You’re about to launch a project and need quality developers. The big question is, where do you hire from? Is it Upwork? Toptal? Or another platform?
The answer comes down to your budget, timeline, or requiring specialized skills. Let’s break down how both Upwork and Toptal work so you can choose the right one for your project.
Upwork is one the most popular freelance platforms, with over 12 million freelancers. It operates on a marketplace model, where freelancers create profiles showcasing their expertise, portfolio, and rates. Clients can browse these profiles, review proposals, and choose the best match for their needs.
Upwork has 3 membership plans for clients: Marketplace, Business Plus, and Enterprise.
The Marketplace plan is great for starters who don’t have specific requirements and are okay with handling the search and interview process themselves.
Here’s how hiring works with the Marketplace plan:
The Business Plus and Enterprise plans are for businesses that need more platform support in hiring talent. You get benefits like access to pre-vetted talent and 24/7 customer support.
The hiring process is a bit different with these plans:
Upwork has also introduced a Fiverr-style Project Catalog, where freelancers set up defined projects that clients can buy at fixed prices. Here’s how it works:
Upwork doesn’t have a clear vetting process since it is a generalist platform. Screening is only done to confirm the identity of freelancers. To assess the quality, you have to vet the developer yourself. You can do this by checking their ratings and reviewing their resumes and portfolios to see if they’re good enough.
However, Upwork has recently introduced an "expert-vetted" program that allows clients on Upwork’s Enterprise plan to identify top talent. The program is by invitation and involves a 30-minute vetting interview with Upwork’s talent recruiters.
The interview is a technical test of the freelancer’s capabilities and a soft skills test to assess their communication skills.
Upwork software developers charge between $20 and $100+ per hour. Upwork then charges service fees on the developer’s rate or “Project Catalog” projects, depending on your membership plan.
For the Marketplace Plan, in addition to the service fee, Upwork charges a $14.99 Contract Initiation Fee for each new contract you start with a freelancer.
Upwork accepts the following payment methods:
Upwork has a 4.6 star rating on G2. There are complaints about Upwork’s high service fees and hidden fees. This client had to pay a verification fee as an enterprise customer, but this is not disclosed on Upwork’s website.
This client was pleased with the talent options available.
Ratan wasn’t too happy with the hiring costs and Upwork’s customer support.
Toptal is a website that connects freelance developers to companies worldwide. The Toptal team screens freelancers and matches them to clients based on their skills and rates. Toptal is known for charging high hourly rates for projects. If you’re an enterprise company or scaling to that level, Toptal is a good option.
Here's how Toptal screens their developers:
Developers at Toptal charge between $100 and $200+ hourly. Toptal also charges a $79 monthly subscription fee for their talent search services. This fee is separate from the developer’s rates.
Toptal has a 4.7 rating on both G2 and Trustpilot, with many clients praising the quality of their talent.
However, they could be more transparent with their pricing.
If you want a budget-friendly option for a small project and don’t mind spending time sifting through profiles, Upwork is a solid choice. However, for startups, time is often limited. While Toptal is more expensive, it saves you time by pre-screening and filtering talent. If you have the budget and need high-quality developers, Toptal is a good option.
If you want an alternative that allows you to hire developers for React projects, ReactSquad is the best choice. We’re a marketplace of vetted React developers for SaaS startups.
