The 10 Best Websites to Hire Developers for Your Startup in 2026

As a founder or tech recruiter, you know that finding great developers is essential to building a successful company. But it can take a lot of work to keep up with the best places to hire developers.

‍

This blog post will share the ten best websites to hire developers for your startup. Whether you're looking for React experts or full-stack engineers, these sites will help you find the talent you need to take your company to the next level. 

ReactSquad

‍

ReactSquad.io is a software engineering partner for fast-paced startups. They provide React developers for engineering teams within days. Their service doesn't require you to create an account, post your project details, go through hundreds of profiles, or conduct interviews.

Note: Their developers are not freelancers, rather, they are full time employees of ReactSquad.io. Once you hire them, ReactSquad lends them to you so that the developer can work embedded in your team just as your other developers do. 

‍

How ReactSquad Works

Just like you order pizza and get it delivered in a few minutes, you can request a developer and get to meet them within 48 hours. The React engineer can start shipping code in a week.

‍

Price

Transparent pricing of $85/hour billed monthly.

‍

Advantages

• Devs work directly with you as embedded developers just like your regular employees to serve your project dev needs.
• Due to their 100% focus on React.js, they provide high quality of work very reliably. 
• Their hiring process is faster than most platforms; matching in less than 48 hours. And you can even start working with the developer in less than seven days.
• They offer a 14-day risk free trial.
• Pocket-friendly pricing

‍

Drawback

1. They only focus on React.JS engineers.

‍

Gun.io

Gun.io is a platform that claims to provide reliable software engineers for companies of all sizes. They offer a range of features, including a talent directory, a project management tool, and a payment system. The platform allows you to hire a freelancer or an employee. 

‍

How it Works

Their process typically requires three steps:

1. You have to chat with their talent team to let them know the skills you want
2. In 3-5 days, the talent team will get back to you with a list of talents who meet your requirements
3. You can proceed with an interview and hire the one that suits you best.

Note: As mentioned earlier, you can hire the selected talent on a flexible monthly basis or as a salaried employee. 

Price  

They don't have a standard price; they work with clients to provide a package that meets their budget. However, their monthly retainer starts at $5,000.

‍

Advantages

• Every candidate is vetted and matched to you by senior developers who work in the talent team.
• They offer custom packages, so whatever you budget, they can assist you.
• You can swap talents if you are unsatisfied with your hire.
• You can hire within 13 days.

Drawback

• Gun.io offers no trial period.

‍

Toptal

Toptal prides itself as the hub for the best developers in the world. Apart from developers, you can also find designers, product managers, and finance professionals on the platform.

‍

How it Works

The Toptal hiring process is in three stages:

1. You contact the talent team and tell them the kind of talent you need.
2. They find one for you and notify you within a few days or up to three weeks.
3. You complete the hiring process and integrate the freelancer into your team.

‍

Pricing

The hourly rates of a freelancer on Toptal is usually between $100 and $200 per hour. In addition, there's a one-time, refundable payment of $500. You will get this money back if you decide not to hire anyone. There’s now also a $79 monthly fee for using their talent search services. 

‍

Advantages

• You can hire talents for both short and long-term jobs.
• Because their candidates are pre-screened, the failure rate is relatively low.

Drawback

• If you need a developer urgently, three weeks may be too long.
• Most developers charge above $100 per hour, which may be quite pricey for most companies. 

‍

Lemon.io

Lemon.io screens applicants and provides you with a shortlist from their pool of freelance developers that match your needs. Lemon is mostly known for recruiting developers based in Eastern Europe.

‍

How it Works

The process is similar to most of the platforms. Once you land on their website and sign up for the service, a sales rep will contact you and ask for more details about your project. 

After submitting the details, they will try to match you with a developer within 72 hours.

‍

Price

Their average rate is between $60 to $95 per hour. They also require you to make a 'security deposit' before starting your project. 

‍

Advantages

• You have access to vetted developers
• Their service is fast, with matches often happening within 72 hours.

Drawback

• Matching can be slow for projects with less common tech skills and based on the availability of their freelancers.
• You must commit to at least 160 project hours to get started with a developer 

‍

Flexiple

Flexible provides a network of freelance developers and designers suitable for growth-stage startups.

‍

How it Works

The three-step process used by other competitors applies here as well:

• You contact them and tell them about your needs and objectives.
• You get a personalized recommendation based on the information you provided.
• You can interview the candidates to determine who fits your project.

‍

Price

Their hourly rate varies widely from $40 up to $100 per hour.

‍

Advantages

• Their service is fast; they claim to deliver within 72 hours.
• Their fees are pretty affordable.
• They screen their freelancers and categorize them so it’s easy to choose the level of experience you need.

Drawback

• There’s little information online regarding this service. For a service that’s not so popular, a risk-free offer would be great.

‍

Guru

Guru is one of the most multi-faceted platforms for freelance talents. They have freelancers available for almost every skill on the planet.

‍

How it Works

Guru gives you two options: search and browse through available profiles or post a job and wait for applications. This platform allows you to be in charge of the entire hiring process with little or no assistance from them.

‍

Price

Since freelancers can fix their prices, you can find prices between $20 and $100 per hour. The site also charges a fee, calculated at 3% on every transaction. You can also promote your job listing at $29.95 per month.

‍

Advantages

• They have a large pool of talents to choose from, over 300,000 developers.
• You can get some good developers even if you are on a budget.

