Hiring is one of the core parts of running a business. You can go the tried-and-true route—posting on job boards, sifting through résumés—or you can tap into freelance talent marketplaces that promise top-tier experts on demand.
Toptal is one of the most talked-about companies in the talent marketplace space. You’ve seen the buzz, heard the praise. But does it actually make sense for your high-growth company?
In this TopTal review, I’ll lay it all out. I’ll break down what Toptal is, the kind of professionals you can find there, and whether they’re worth the investment. If you’re scaling fast and need experts who can deliver without hand-holding, I’ll give you the real, no-hype version of what to expect with TopTal.
By the end of the TopTal review, you’ll know if this platform aligns with your needs, where it might fall short, and which alternatives might serve you better. Let’s jump in.
What is Toptal?
Toptal is an exclusive network of freelance professionals spanning software engineering, design, marketing, and other specialized fields. The platform caters to companies that need immediate expertise and a seamless path to onboarding specialists who can begin contributing from day one.
Top brands such as Duolingo, Hewlett-Packard, Shopify, and Zendesk have used TopTal to hire freelance talent, which underscores the platform’s reputation as a globally distributed source of high-caliber talent.
One of Toptal’s defining characteristics is its emphasis on rigorously screening applicants. They claim to accept “fewer than 3%” of freelancers who apply, with candidates undergoing language and skill assessments, live screenings, and test projects.
While “top 3%” is a bold statement, especially since not every talented freelancer applies to Toptal, their thorough vetting process is notably more selective than open marketplaces like Upwork or Fiverr. This structured approach helps ensure consistent quality among those who successfully join the network.
Toptal’s talent pool is organized into six main categories:
- Developers (software engineers, coders, architects)
- Designers (UI/UX, visual, and interactive designers)
- Management consultants (finance experts, business strategists, M&A consultants)
- Project managers (digital/technical PMs, scrum masters)
- Product managers (digital product managers, scrum product owners)
- Marketing experts (digital marketers, growth marketers, content creators)
As a business, you can use Toptal to hire a single specialist or assemble a complete remote team, depending on your needs. Freelancers, for their part, can apply to become part of Toptal’s network, but must successfully navigate the screening process to secure a place.
This dual structure allows Toptal to offer both specialized individual support and broader, team-based solutions for complex projects.
Key Toptal Features
Now that we’ve covered the basics of what Toptal is, let’s look more closely at the core features that make it stand out from other freelance platforms. From its carefully curated community to a multi-stage vetting process, here’s what Toptal brings to the table and why it appeals to growth-stage companies.
1. Elite talent network
Toptal promotes itself as hosting the “top 3%” of freelance professionals. While the figure can spark debate over exact percentages, the general idea is that Toptal aims to attract high-caliber experts and filter out anyone who doesn’t meet their standards.
The network includes individuals with notable credentials, such as authors, founders, inventors, researchers, and thought leaders, who apply their expertise to roles in software development, design, marketing, and more. This distinction sets Toptal apart from open marketplaces, where nearly anyone can list their services.
By focusing on an exclusive pool of proven specialists, Toptal promises companies faster onboarding of top freelance talent, without needing to sift through hundreds of unqualified applicants.
2. Rigorous screening process
Central to Toptal’s policy of assembling the best freelancers is its 5-step screening process, which usually takes anywhere from three to eight weeks. According to Toptal, only 26.4% of applicants even pass the initial phase, and fewer still reach the final stage.
Here’s what the screening process entails:
- Language and personality: Toptal begins with a thorough check of the candidate’s English language skills, communication style, and personality traits. They look for professionals who can clearly articulate their ideas, stay engaged, and show genuine enthusiasm for their work.
- In-depth skill review: Next, applicants undergo specific evaluations of their technical or functional skills. This might include coding exercises, design mockups, or marketing strategy reviews, depending on their specialty.
- Live screening: Candidates then meet with Toptal screeners—experts in the same domain—who administer live challenges or problem-solving tasks. This step helps gauge real-time thinking, collaboration, and adaptability.
- Test projects: Over 1-3 weeks, candidates complete projects modeled after real client requests. This step weeds out those who can’t deliver consistent quality under realistic conditions.
- Continued excellence: Even after acceptance, Toptal expects each freelancer to maintain top performance in every client engagement. Freelancers must uphold quality standards throughout their tenure on the platform.
The end result is a relatively small but well-qualified group of professionals, which is the backbone of Toptal’s elite reputation.
3. Global access to freelancers
Beyond the rigorous selection, Toptal emphasizes the global aspect of its talent community. The platform has freelancers spread across various time zones and regions, letting you tap into a wide range of perspectives and areas of expertise.
This international reach also means you aren’t confined to local hiring pools. Whether you’re a Silicon Valley startup or a Fortune 500 enterprise, Toptal is a way to find specialized freelance talent worldwide, often in less time than it would take to source, screen, and hire traditional full-time employees.
4. Strength in engineering and design roles
While Toptal features experts in marketing and management consulting, it built its initial reputation on engineering and design, and that still represents a key part of its talent pool. You’ll find developers proficient in Android, AWS, Blockchain, Java, Joomla, Python, React, Ruby on Rails, Salesforce, Shopify, and more.
The design side similarly spans UI/UX, visual, and interactive specialties, covering everything from fintech interfaces to web design in platforms like Webflow or WordPress.
So, if you’re a growth-stage company that needs a seasoned engineer or designer without the months-long hiring cycle, Toptal offers a focused route to land skilled professionals who can tackle complex assignments right away.
