The Lab Report: Growth PMs vs. CROs - What Is The Actual Difference?

Why do so many companies conflate the two when the work, the scope, and the outcomes couldn’t be more different?

May 26, 2025

Welcome to a new series I’m calling “The Lab Report”. The Lab Report is a deep dive into an interesting topic, so if you have some ideas shoot them my way!

This weeks post is focused on comparing CRO to Growth Product Management roles, something I’ve been thinking a lot lately. Enjoy and please leave any feedback!

Without further adieu…

Growth PMs vs. CROs - What Is The Actual Difference?

What’s the actual difference between a CRO and a Growth PM and why do so many companies conflate the two when the work, the scope, and the outcomes couldn’t be more different?

They both run experiments. They both chase conversion metrics. They both speak fluent A/B.

But beneath the surface, these roles operate on very different levels. One is focused on squeezing value out of existing traffic. The other is designing systems that fundamentally change how the product grows. And yes, that difference shows up in the org chart, the scope of influence, and ultimately, the paycheck.

Studying compensation for CROs and Growth PMs led me down a rabbit hole that turned into this post. If you saw my earlier breakdown on Conversion Rate Optimization vs. Growth, that was the overview. This one zooms in on the roles and the org charts.

Day-to-Day Work: Zoomed-In vs. Zoomed-Out Optimization

Let’s just say this: if your job feels like interior decorating for landing pages, you’re probably doing CRO. If it feels like you’re quietly rearranging how the entire company thinks about user retention, that’s more Growth PM energy.

CROs typically operate in the marketing department, where they are responsible for squeezing performance improvements out of existing touch points. This can include optimizing landing pages, tweaking form designs, running headline tests, and analyzing bounce rates. The work is tactical and often campaign-driven, focused on how to turn a specific ad click or site visit into a measurable action like a sign up or purchase. Success is usually tracked on a short-term basis: Did this test improve conversion by 3%? If yes, implement. If not, move on.

In contrast, Growth PMs work within the product team, where their mandate spans the full user lifecycle from acquisition and activation to retention and monetization. They own growth at a systems level. That means they’re responsible not just for whether someone signs up, but whether that person sticks around, finds value, and contributes to long-term business outcomes. Their work might include rethinking onboarding, launching in-product referrals, designing monetization features, or identifying drop-offs in the activation flow. The time horizon is longer, and the stakes are higher.

Experimentation Approaches: Surface Tweaks vs. Infrastructure Changes

CROs live in the world of fast wins and faster tests. It’s the digital equivalent of, “Let’s see if people click more when it’s blue.” Growth PMs, on the other hand, are the ones asking, “What if the whole onboarding flow is the problem?” One runs sprint drills. The other is playing a long game with a whiteboard and way too many sticky notes.

Both CROs and Growth PMs rely heavily on experimentation. But the experiments they run, and the implications of those experiments, differ significantly.

CROs tend to focus on rapid testing cycles. These are experiments with low implementation cost and minimal downstream risk like comparing different CTA styles, button placements, or hero images. The tools used (Google Optimize, Optimizely, etc.) are generally plug-and-play and designed for fast, visual iteration. CROs look for statistical significance on relatively high-traffic pages and aim for steady, incremental gains.

Growth PMs, meanwhile, often lead experiments that require code changes and coordination across engineering, design, and analytics. These aren’t just visual tweaks they’re infrastructure-level bets. A Growth PM might redesign a mobile onboarding sequence, test different pricing models behind a feature flag, or roll out a new retention mechanism. The feedback loops are longer, and the interpretation of results often requires a more nuanced understanding of behavioral data over time.

Metrics and Measurement: Snapshot KPIs vs. Lifecycle Health

You can tell what someone cares about by what they measure. CROs are watching the front door like hawks. Growth PMs are the ones pacing the hallway, wondering why guests came, stayed for five minutes, and left without saying goodbye.

CROs track metrics like:

Page-level conversion rate
Bounce rate and exit rate
CTRs and cost-per-conversion
Funnel drop-off at specific marketing stages

Their success is often defined by how effectively they can convert traffic into leads or customers, using a known set of acquisition levers.

Growth PMs, on the other hand, are held accountable for:

Activation rates (e.g., % of users reaching first value)
Retention cohorts and churn curves
Revenue per user or LTV
Overall growth model performance (e.g., virality, monetization lift)

Their job is to make sure users don’t just show up but stick around and generate value over time. They’re optimizing for compound growth, not campaign ROI.

Org Design and Influence

CROs often report to marketing leadership and collaborate most closely with performance marketers, content writers, and designers. Their work tends to align with campaign timelines and short-term goals. When site changes require engineering support, they often have to lobby for prioritization or workaround using third-party tools.

Growth PMs typically sit in a cross-functional product pod and have dedicated engineering and design support. They report into product leadership (sometimes directly into the CPO) and are expected to contribute to strategic planning. Because they touch revenue, retention, and scalability, they often present directly to the executive team and are expected to show impact at a business level.

In mature orgs, Growth PMs help define how the product grows. CROs help ensure that the acquisition efforts are converting as efficiently as possible.

Compensation Disparities: Scope, Strategy, Scarcity

The reason Growth PMs generally get paid more comes down to scope and leverage. Growth PMs are expected to:

Think across time horizons
Make decisions that affect product and business strategy
Orchestrate large, cross-functional initiatives

CROs, while critical to performance marketing, tend to operate within narrower boundaries. Their experiments are more reversible, and the impact is typically constrained to top-of-funnel outcomes.

U.S. salary ranges:

CRO Specialist or Manager: $70K–$130K
Growth Product Manager: $130K–$200K+
Head of Growth: $180K–$250K+ (plus equity, depending on company stage)

Context Matters: Startup vs. Enterprise

At a startup, job titles are more like rough guesses based on whoever last edited the job posting. One day you’re optimizing landing pages, the next you’re trying to convince the CEO that a 10-minute onboarding is maybe not the move. In an enterprise, things get a little more orderly or at least the chaos is hidden behind a few layers of process.

In startups, roles tend to be fluid. A Growth PM might be running Facebook ads one day and scoping onboarding UX the next. A CRO expert might find themselves owning the entire growth stack until the team matures. Titles are often misleading; execution trumps specialization.

In enterprises, the roles are more clearly defined:

CROs focus on conversion optimization across digital campaigns and site assets
Growth PMs work within product to increase engagement, retention, and LTV

Some companies spin up centralized growth teams with full-stack support. Others embed Growth PMs across squads. But the general trend is toward product-led growth owning retention and revenue, while marketing continues to drive top-of-funnel acquisition.

Summary: Different Roles, Shared Goals

If you're still not sure which role is which, just ask: is this person rearranging traffic or rethinking systems? One tunes the engine. The other rebuilds it in traffic with a Slack thread blowing up.

CROs and Growth PMs both operate within an experimentation culture but the nature of what they optimize and how they drive growth is fundamentally different. CROs maximize the performance of the systems that already exist. Growth PMs design and iterate on the systems themselves.

If your site traffic is healthy but conversions are weak, hire a CRO. If users sign up but don’t stick around, hire a Growth PM. And if you’re early stage and trying to decide which role to prioritize? Start with someone who can think like a PM but execute like a marketer until the complexity demands you split the role.