Whether you want to extend your team of developers and hire top professionals, or you are building an entirely remote office and looking for freelancers, you will need to do your due diligence and find the best solutions to look for candidates. You have probably heard about different freelance platforms: Toptal vs Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, and others.
But how can you determine whether a candidate is worth hiring? Should you approach junior developers and senior developers differently? How do you conduct multiple interviews and tests online without any supervision?
The multitude of online platforms for freelancers can be quite overwhelming and lead to indecisiveness and procrastination. We conducted our own research, using cases and user feedback, and we are ready to share our knowledge with you. This article will compare Toptal and Upwork across pricing, vetting, developer quality, and fees, as well as alternative options, like hiring an agency. Keep reading!
Although the internet allowed us connectivity and access to a global pool of potential workers, the quality of the vetting process of most online hiring platforms leaves a lot to be desired. But not Toptal! So, what is Toptal? It is a company that is very proud of its rigorous screening process that lets in only the crème de la crème.
According to their own statistics, roughly 3% of all candidates successfully pass their vetting process and get an opportunity to become a part of their talent pool. Working with Toptal, you get exclusively top-notch professionals with extensive knowledge and years of expertise.
Unlike other similar platforms, Toptal values quality over quantity and rejects thousands of candidates to be able to deliver only the best prospects. Because of their uncompromising vetting process, Toptal guarantees a 90% match with the first candidate they offer you. Known as a well-established and highly professional team of experts, they work with big players like Motorola and Bridgestone, and even USC (University of Southern California).
How to hire a freelancer on Toptal? Toptal doesn’t leave the search for the right candidate to chance – they actively help you find the perfect fit. Once you sign up, you will need to fill out a short survey and answer basic questions about your company, the project, and your requirements.
Later, one of the experts will get in touch with you to refine your needs and pinpoint exactly what you are looking for in a developer. Finally, during the first 24 hours after signing up, you will meet a candidate who will fit your needs almost perfectly, with a 90% probability of a match.
How does their rigorous screening process work and what makes it so difficult to get in?
In competition, Toptal vs. Upwork we can see that Toptal has a better process of developers validation. Keep reading to find out how it works in Upwork.
Toptal’s model has clear strengths and equally clear trade-offs.
A rigorous screening process eliminates everyone who is not the best of the best.
High quality comes with a high price tag. Toptal developers typically run from about $60 to $150+ per hour, and specialized roles can pass $200.
A great platform that helps recruiters manage and oversee every step of the process.
On top of the developer's rate, Toptal charges a $500 refundable deposit and a $79 monthly subscription.
You are not alone in your candidate search, an experienced Toptal employee is going to accompany you at every step.
Toptal freelancers, like other freelancers, do not receive any benefits or job security.
Best suited for large-scale projects that require highly experienced professionals.
In short, Toptal trades a higher price for lower hiring risk.
As mentioned before, Toptal provides the best developers, UX designers, project managers, and finance experts on the market. Toptal’s scrupulous approach guarantees the best hire, even though it comes with a large price tag. But is Toptal worth it?
Well, if you are on a tight budget and cannot afford to spend over $1000 per day, or your project is not that challenging, Toptal is probably not for you. So for such cases it’s better to use Upwork. Toptal offers candidates that can generate great ideas, apply their extensive knowledge and experience, and put your company on the next level. Companies like Google, Airbnb, HP, and Disney used Toptal’s services in their recruitment processes.
The bottom line is that for a regular, short-term uncomplicated project, you will be wasting money on an overqualified staff and process.
Although Toptal offers a great service by selecting the most capable candidates, some users do stay unsatisfied. So, what is the verdict? Is Toptal worth it? There is a number of negative reviews about Toptal services:
“Their hourly rate is 100 USD+
Chose to go with England based Cloud Devs instead.
Won’t recommend it at all”
But most of them are very positive. Many hiring companies shared an overall positive experience with working with Toptal and rated this platform with 4 and 5 stars.
“We had a great experience with Toptal. The assigned talent has been responsive and completed the job successfully with little friction and supervision. We’ll use Toptal services in the future when needed.”
We have investigated Toptal’s screening process, values, pros and cons, and even user reviews. How does Upwork perform in our Toptal vs Upwork analysis? Which values does it bring?
Upwork poses as a valuable competitor of Toptal and demonstrates many advantages. Unlike Toptal, Upwork does not narrow their candidate pool to solely IT and finance experts. You can find any type of professional on this platform.
Additionally, Upwork offers a free Basic plan plus paid Business Plus features, so you can use the platform in the way that suits you best. The Basic plan gives access to a large pool of talent, while Business Plus adds consolidated billing along with contracting and onboarding support.
