Side by side
Salary bands are United States, cybersecurity sector, at a Series B baseline. They shift with stage and geography, and they are directional, for scoping a description or a target range rather than making or accepting an offer.
| Head of Growth | VP of Marketing | |
|---|---|---|
| Level | Director or head of | Vice president |
| Core question the role answers | What is the fastest path to more qualified volume, and what experiment proves it this month. | How do we build a repeatable demand engine and a message the sales team can actually carry. |
| Owns | Paid acquisition and channel performance. Conversion rate optimization across the funnel. Experiment velocity and the testing roadmap. Product led acquisition loops where they exist. | Demand generation strategy and channel execution. Messaging and content across the funnel. Marketing team management and program budget. Website, campaigns and marketing technology stack. |
| Explicitly does not own | Category positioning and long arc brand narrative. Analyst relations and press. Sales team management. | Quota carrying and deal negotiation. Board level category strategy at a large company where a CMO exists. Sales team hiring and territory design. |
| Base salary band | $182,000 to $248,000 base | $198,000 to $272,000 base |
| Variable | 20% variable | 20% variable |
| Equity | Commonly 0.15 to 0.4 percent at Series B. | Commonly 0.2 to 0.6 percent at Series B, trending lower at later stages. |
Where the line actually falls
Head of Growth, seen from the VP of Marketing seat
Growth is a velocity and experimentation mandate. Marketing leadership is a full funnel mandate that includes brand, content and product marketing. Early stage companies sometimes hire growth instead of marketing leadership, and typically discover the gap once category positioning starts to matter.
VP of Marketing, seen from the Head of Growth seat
Growth biases toward experimentation, performance channels and product led loops. A VP of Marketing carries the full funnel including content, product marketing and brand.
Common questions
Should we hire a Head of Growth or a VP of Marketing?
Growth is a velocity and experimentation mandate, usually with a product led or self serve surface underneath it. A VP of Marketing carries the full funnel including content, product marketing and brand. Early stage companies frequently hire growth instead of marketing leadership because the metrics move faster and are easier to defend, then discover the gap the first time category positioning starts to matter, usually when an analyst or an acquirer asks what category they are in.
How is a Head of Growth different from a VP of Marketing?
Growth is a velocity and experimentation mandate. Marketing leadership is a full funnel mandate that includes brand, content and product marketing. Early stage companies sometimes hire growth instead of marketing leadership, and typically discover the gap once category positioning starts to matter.
How is a VP of Marketing different from a Head of Growth?
Growth biases toward experimentation, performance channels and product led loops. A VP of Marketing carries the full funnel including content, product marketing and brand.
Which pays more, a Head of Growth or a VP of Marketing?
Head of Growth roles benchmark at $182,000 to $248,000 base with roughly 20 percent variable. VP of Marketing roles benchmark at $198,000 to $272,000 base with roughly 20 percent variable. Both figures are United States, cybersecurity sector, at a Series B baseline, and shift with stage and geography. Security pays above the cross-industry midpoint because the buyer is technical, the cycle is longer, and the pool with real security context is small.