Drawbacks

• They do not vet their talents.
• The platform is a sea of freelance talents; getting what you want may take a while.

Codementor

Codementor is a freelance marketplace that connects businesses with verified freelance software developers. The platform offers a simple, transparent pricing model and a wide range of developers, making it an ideal option for businesses of all sizes. 

‍

How it Works

‍

To get started, you must create a project on the Codementor website and receive bids from interested developers. Once you award the project, you and the developer can communicate directly to discuss the requirements and timeline. 

‍

Payment is then made through the CodeMentor escrow system, ensuring that both parties are satisfied with the final product.

‍

Price

Fees start at $50 and go as high as $120 for more experienced freelance engineers.

‍

Advantages 

• The team continues to offer support to freelancers to help them perform their task well
• Relatively fast recruitment time (72 hours)
• 14-day risk-free trial 

Drawback

• Not suitable for long-term projects

‍

Upwork

Upwork is a generalist website where you can hire freelance developers. 

‍

How it Works

• You post a job or product with the needed requirements
• Upwork sends your listing to freelancers whose skills match your job
• Freelancers their bids for your project in the form of proposals
• After interviewing and selecting your preferred candidate, you can start the contract.

You can also review freelancers' profiles and invite them to apply for your job.

‍

Price

Developer fees on Upwork are between $21 and $300 per hour. Upwork charges clients a non-refundable marketplace fee of up to 7.99% on all payments made to freelancers for hourly, fixed-price, and Project Catalog projects. 

‍

Additionally, a one-time contract initiation fee of up to $4.95 ($0.99–$14.99 range) is applied to each new contract. These fees cover payment processing, platform maintenance, and support services. 

‍

Advantages

• Easy and quick access to a large talent pool
• Reasonable prices that won't break the bank
• Safe and secure payments
• Quick customer support

Drawback

• There are a lot of low quality developers on the platform and you need to spend a lot of time filtering through to get good ones.

Revelo

Revelo is a platform where you can hire vetted Latin American developers who can work in US time zones. They claim to have over 300,000 vetted tech talents available for hire.

‍

How it Works

Revelo's process goes beyond screening and matching talents to your project's needs. They also handle back-office operations, employee benefits, compliance, and all other things that can consume your time.

‍

Price

The prices need to be more transparent, as we could not access the freelancers' prices. However, an undisclosed fee of $2,500 is charged on top of monthly developer salaries.

‍

Advantages

• The average time to hire a developer is 14 days which is quite good
• 46% of their developers have mid to senior-level experience.
• Developers work in the same time zones as US clients.
• 2 week risk free trial

Drawback

• Even though their service is good, an extra $2,500 per month is above the industry average and the prices are not transparent.

‍

Scalable Path

Scalable Path provides freelance software developers and designers from several countries. 

‍

How it Works

The team at Scalable Path handpicks each candidate according to your project requirements. They prioritize screening processes based on your needs so that you can find what you need. 

Scalable Path’s whole process can take up to 3 weeks.

‍

Price

Most developers on their platform charge hourly rates between $50 - $70.

‍

Advantages

• No recruitment fees
• Strict vetting of applicants.

Drawback

There are very few reviews online at the moment. Although the few we came across are positive, it could also indicate that the platform is yet to be used by many people.

‍

Alternative Ways To Hire Freelance Software Developers

There are a lot of alternative ways to hire freelance developers. Some of them are:

Job boards and Remote working platforms

Job boards and online communities for developers are great places to connect with outstanding talent. Some of them include the following:

• RemoteOk
• We Work Remotely
• Remotive
• Remote.co
• RemoteHub
• Angel.co
• NoDesk
• Working Nomads
• LinkedIn

‍

Newsletters

Advertising your job vacancy in popular newsletters for software developers will be a great idea. Some of them are GitHub Explore, Programming Digest, DiscoverDev, etc. The sponsorship fees for some of these newsletters can be as low as $200.

‍

Browsing coding platforms and communities

Platforms such as GitHub or StackOverflow are places developers learn how to build great software. They also share tips and tricks and are committed to helping one another. It is a great place to connect with some of the best developers and get them to work on your project.

‍

Ask for referrals

You can continuously tap into your network whenever you need anything. A recommendation from someone you know and trust may be better than a review on a company's website. Here's where our good old friend LinkedIn can be of great help.

‍

Tips on Hiring a Developer

No matter the platform you choose, we advise that you follow these tips when hiring a freelance software developer:

‍

Define your project requirements

If you are a non-techie, you need to ask the experts and let them help you figure out the programming languages your project requires. You need to figure out the technical part because this will help you communicate well with your potential developer.

‍

Define the length of the project

Knowing the length of your project is crucial when determining which platform to use. Some platforms work well for short-term projects, while others are suitable for long-term ones.

‍

Decide on the experience level for your project.

Based on the requirements of your project, you must also determine whether it is suitable for a beginner, mid, or senior developer. 

‍

Final Thoughts

Hiring freelance developers can be daunting if you need help knowing where to start or which platform to use. You can make a good choice based on the information from this article.

Bear in mind that each platform has its pros and cons. For example, if you are looking for a developer for a quick, short-term gig and want an affordable option that can do a good job, Upwork may be a good fit.

But if you want to staff your engineering team with expert React developers in the shortest possible time without spending too much and potentially keep them for a long period, we recommend ReactSquad.