Toptal is a well-known network for hiring pre-screened freelancers, but it is not the only option, and it is not always the right fit. Some companies want a lower price point, a full-time hire instead of a contractor, a different region, or roles beyond software. This guide explains how Toptal works and compares seven alternatives on vetting, pricing and hiring model, using each company’s own published information as of October 2026.
How Toptal works
Toptal describes itself as a network of the “top 3%” of freelance talent. According to Toptal, more than 200,000 people apply each year and fewer than 3% are accepted, after a language and personality check, an in-depth skills review, a live screening, a test project and ongoing quality checks. It covers software developers, designers, marketers, finance experts, product and project managers, management consultants and AI specialists.
On pricing, Toptal’s site says there is no recruiting fee and no termination cost, with a flat subscription of $79 a month if you go ahead with matching, and work billed hourly, part-time or full-time at a fixed weekly price. It offers a trial period of up to two weeks, and says you will not be billed if you are not satisfied. Toptal does not publish hourly rates; you get a price once you are matched.
Why companies look for a Toptal alternative
- Budget: rates are only shown after matching, and some teams want clearer prices up front.
- Full-time instead of freelance: some companies want a dedicated team member rather than a contractor.
- Roles outside tech: operations, admin, customer support or bookkeeping roles are a better fit elsewhere.
- Region and time zone: some teams want talent from a specific region that overlaps their hours.
- Control over who is hired: some prefer to interview several candidates rather than accept one match.
Toptal alternatives at a glance
| Service | Model | Vetting claim (their words) | Published pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arc | Freelance and full-time hires | “Top 2% of talent” | Freelance from $15 to $110+ an hour; full-time 20% of annual salary |
| Lemon.io | Contract or in-house developers | “Acceptance rate 1.2%” | Senior engineers from $55 an hour |
| Proxify | Full-time contractors, mainly tech | “Only 1% of applicants accepted” | Calculator example 5,100 to 8,000 euros a month |
| Gun.io | Contract, contract-to-hire, full-time | About 100 of 1,000 monthly applicants approved | No standard prices; 20% fee for full-time placement |
| Upwork (Business Plus) | Open marketplace with an expert-vetted tier | “Top 1% of talent” for Expert-Vetted | 10% fee on freelancer payments |
| Andela | Augmented AI engineers or managed teams | “17K certified AI-native engineers” | Not published |
| DigiWorks | Dedicated full-time remote hires, tech and non-tech | Live code tests, portfolio review, references | Quoted per role; pay and fee shown separately |
Prices and claims are as published on each company’s website in October 2026 and can change. Check the current terms before you sign.
1. Arc
Arc (arc.dev) focuses on remote developers but also lists designers, marketers, product and project managers and virtual assistants. It says it vets talent for “domain expertise and English fluency” and describes its network as 450,000 people across 190 countries. Arc publishes clear prices: freelance talent from $15 to over $110 an hour, and a fee of 20% of the first year’s salary for full-time hires. It says you can hire freelancers in about 72 hours and full-time employees in about 14 days, with a trial period of up to two weeks.
Good fit if: you want published rates and the option of either a freelancer or a full-time hire.
2. Lemon.io
Lemon.io matches startups with developers from Europe, Latin America, the US and Canada. It says every candidate is interviewed by a senior engineer and reports an acceptance rate of 1.2%. Engagements start at 160 hours and are paid a month in advance, and senior engineers are listed from $55 an hour. Lemon.io also offers extra paid trial hours and a replacement if the first match does not work out.
Good fit if: you are a startup hiring developers and want a quick match with clear starting rates.
3. Proxify
Proxify, based in Stockholm, places vetted developers and other tech experts, mostly full-time. It says only 1% of applicants are accepted and that matching takes about two days on average. Its pricing calculator showed 5,100 to 8,000 euros a month for a full-time expert at its default settings, which it describes as all expenses included, with two weeks’ notice to end a contract and the option to move the person to your own payroll later.
