Toptal Alternatives And Competitors

TOPTAL ALTERNATIVES TO HIRE TECH TALENT

Last Updated: 26 September 2023

In this article, we bring you some of the most in-demand Toptal alternatives in the market, highlighting all their features and price points so you can make a well-informed decision when hiring your tech talent through one of these recognized Toptal competitors.

TL;DR

Top 10 Toptal Alternatives To Hiring Developers – Toptal Competitor Summary

ALTERNATIVE PRICING RECOMMENDED FOR
1. CloudDevs 45+USD/Hour Developers from LatAms Superior talent vetting Time-zone matching
2. Unicorn.Dev 35USD/Hour Vetted devs from Asia 4-hour time zone overlap
3. Fiverr 5 to 1000+USD/project Variety of skills Global talent pool
4. Upwork 8 to 200+USD/Hour Not limited to tech talent Non-vetted talent
5. Gigster Free database of talent Hiring an entire tech team Outsourcing tech projects
6. Gun.io 75 to 250USD/Hour Elite software developers Talent exclusively from the US
7. Freelancer 1 to 60USD/hour A range of junior to mid-level talent Global pool of talent
8. Guru Varies based on project Wide range of freelancers Mostly Asian talent
9. People Per Hour Varies based on project A range of junior to senior-level talent Global pool of talent
10. Hubstaff Talent Free database of talent Worldwide talent pool Non-vetted talent for short-term needs

 

How To Decide Which Toptal Alternative Is The Best For You: 

Option A – You need to hire senior vetted devs in record time:

Your choices: CloudDevs, Unicorn Dev, Gun.io

 

Option B – Your project requires a multidisciplinary team from within your own time zone

Your choices: CloudDevs, Gigster

 

Option C – You need to hire highly vetted, senior talents at a reasonable price

Your choices: CloudDevs, Unicorn.Dev

 

Why Do People Hire Tech Talent From Toptal?

Toptal has long been a market leader in the freelance talent market, especially among businesses and entrepreneurs in search of tech talents like software developers, graphics designers, and product managers. Toptal company acts as a liaison by outsourcing highly vetted offshore tech talents, specializing in fields such as product and project management, web design, and software development to companies and startups in search of remote tech talents for hire on a freelance or contract basis.

However, Toptal is no longer the sole tech talent marketplace in the picture. While Toptal was a pioneer in sourcing vetted developers and designers, today you are able to hire from a range of Toptal alternatives that are well worth your time and money.

We have put together this comprehensive guide, to help you narrow down your search when looking to hire freelance developers and designers, by offering in-depth research into all leading Toptal competitors in the market today.

So before we dive into the best Toptal alternatives, let’s understand what Toptal offers its clients.

Brief Overview of Toptal’s Offerings:

  • Unlike most other Toptal alternatives available today, Toptal talents are rigorously screened through a multi-stage vetting process to ensure the quality of talent on the platform.
  • Toptal offers you the possibility to hire developers under both short and long-term engagements.
  • Toptal’s remote freelancers are sourced from all over the world.
  • All Toptalers set their own rates and they have the flexibility to quote their price based on their skill sets, seniority, and location they’re from.
  • Most Toptal talents are expert devs that work for some of the largest tech firms in the US and they offer their services as freelancers on Toptal.

How Much Does Toptal Cost? 

Toptal developer rates can vary from talent to talent as the platform allows freelancers to set their own rates. Rates may however differ based on the location of the developer and their level of seniority as well.

In order to get an accurate estimate for the cost of your project, you have to communicate with Toptal and let them know all your requirements. Based on your expectations they can find you a dev match from within their pool. The rates would be determined only after the developer is assigned and therefore you may not be able to get an accurate project cost immediately.

How Long Does it Take to Hire Talent Through Toptal? 

Hiring the pre-vetted tech talent from Toptal’s talent pool is based on availability, as each talent is matched to the client’s requirements. Due to Toptal being highly selective with their talents, their talent pool is somewhat limited compared to other Toptal alternatives we present within this article.

Why Consider Toptal Alternatives for Your Developer Hiring Requirements?

While Toptal still remains a leading platform to hire freelance software developers, there are a few reasons why you may want an alternative to Toptal.

Your hiring preferences may vary based on several factors such as:

  • Developer rates – You may be on the lookout for a more budget-friendly option for hiring vetted talent, as the cost of Toptal developers can be more in comparison to other Toptal competitors like CloudDevs and Unicorn.Dev.
  • Hiring time – Your hiring decisions may be determined by how urgent your needs are and how quickly you can have your talent onboarded. If Toptal does not have a dev on the platform that fits your requirements, the hiring time may increase, in which case you may need to consider a Toptal alternative to source talent.
  • Timezone alignment – While you’re open to hiring a remote developer, you may want to hire talents that are within the same time zone as your internal team in order to make collaboration more efficient. Since Toptal freelance developers are a globally distributed talent base with devs sourced from different time zones, you may want to try a Toptal competitor that only sources developers from the US time zone such as CloudDevs.
  • Talent location – You may also want to hire from a particular geographical location, either due to language or cultural differences.
  • The seniority of talent – Perhaps your project requires senior talent due to its complexity and you wish to hire from a platform that focuses on seniority and experience which might also be a reason why you’re considering other Toptal alternatives.
  • The flexibility of contracts – You may require more flexibility for your contracts and are on the lookout for a tailor-made solution for your needs and budget and hence require a Toptal alternative that caters to your needs.

If this is the case, and if Toptal pricing is over your budget, you would benefit from exploring the Toptal competitors that are presented in the text below for your developer hiring requirements.

While Toptal has numerous rules and standards to ensure its developers and designers are highly skilled and trained and provide top-tier work, there is a range of Toptal alternatives in the market today which provide similar services and cater to the above preferences.

Hence it is worth knowing about all your options when it comes to looking for Toptal alternatives for your tech talent hires. So here’s our top list of Toptal’s competitors that you can choose from:

1. CloudDevs

CloudDevs logo
CloudDevs screenshot

2. Unicorn.Dev

Unicorn.Dev logo
Unicorn.Dev screenshot

3. Upwork

Upwork logo
Upwork screenshot

4. Fiverr

Fiverr logo
Fiverr screenshot

5. Gun.io

Gun.io logo
Gun.io screenshot

6. Gigster

Gigster logo
Gigster screenshot

7. freelancer.com

freelancer.com logo
freelancer.com screenshot

8. People per hour

People per hour logo
People per hour screenshot

9. Hubstaff Talent

Hubstaff Talent logo
Hubstaff Talent screenshot

10. Remoteok.io

Remoteok.io logo
Remoteok.io screenshot