Upwork is a far more flexible platform that will fit the needs of both large corporations and small startups. Similar to Toptal, Upwork serves as a platform for remote job seekers and offers a variety of online payment options, including PayPal, Payoneer, and more. Their platform matches employers with potential candidates, which makes it a handy tool for finding a freelancer for hire.
Upwork changed its fee model in 2025. Clients now pay a 5% marketplace fee (3% for eligible US clients who pay by bank account), and freelancers pay a variable service fee of 0 to 15% per contract, which replaced the older flat 10% fee.
So, how to hire a freelancer on Upwork? Upwork creates a more capitalistic approach to its services. Applicants create profiles that list their skills and set a price for their services. They can also apply for listed jobs and propose a rate for which they will be ready to do this job. Potential employers then look over all the offers, consider them, and choose the best quality/rate ratio for their project.
How does Upwork do in the Upwork vs Toptal competition?
Upwork is by far the most popular freelance marketplace, with more than 18 million registered freelancers across 180+ countries.
Upwork chooses quantity over quality, which leads to a flood of low-quality freelancers and a shortage of experts who are constantly over-bid.
A broad selection of skills that can be refined to a very specific job or a wide range of skills.
Due to a very superficial verification process, Upwork lets in people with bad intentions, which leads to a rise in scams.
Due to the bidding system, you will be able to find a candidate at a lower price.
Upwork does not vet candidates, so freelancer quality varies widely.
Upwork ensures safe transactions by freezing your money until the task is complete.
Poor customer support and company detachment from the hiring process lead to frustration on both sides.
In which cases does Upwork win in the Toptal vs Upwork competition? Upwork offers a far larger pool of candidates, allowing less-experienced workers and graduates to apply and find entry-level positions. If you have a tight budget or your project is not very challenging and does not require years of experience, Upwork is the perfect marketplace for you. By posting your job offer and collecting different bids, you will be able to select the candidate who will meet both your professional and financial requirements.
One of Upwork’s greatest strategies is long-term working with the same freelancer. It will be beneficial for both: knowing the skills of the freelancer, you will know what to expect, while the freelancer benefits from a steady client relationship.
As with every service, you can find tons of positive reviews as well as a significant amount of complaints. Overall though, Upwork holds a rating of around 4.1 on Trustpilot, even if individual experiences vary.
“Upwork offers ZERO customer service and will loop you in circles with a robot who isn’t even artificially intelligent. It’s a much better idea to find the freelancers you want and work outside of Upwork since they offer no human support at all.”
“Upwork (formerly Odesk) is a really cool service that easily connects you to quality contractors from around the world. Are you looking for affordable labor to complete data entry or other black and white tasks?”
Both platforms have certain strengths and weaknesses, let’s look at them together and compare Toptal vs Upwork.
Check out our article “Remote Development Team Management: How to Make It Efficient”
There are a lot of discussions about Toptal vs Upwork, and freelancers still don’t know where to apply while hiring companies do not know where to look. Companies carry the higher risk here, since they are the ones who lose money when a freelancer underdelivers or the platform’s support falls short. The Toptal review has shown its strengths and weaknesses, but is it better than Upwork?
Our short yet extensive Upwork vs Toptal comparison table will help you understand the main differences and make a well-informed decision.
Price
$500 refundable deposit plus a $79 monthly subscription. Developer rates run about $60 to $150+ per hour, and $200+ for specialized roles.
Free Basic plan. Clients pay a 5% marketplace fee (3% discounted for eligible US clients). Freelancers pay a variable 0-15% service fee.
Quality of candidates
Candidates go through an excruciating vetting process that aims for only top-quality workers.
Upwork has a superficial algorithm-driven selection process that does not filter out crooks and under-qualified applicants.
Customer support
Supports both candidates and hiring companies at every step of the process, providing feedback and necessary information.
Most complaints are about Upwork's poor customer support that does not get involved in users' problems.
Features
Only vetted freelancers, free two-week trial, talent relocation, IP protection, invoicing, and reporting.
Job posting, profile search, proposal reviewing, file exchange, feedback sharing, work diary, invoicing, and billing.
Trial / guarantee
Two-week trial; the $500 deposit is refundable if the hire doesn't work out.
Payment protection and escrow, but no talent or replacement guarantee.
Prominent clients
Bridgestone, Motorola, USC.
Airbnb, Dropbox, GE.
Ideal for
Large and medium companies, plus freelancers with years of experience who want to work remotely.
Everyone: small, medium, and large companies, plus freelancers of all levels. Top experts might have trouble finding work at adequate rates.
Does it mean that Toptal is better than Upwork? The bottom line is that you can’t really compare Toptal vs Upwork because they are so different and are designed for companies and freelancers with dissimilar goals.
