Toptal Alternatives & Competitors: Top 10 Sites Similar to Toptal

Toptal is one of the many providers of freelance engineers. Even though they’re industry giants, many alternatives have sprung up in recent years. Today, you can get quality freelance software engineers from similar sites without breaking the bank.

In this article, we'll look at the best alternatives to Toptal, what they have to offer, their pricing, the hiring process, and everything in between. But before we dive in, let's look at Toptal and what it offers so you can make a good comparison.

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What is Toptal?

Toptal is a freelance platform that helps businesses connect with the world's top 3% of freelance software developers. They have a vetting process to ensure that skilled developers are allowed on the platform. You can hire a developer on Toptal for an hourly rate between $150 to $200. 

One of the main ways they help businesses is by providing access to a large pool of talented developers from around the world. This makes it easy for businesses to find the right freelance developer for their needs, and it also helps to save time and money on the hiring process. 

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Brief overview of Toptal's benefits:

1. The hiring process is faster than the typical employment process. On Toptal, you can hire a software developer within three weeks.
2. You can hire developers for both short and long-term engagements.
3. Candidates are pre-screened; that’s some guarantee for quality.
4. The failure rate of hiring the wrong freelance developer is usually low.

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How Much Does Toptal Cost?

Toptal's pricing varies from developer to developer since the platform allows freelancers to set their rates. Fees may differ based on seniority, location, and whether you need them for hourly, part-time, or full-time projects. Hourly rates range from $100 to $200+ per hour.

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How Long Does it Take to Hire Talent Through Toptal? 

In most cases, employers get matched with a freelancer within 5 days. You also have the option to work with multiple candidates before deciding on a particular freelancer. They offer a trial period of up to two weeks to see if they're the right match.

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Why Consider Toptal alternatives?

While Toptal remains a leading platform for hiring freelance developers, there are a few reasons why you may want an alternative.

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1. Hiring time - your hiring decision may be influenced by how urgent you want the work done and how quickly you can onboard your talent.

2. Budget - It is evident that hiring a developer on Toptal is costly. That's why alternatives like ReactSquad, CloudDev, and Revelo offer a more budget-friendly option for hiring vetted talents.

3. Time zones - while you're open to hiring a remote talent, you can consider hiring one that operates in a similar time zone as the rest of your team, so collaboration is seamless.

4. Talent location - you may want to hire from a particular geographical area due to language or cultural factors.

5. Seniority of talent - if your project is complex, you may want to consider recruiting from a platform that attracts experienced talents.

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Top 10 Toptal Alternatives To Hiring Developers – Toptal Competitors

Here, we have provided a selection of platforms that serve as the best alternatives to Toptal so that you can pick one based on your specific requirements. You will also find information regarding the location of talents, pricing, skills offered and the hiring process.

ReactSquad

ReactSquad is a specialized staffing agency that provides vetted React developers to companies and engineering teams. ReactSquad suits companies of all sizes, and they offer flexible hiring options for different needs.

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ReactSquad's features

• They’re 100% focused on one tech stack: React, making them specialists in the ecosystem
• Rigorously vetted devs: 3 interviews + 4 weeks of a paid test project. Each dev is handpicked by the CTO
• Faster matching: Get a dev within 48 hours.
• Developers have 5+ years of experience in various industries.
• 14-day risk-free trial available

Pricing

Affordable and transparent rate of $85 per hour.

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CloudDevs

CloudDevs is one of the few remote hiring platforms that maintain low overheads while still providing a good service. Mainly because they offer dev talent from Latin American countries.

CloudDevs' features

• Their talent pool consists of Latin American developers with 5 years of experience.
• It takes about 3 days to be matched with a CloudDevs developer.
• They have a 14-day no-risk trial period.
• CloudDevs offers a weekly rolling contract with no minimum commitment; this allows clients to cancel anytime they want. 

Price

CloudDevs charges $65-$80 per hour, depending on seniority.

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Upwork

Upwork is one of the most well-known Toptal alternatives where startup founders hire freelancers. But like most generalist platforms, there's no vetting of freelancers. You have to do your due diligence and deep digging to find quality, trustworthy talent.

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Upwork's features

• Unlike Toptal, Upwork does not screen its freelancers; the client needs to have a good understanding of what they are looking for and be able to conduct their vetting process, which could take 6 weeks or more.

• High-end developers are hard to come by these days, and Upwork may not be suitable if your project requires a very qualified developer for long-term work.

• Upwork is a choice if you’re seeking talent at a low cost.

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Price

The average Upwork developer rates range from $40-$75/hour, but they can go up to $200 an hour for senior developers. Upwork charges an additional 8% Client Marketplace fee on every job, plus a one-time $15 Contract Initiation Fee for each new contract you start with a developer.

This could cause your final cost to rise depending on how many devs you hire. You can check out our full comparative review of Upwork vs. Toptal to learn more.

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Andela

Just like Toptal, Andela’s talent acquisition process involves many layers of tests and interviews. Andela’s developers are mostly from Africa and Asia, so you can expect to be matched within 3 to 7 business days. However long term engagements are preferred, as contracts are signed for at least 12 months.

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Andela's features

• Andela engineers have been pre-vetted.
• Hiring can take up to 4 weeks. 
• They only recently shifted to hiring senior engineers, so there’s very few of them.
• This may not suit you if you want to hire a freelancer short term or part-time. All Andela contracts are 12 months long.

Price

Hiring a developer on Andela costs companies anywhere between $40 to $85 per hour. You are billed monthly which amounts to between $7,000 to $20,000. 

