit (sourcing, interviews)
• You challenge product roadmap (not just execute)
• You understand P&L, burn rate, unit economics
• You're bored with code (want strategic thinking)
• Company scales (50+ people, Series A+ raise)

If 4+ checked → You're ready for CTO

Signals You're NOT Ready

❌ Red flags:

• You love coding 100% of the time
• Management = chore
• You don't understand finance
• You hate meetings
• You don't want to recruit
• You don't like presenting

If 3+ checked → Stay Lead Dev (and that's OK!)

Transition: How to Go Lead Dev → CTO?

Case 1: Internal Promotion

Prerequisites:

• Lead Dev 3+ years in the company
• Current CTO leaves OR new position created
• CEO recommendation

Process:

1. CEO Discussion (express CTO ambition)
2. Trial Period 3-6 months (expanded responsibilities)
3. Performance Review (metrics: recruiting, budget, roadmap)
4. Official Promotion (+ 20-30% raise)

Expected Raise: €75K Lead Dev → €95-100K CTO (+27%)

Case 2: Change Company

Strategy:

1. Target smaller startups (Lead Dev at BigCo → CTO at 10p startup)
2. Apply for "VP Engineering" or "Head of Engineering" (= CTO without title)
3. Negotiate CTO title after 6-12 months

Timeline: 12-18 months to land CTO

Case 3: Founder CTO

Path:

1. Quit salaried job
2. Launch your startup (alone or with business co-founder)
3. = CTO by default

Risk: High (90% startups fail) Reward: 20-50% equity if success

Common Mistakes: CTO Who Codes Too Much

The "I Need to Code" Syndrome

Symptom:

• CTO codes 60-80% of time
• Meetings = distraction
• Team blocked (waits for CTO validation)

Problem:

• CTO = bottleneck
• No delegation
• Frustrated team

Real Example

B2B SaaS, 15 people including 6 devs:

CTO Profile:

• Ex-senior dev, loved coding
• Promoted CTO but dev mindset
• Codes 70% time

Results:

• ❌ Recruiting: 0 hire in 6 months (no time)
• ❌ Roadmap: 3 months late (no prioritization)
• ❌ Management: Devs leave (no 1-on-1)
• ❌ Fundraising: Rejected (catastrophic tech due diligence)

Cost: CEO forces CTO out, replaces with VP Engineering

The Right Approach

CTO should code, but strategically:

Code Smart (20% time):

• ✅ Architecture decisions (POCs)
• ✅ Critical code reviews (security, perf)
• ✅ Onboarding (pair programming with new devs)
• ✅ Firefighting (critical prod bugs)
• ❌ Routine features
• ❌ Simple bugfixes

Delegate the rest to Lead Dev

Which Role to Choose? Decision Matrix

Quiz: Lead Dev or CTO?

Answer Honestly:

1. You Prefer:

   • A. Solving a complex bug for 3h
   • B. Recruiting a senior dev

2. Your Ideal Meetings:

   • A. Architecture review with devs
   • B. Board meeting with CEO + investors

3. Your Success Definition:

   • A. Feature delivered without bugs
   • B. Q2 OKRs achieved (recruiting, budget, roadmap)

4. You Like:

   • A. Learning new framework (e.g., Svelte)
   • B. Negotiating AWS contract (-40% costs)

5. 5-Year Career Goal:

   • A. Staff Engineer at Google/Netflix
   • B. CTO of Series B startup

Scoring:

• Majority A → Lead Dev is your path
• Majority B → CTO is your path
• Mix → VP Engineering (tech + management)

Profiles That Thrive

Happy Lead Dev

Profile:

• Passionate about code
• Reads Hacker News daily
• Side projects on weekends
• Tech conferences = vacation
• Management = OK but not passion

Ideal Company:

• Tech scale-up (100-500p)
• Engineering-driven (not sales-driven)
• IC track (Staff → Principal Engineer)

Salary Ceiling: €120-140K + equity

Happy CTO

Profile:

• Loves solving business problems
• Reads HBR, Forbes, TechCrunch
• Networking = pleasure
• Strategic thinking > code
• Management = passion

Ideal Company:

• Early startup (co-founder CTO)
• Scale-up (build engineering org 10 → 100)
• Corp (transform legacy tech)

Salary Ceiling: €200-300K + significant equity

Alternatives: VP Engineering, Staff Engineer

VP Engineering

Definition:

Manager of Engineering Managers. Focus: people + process.

vs CTO:

• CTO = tech strategy
• VP Eng = execution

Hierarchy:

CTO
 └─ VP Engineering
     ├─ Engineering Manager (Backend)
     ├─ Engineering Manager (Frontend)
     └─ Engineering Manager (Mobile)

Salary: €100-180K (between Lead Dev and CTO)

Staff Engineer (IC Track)

Definition:

Senior Individual Contributor who influences without managing. Technical expert.

Google Track:

Software Engineer (L3-L4)
 → Senior SWE (L5)
  → Staff SWE (L6)
   → Senior Staff (L7)
    → Principal (L8)
     → Distinguished (L9-L10)

Staff Salary (L6): €150-250K at Google Paris

Advantages:

• ✅ Code 80% time
• ✅ No management
• ✅ CTO-level salary
• ❌ Rare in startup (mostly BigTech)

Conclusion

Lead Dev ≠ CTO:

Criteria	Lead Dev	CTO
Focus	Code + archi	Strategy + people
Code	60-80%	10-30%
Team	3-8 devs	5-50+
Salary	€70-120K	€80-300K
Equity	0.1-0.5%	2-10%
Career	Staff Engineer	Tech CEO

Choose Based On:

• ✅ Passion (code vs business)
• ✅ Skills (technical vs leadership)
• ✅ Lifestyle (focused work vs meetings)

Both are excellent careers. The mistake = choosing CTO for prestige when you love coding.

Career Coaching: Hesitating Lead Dev vs CTO? Let's discuss in 30min.

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About: Jérémy Marquer, ex-Lead Dev who became CTO then freelance CTO. I've done both roles, I know the differences.