Toptal specializes in selecting the best candidates from all over the world and matching them with companies with big and ambitious projects that can afford them, whereas Upwork has a wide range of specialists of all levels, from students and graduates to senior experts, and matches them with companies whose budget does not allow them to hire an expensive worker and whose projects are relatively simple.
It’s not enough to compare just Toptal vs Upwork, let’s take a look at other options.
Nowadays, there are so many platforms where you can find an ideal candidate that we don’t have to stop at Toptal vs Upwork. Besides exclusive hiring websites like Toptal, job aggregators like Jooble, and wide-range platforms like Upwork, you can recruit a hiring agency or IT partner to help you with IT staff. But first, let’s compare Toptal vs Upwork to Freelancer and Fiverr, other prominent online hiring choices.
Freelancer is also a marketplace for hiring companies and freelancers. Being significantly smaller than Upwork, they do not exclude anyone from getting in and becoming a freelancer. They also charge a fee for every project but it’s far less significant than Upwork’s fee – only 3%. That being said, a long-term partnership will not reduce the fee, it will stay the same regardless of the amount of work.
If you are looking for more than one collaboration, you can take advantage of one of their packages: intro, basic, plus, professional, and premier.
Freelancer is available on every device and operating system except Linux and offers their platforms in English, German, Spanish, Turkish, and many more.
Fiverr is another affordable platform to find freelancers. It is known for its great integrated communication tools that allow you to contact a freelancer even before you decide to work together. Although an average project is cheaper than on Upwork, Fiverr takes 20% of a freelancer’s earnings, and clients pay a 5.5% service fee on top.
What makes Fiverr stand out is their workflow process. You look through a library of profiles with a defined set of skills and pick a candidate for a particular assignment, so you do not post a job and wait for applicants. Freelancers, on the other hand, can list every skill they have and also create packages. For example, a basic tier developer would build an Android application, for a standard package they would create an iOS app, for the premium tier, they would build both versions.
There is no point in comparing Toptal vs Fiverr since they are way too different, so let’s talk about Fiverr vs Upwork vs Freelancer, with their main differences in short:
Fees for freelancer
20%
10% (or $5 minimum)
0-15% variable
Entry for freelancers
Easy, no checkups, everyone who signs up, gets in.
Easy, no checkups, everyone who signs up, gets in.
Medium, a built-in algorithm does evaluate users’ profiles, but very superficially.
Ideal for
Companies that prefer talking to a freelancer prior to booking.
Companies that are looking for cheap labor.
Medium-size companies that need a good worker for a quick project.
In short, all three keep entry easy and leave most of the vetting to you.
An alternative to hiring freelancers one by one is working with a staff augmentation partner. IT staff augmentation companies act as vendors that provide one or more vetted team members to fill gaps in your in-house team.
For a reasonable fee, they handle the hiring work: defining the skills you need and sourcing vetted developers, then managing the contracts and payroll. A staff augmentation partner helps you build a team of vetted professionals and provides continuous support with payroll and the rest of the HR admin.
When working with an agency, start by contacting them and defining your business goals as well as the skills you require to complete the project. Then, plan your budget to establish how much you are ready to pay for your workers and determine the time zones you will be comfortable working with.
From this brief description, it seems like there are a lot of similarities between Toptal and an IT staff augmentation partner. But let’s look at the advantages and shortcomings of hiring an agency and compare them to Toptal and Upwork.
Although hiring a freelancer is often cheaper than working with offshore development teams, agencies will still cut your expenses and save you time by conducting vetting and interviewing.
Working with people from overseas, you will be lacking clear and easy channels of communication. Especially with a big-time difference, getting on regular calls might get tricky.
Augmentation is a great solution when you need professional developers without committing to a long-term hire.
A freelancer brought in alongside a team is also usually short-term, and their overall quality often varies.
The lack of a heavy onboarding process makes the hiring faster and smoother.
Sharing access with any external team carries some security risk, intentional or not. A signed NDA and proper access controls reduce it.
Hiring through a staff augmentation partner is well suited for a company that needs more than one developer, or ongoing capacity beyond a one-off freelancer. If you have a small task that one person can accomplish, a freelancer will suffice, but if your project requires a team of professionals with various skills and experience, you will benefit from a vetted team.
A staff augmentation company will compose an ideal combination of skills that your project needs and provide you with a complete team. A vetted partner like DOIT, for example, shortlists only about 5% of applicants and backs each placement with a replacement guarantee, which lowers the risk of a bad hire. And if you are in search of long-term cooperation, a staff augmentation company stays with you and keeps providing skilled developers.
With staff augmentation, the developers join your team and work to your culture and standards. They take part in your standups and planning, the same as your in-house engineers, so it is not a hands-off arrangement where someone else runs the work for you.