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Freelancer

Freelancer is one of the largest freelance websites in the world, with over 50 million users. They have a talent support team to help you quickly navigate the hiring process. They also have various features, such as the time tracker and the mobile app, which allow you to manage your project on the go. 

Freelancer has a variety of talents. Depending on your budget, you can hire anyone from a beginner to an expert. However, this also means you must put in extra effort to get a good hire.

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Freelancer's features

• There’s no vetting process which means that finding very good devs can take several weeks. 
• Once the job is completed, you can pay if you're 100% satisfied with the output.
• You have access to a wide range of talents from almost every region.
• You can find developers with a wide range of skills and specializations.

Price

Fees vary based on skill level, but developers generally charge between $60 and $100 per hour.

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Revelo

Revelo is a platform where you can find, hire and pay quality remote software engineering talent in Latin America who work in US time zones.

Revelo's features

• Revelo handles all the legal paperwork, payroll, benefits, and rewards.
• Hiring a developer can take up to 3 weeks.
• Revelo devs are vetted on soft and technical skills.
• They do not provide freelancers or professionals on a project-by-project basis. Rather, they focus on providing full-time employees.

Price

Revelo costs $2,500 monthly plus the developer’s salary. Aside from this, there’s little information available about their pricing.  

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Crossover

Crossover serves as an intermediary between tech companies and software developers. They find and hire software developers for tech companies around the world. They also post available positions on their website and invite developers to apply. Crossover currently has a talent pool ofover 7 million tech professionals.

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Crossover's features

• Based on available reviews, we can deduce that Crossover recruits their developers from countries like Pakistan, India, Romania, and Russia, as well as Africa.
• They claim to find the top 1% of global talent.
• Their hiring process takes about 6 weeks.

Price

Rates range from $60 to $220 per hour depending on region, seniority and complexity of the role

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Fiverr

Fiverr is one of the major marketplaces for freelance services with many service providers. Service providers, commonly known on Fiverr as sellers, list their services and offers. All you have to do is carefully select one that best fits your needs.

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Fiverr's features

• With Fiverr’s search functionality, you can type in the service you want and apply the filters to get a shortlist of candidates.
• Fiverr freelancers are not vetted, but you can check their reviews and superiority (seller level). This still doesn’t guarantee high quality, however.
• You can cancel halfway through or request a revision if unsatisfied with a dev’s service.
• You can hire a Fiverr freelancer almost immediately if they’re available. If the seller is online and has no pending orders, they can attend to you.  

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Price

Pricing can be as low as $15 per gig for beginners and up to $6000 for an expert. These gigs have a timeline so the fee is split into weeks. Other factors that influence pricing include the freelancer's superiority and location. Freelancers from certain regions tend to offer higher prices than others. Fiverr also charges a 5.5% service fee and an extra $3.00 for gigs under $100. 

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Fiverr is best suited for small tasks, while long-term projects are better handled by Toptal alternatives such as ReactSquad.io or CloudDev. 

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Guru

If you want access to many freelancers for your project, Guru is a good place. They also have a vast pool of freelancers on their platform. In addition to developers, Guru has a freelancer for almost every skill. However, since there's no vetting and screening process, anybody can register on their platform. You have to take on the extra responsibility of screening the talents.

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Guru's features

• Hiring depends on the client, and the process can take up to a month.
• Opening an account is free, but the site takes a 3% cut from every transaction.
• You can promote your job listing to get more candidates. That service comes at a fee of $29.95 per month.
• To verify the credibility of freelancers, Guru publishes feedback from previous transactions in the form of reviews, just like Fiverr does.

Price

Like every platform, the price depends on the freelancer's experience and expertise. Fees can range from $50 to more than $100 per hour.

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Codeable

Codeable is a place where you can hire top WordPress developers. It is the only WordPress freelancer platform that matches vetted developers to clients. If your project requires a WordPress developer, Codeable is an excellent place to find one. 

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Codeable's features

• Their freelancers have to undergo a 45-day trial before being accepted.
• You can get an expert developer to review your project within 24 hours after posting the job.
• They have a money-back guarantee if the client is unsatisfied with the work.

Price

Their rates are usually between $75 to $110 per hour.

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Which platform is the best Toptal alternative, in your opinion?

Short answer: It depends! There are better ways to approach this, as everyone may have a different reason for hiring a developer.

Each of the ten platforms listed in this article offers something unique. So, depending on what your needs are, here are some of the choices available for you:

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1. Do you want excellent service while working with a small budget?

There are many budget-friendly options, but it may be difficult to guarantee quality. However, we can recommend ReactSquad and CloudDevs. They are the closest competitors to Toptal, offering the same rigorous vetting process.

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2. Are you looking for the cheapest option and not so bothered about quality?

Fiverr, Freelancer and Upwork are the cheapest freelance platforms that can fit any budget. These platforms do not vet their talents, so you can find some of the most affordable prices.

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3. Do you want to hire as soon as possible?

ReactSquad, Codeable, and CloudDev/UnicornDev are your best bets.

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4. Do you want to hire a developer on a long-term basis?

Revelo, CloudDev, ReactSquad, and Codeable are great options. These platforms are popular for their long-term contracts with clients.

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5. Do you want to hire senior developers with over five years of experience?

ReactSquad accepts only senior developers with at least 5 years of experience.

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6. Do you want the hiring process done for you?

ReactSquad takes control of the process and provides you with a dev within 48 hours. 

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Our Recommendation

ReactSquad is the best alternative to Toptal for hiring freelance React developers for your company.  

‍Book a call to get matched with a React specialist in 48 hours!