Toptal is a US-based company specializing in connecting clients with the services of remote engineers and developers.
The company was founded in 2010 and is headed up by CEO Taso Du Val. Toptal has been expanding their network of talented designers and software engineers based all over the globe.
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About Toptal
Toptal was started by co-founders Taso Du Val and Breanden Beneschott, two engineers with a wealth of experience in the online engineering world, as well as with company start-ups and consulting. They recognised it was difficult for talented engineers around the globe to connect with large companies and entrepreneurs in need of specific skillsets, and set up Toptal as a solution.
The New York-based company was formed in 2010 and boast a client roster with brands like Airbnb, Gucci, Ideo, Zendesk, J.P. Morgan, and more. They hire engineers and developers from all over the globe, putting them through a rigorous five step screening process.
Their screening process is one of the most detailed I have seen.
Applicants need to pass language and personality tests, an in-depth skill review, live screening, test projects, and are then monitored for continued excellence. Toptal states that only 3% of all applicants make it through to their team. (The company’s name is short for Top Talent.)
Toptal Press Video
Services
If you don’t have engineering or design skills yourself or within your own team, Toptal can provide you with a freelancer on an hourly, part-time, or even a full-time basis. You liaise directly with the freelancer as you would any member of your team.
The skillsets of their freelancers fall into four general categories:
- Front-end Developers (HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, etc.)
- Back-end Developers (Python, Django, Java, C++, PHP, Ruby, iOS, Rails, etc.)
- Quality Assurance (Unit Testing, Selenium, PHPUnit, JUnit, Cucumber, etc.)
- Designers (UI, UX, Visual, Interaction)
Using the Toptal platform is simple and quick to use. There are just three basic steps to go through:
- Tell them what type of technical support you need.
- They will find you the perfect freelancer to match your needs.
- The freelancer becomes part of your team and you can start working together.
Plans and Pricing
Toptal’s pricing reflects their stringent screening process and highly skilled freelancers. Their pricing is outlined as follows:
- $1,800 – $3,200+/week per full-time Front-End or Back-End Engineer
- $1,000 – $1,600+/week per part-time Front-End or Back-End Engineer
- $1,800 – $3,200+/week per full-time Digital Designer
- $1,000 – $1,600+/week per part-time Digital Designer
- $1,200 – $1,800+/week per full-time Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer
- $600 – $1,000+/week per part-time Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer
They are keen to point out that there is a lot of flexibility, so don’t take these prices as set in stone. Contact Toptal directly and discuss your requirements for more accurate quote.
The platform is designed so that you can hire pre-qualified help quickly and move ahead with your projects, without long, drawn-out candidate searches or hassles with finding the right freelancer.
Their invoicing plan is twice monthly with Net 10 terms, so you have time to review the invoice and the charges before paying. Each hire is eligible for a 2-week probationary period and TopTal is so confident you’ll love your match that if you don’t, you don’t pay.
As far as minimum hours and project commitments go, you’re looking at a 2-hour per week minimum, which shouldn’t be too hard to hit. Toptal does have a $5000 minimum project budget to take on new clients, which helps filter their workload to companies that are serious about hiring the best.
Toptal Alternatives
For project-based technical help, I usually turn to Upwork, though lately have found it to be a bit of a crapshoot in terms of the quality of applications you get back on your posts. I will say this though: the bids you receive will likely be much lower than Toptal’s quoted price structure.
I also recently ran a project through Codeable, which specializes in WordPress development support.
For design tasks and projects, there are a handful of on-demand services that might worth checking out, including Undullify.
Your Turn
Have you worked with Toptal? What did you think? Please be sure to leave a review of your experience below to help others with their decision.
Terrible Experience
Their Huge premium is no guarantee of quality whatsoever
You have far less right to complain about poor quality in comparison to other services such as Upwork who have customer satisfaction reviews built into freelancer profiles and escrowed funds.
Huge mistake, will never use their services again, be careful.
Probably the best platform existing. Go out there and find right help.