You stay in control of priorities and see exactly what each developer is doing day to day. The added developers build alongside your team, on your tools and in your meetings, so you get extra capacity that already fits how your team works.
DOIT Software is an IT staff augmentation company, founded in 2015. DOIT connects you with vetted middle and senior developers who join your team on flexible engagements. If you need to extend your in-house team with reliable engineers, DOIT delivers pre-screened profiles you can interview and onboard quickly.
As a team extension, we offer two scenarios: team augmentation and a dedicated team.
Team augmentation refers to extending your team with one to five highly professional workers who will bring expertise, competence, and extensive knowledge to your projects. Only 1.5% of all applicants qualify to fill this position, which makes it a very exclusive club.
A dedicated team can be any size you need. The team fills the skill gaps at your company and works as part of your team for as long as the engagement runs. DOIT covers contracts, payroll, legal, and HR admin so your managers can focus on the work.
First profiles for the most common stacks land within 3 to 5 business days, every candidate comes with a pre-interview video, and you can run full-time or part-time and scale up or down without a long-term lock-in. If a developer is not the right fit, DOIT’s replacement guarantee covers it.
DOIT’s developers cover a wide technology stack:
JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Angular, Vue, Next.js, Svelte
Node.js, Python, Java, .NET, PHP (Laravel, Symfony), Go, Ruby on Rails, Scala
Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native
Beyond core engineering, DOIT also staffs QA, DevOps and cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP), AI and ML, automation (n8n, Make, Zapier), and Salesforce, plus designers and technical leads.
For example, you can hire a frontend developer with four years of experience in JavaScript, TypeScript, React, and Next.js, or an iOS developer who works in Swift and SwiftUI. DOIT’s talent is based in Eastern Europe and Latin America, often at rates up to 40% lower than those for US or Western European hires.
Here is how DOIT’s screening compares with the two marketplaces.
Unique test task
We create a unique test for each position. By offering a specific task but not revealing the requirements of the position, we are able to assess the applicant’s knowledge of best practices and general problem-solving skills.
Upwork offers some assessment tests on their platform so that candidates can prove their expertise. However, these assessments are very vague and too general.
Despite the rigorous vetting process, Toptal also considers the candidate’s overall impression, skills, working approach, and communication competence.
Code check
A QA manager evaluates the test first, then a senior developer.
Upwork designs its assessments as multiple-choice, so a computer checks them.
A team of professionals evaluates skills at every step of the process.
Tech interview
The final stage is an interview with the Senior Software Developer and Senior Project Manager, who assess other skills.
There is not a virtual or live interview with candidates at any stage.
Toptal has a long and extensive 5-step vetting process that involves a lot of communication with the company’s staff.
Hiring a team
DOIT Software allows you to build a team of professionals with the exact skill combination you need.
Upwork does not offer a team, only sole freelancers, which can create issues when working on a team.
Toptal does not offer team players, but extraordinary specialists with extensive knowledge who might not fit in your team.
All in all, hiring a freelancer from Toptal or Upwork is a good choice for a simple, short-term project. Using Upwork’s algorithms and the opportunity for freelancers to build their own profile, you will find a good match that fulfills both your technical and monetary expectations. Toptal’s team of experts will find you a strong candidate to make your in-house team more knowledgeable and add experience to your project.
On the other hand, if your goal is to build an all-around team where each member offers their own expertise in a certain area, consider a staff augmentation partner. An agency helps you set up a team with the exact mix of skills your project needs. Contact DOIT Software’s staffing experts to get a consultation and start building your dream team as soon as possible. DOIT supports you at every stage, from the first profiles to onboarding and beyond.
First of all, assess your budget and the complexity of the task. If Toptal’s rates of $60 to $150+ per hour are affordable for you and the task is worth that spend, then Toptal would be a great choice. If not, Upwork or a vetted staff augmentation partner can give you a better rate-to-quality match.
Once you hire a freelancer, you get a two-week trial. Toptal charges a refundable deposit of $500 and a $79 monthly subscription. On top of that, you pay the chosen freelancer’s rate, which runs from about $60 to $150+ per hour and $200+ for specialized roles, depending on the candidate’s experience and field of work.
Upwork’s Basic plan is free. Clients pay a 5% marketplace fee (3% for eligible US clients who pay by bank account), with a paid Business Plus plan that opens up more features. Freelancers pay a variable service fee of 0 to 15% per contract, introduced in 2025 to replace the older flat 10% fee.
It depends on the work: Toptal suits big, ambitious projects; Upwork gives you the widest pool of candidates in the world; Freelancer is for cheaper, simpler tasks; and Fiverr lets you look through profiles and connect with freelancers directly. For ongoing capacity with vetting and admin handled for you, a staff augmentation partner like DOIT Software is the managed option.