Good fit if: you want a full-time contractor with a monthly price and no long lock-in.
4. Gun.io
Gun.io offers contract, contract-to-hire and full-time developers. It describes a process of algorithmic screening, a work history and background review, and a live technical interview with a senior engineer, and says about 100 of the roughly 1,000 developers who apply each month are approved. Gun.io does not publish standard prices. For full-time hires it charges 20% of the first-year salary, and clients sign a two-year non-solicitation agreement.
Good fit if: you may want to convert a contractor into a full-time employee later.
5. Upwork Business Plus
Upwork is an open marketplace where anyone can apply to your job, which means more choice and more screening work for you. Its Business Plus plan adds access to Expert-Vetted talent, which Upwork describes as the “top 1%”, checked through work history, client feedback and a 30-minute interview. Upwork charges clients a fee of 10% on freelancer payments, or 8% for some US clients paying by bank account.
Good fit if: you want the widest choice and are happy to screen candidates yourself.
6. Andela
Andela started in 2014 with engineers in Lagos and now describes itself as “the human compute layer behind modern AI systems”. It offers AI engineers to add to your team or fully managed teams, and says it has 17,000 certified AI-native engineers across more than 135 countries. Andela does not publish prices.
Good fit if: you are a larger company building AI products and want a managed engineering team.
7. DigiWorks
DigiWorks places pre-vetted remote professionals as dedicated, full-time members of your team, in tech roles such as software developers, AI engineers and full stack developers, and in non-tech roles such as virtual assistants, marketers and bookkeepers. Developers pass live code tests, a review of real code on Git and reference checks before you see them. You interview the candidates we put forward and choose who joins. DigiWorks handles the contract and monthly payments, and you see what the person is paid and what we charge as separate amounts.
Good fit if: you want a long-term team member rather than a freelancer, you need non-tech roles as well as developers, or you want to choose from several candidates yourself.
A note on Turing
Older comparisons often list Turing as a Toptal alternative. As of October 2026, Turing’s website no longer offers developer hiring and instead focuses on AI training data and AI services, so we have left it out of this list.
How to choose
- Decide between freelance and dedicated. Short projects suit freelance networks. Ongoing work usually goes better with someone who stays and learns your product.
- Compare the total cost, not the headline rate. Add subscriptions, platform fees, placement fees and minimum hours.
- Check who you get to interview. Some services send one match, others a shortlist.
- Look at the trial and replacement terms. Know what happens if the first person is not right.
- Confirm working hours. Ask how many hours will overlap with your team each day.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest Toptal alternative?
It depends on the role and level. Among the services that publish prices, Arc lists freelance rates from $15 an hour and Lemon.io lists senior engineers from $55 an hour, while Upwork lets you set your own budget and adds a fee of up to 10%. For a full-time remote team member, compare the monthly total including every fee.
Is there a Toptal alternative for non-developer roles?
Yes. Upwork covers almost every category, Arc also lists designers, marketers and assistants, and DigiWorks places full-time remote staff in roles such as virtual assistants, marketing, customer support and bookkeeping as well as development.
Which Toptal alternative suits full-time hires?
If you want a long-term team member, look at services built around full-time placement or dedicated staff, such as Proxify, Gun.io’s full-time option, Arc’s full-time hiring or DigiWorks. Compare whether the person stays on the provider’s contract or moves to your payroll, and what that costs.
What do people on Reddit say about Toptal alternatives?
Discussions usually come back to the same questions: total cost, how strict the vetting really is, how fast you get matched and what happens if a hire does not work out. Use those questions as your checklist and compare each service’s written terms rather than relying on individual stories.
Want to see how DigiWorks would fill a specific role? Start with our page to hire software developers, or read our remote software engineering hiring playbook.
Toptal, Arc, Lemon.io, Proxify, Gun.io, Upwork, Andela and Turing are trademarks of their owners. Details are taken from each company’s website in October 2026 and may change.