Read: How to Build a High-Performing Product Team Structure
How TopTal Works
If you’re familiar with hiring freelancers on Upwork or Fiverr, know that the process on TopTal is much different. With Upwork and Fiverr, you sign up and are immediately given access to a large database of professionals. You can either reach out specifically to the people whose work you like or put out a request for people to apply to (or bid).
With TopTal, however, you don’t get access to its database off the jump. Instead, the sign-up process requires you to define your hiring needs. Your entries will then determine the kind of expert TopTal matches you with.
For example, say you’d like to hire an Android developer for your company. You navigate to TopTal’s website and click Hire Top Talent.
First, TopTal asks which one of the six categories you’d like to hire in. For this example, it’s a Developer.
Then, you have to pick how many people are employed at your company. The ranges go from less than 10 to more than 5,000. This way, TopTal knows if you’re a startup or an enterprise, so it can match you with a developer who’s worked with companies at a similar stage as yours.
Next, you have to choose the kind of project you’re hiring for. Is it a brand-new project? An existing one that needs more people? Or are you just looking to learn more about TopTal?
Then, you’ll need to specify how long you need the developer for. If you don’t yet know, you can tap I’ll decide later. Whatever you choose allows TopTal to find a developer with sufficient availability to work on your project.
Next, you’ll choose what level of time commitment you’ll need from the developer. Here, you can specify whether you need a full-time or part-time expert, or whether you want someone who charges hourly.
If you have a good idea of the technical skills you need your developer to have, specify them here, e.g., HTML, CSS, Java, Kotlin, etc.
Then, you’ll specify when you need the developer to start. It could be immediately or in a couple of weeks, or you can decide later.
Then, you fill in your email address, company name, contact name, and phone number (optional).
In the next step, you book a call with TopTal’s team. It could either be a phone call or a Zoom video call, which you can either take at that moment or schedule for later. In the call, you’ll get the chance to add any extra information or explain your hiring needs further.
The information you share will help TopTal find the best expert for you.
Toptal Pricing
Toptal’s rates tend to be higher than you’d find on open marketplaces such as Upwork or Fiverr, though the exact cost varies based on the role you’re hiring for and the individual freelancer’s rate.
In some cases, you might actually end up paying less on Toptal than on other sites. Ultimately, it depends on the specifics of your project and the particular freelancer you choose.
Key points about Toptal’s pricing:
- No recruiting or termination fees. Toptal doesn’t charge extra to find your freelancer or end a contract, which can help you keep overall hiring costs in check.
- No-risk trial period. You can test your freelancer’s work on a trial basis before deciding to continue, giving you a layer of protection if the match doesn’t work out.
- Single, unified rate. When Toptal quotes you a price, it includes both the freelancer’s rate and Toptal’s service fee—there are no hidden add-ons.
- Freelancer rates vs. Toptal service fee. Toptal doesn’t take a percentage from the freelancer’s pay. Instead, they add a service fee on top of the freelancer’s rate and present it to you as one figure. For example, if a freelancer sets their rate at $200/hr, your cost would be $200/hr plus Toptal’s fee.
- Deposits and billing. To start using TopTal, you have to pay a $500 deposit that’s credited to your first invoice or refunded if you opt out. During ongoing engagements, Toptal typically invoices twice a month with Net 10 payment terms.
It’s worth noting that location and specialty can drive rates higher. For example, a software developer in the United States might cost $80–$150 per hour. Meanwhile, open marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr have developers in other parts of the world who charge lower hourly rates.
For growth-stage companies that can absorb these rates and benefit from a carefully vetted talent network, Toptal offers an easy path to finding specialized freelancers. If you’re on a tighter budget, you might compare these costs with what’s available on other platforms.
Read: How much does a marketing team cost in 2025?
Toptal Ratings and Reviews
TopTal has a 4.7/5-star rating on G2 (at the time of writing). Here are some reviews from the platform:
“One of the standout features [of TopTal] is the seamless financial service they provide. With Toptal, I never have to worry about contracts or deposits before and after projects. This financial security has not only eased my mind but also given me the confidence to focus on what I do best - delivering quality work to my clients.” - Hussein, A.
“Toptal is by far the best freelance platform I have been involved with so far. Their support is 10/10, payment is guaranteed, and staff works hard to fill talents with enough work. As a freelancer, Toptal is your best way to focus on actual work rather than searching for clients, ensuring you get paid, etc.” - Krispin, S.
TopTal reviewers on G2 generally appreciate the platform’s customer support, hiring process, and the quality of experts they got paired with. Those who freelance through the platform appreciate how it connects them with high-quality clients and ensures they get paid.
However, a particular user complained that they weren’t satisfied with TopTal’s talent. According to their review, “what [TopTal] really has are overpriced, underqualified contractors who are no better than what you’d find on Fiverr or Upwork for a fraction of the price. The developer I was matched with missed deadlines, delivered garbage work, and constantly made excuses. When I asked for a replacement, I was met with delays, empty promises, and terrible customer service.”
Some freelancers also complained that “projects tend to fall through before they start,” which is frustrating for freelancers, especially when they’ve turned down other opportunities to work on the one that didn’t pan out.
Read: How to Structure an Agile Marketing Team for Success in 2025
Toptal Challenges
While Toptal is a trusted and effective marketplace for many roles, it does come with challenges, especially when you’re trying to hire marketing experts.
1. Dev-heavy bias
Toptal’s origins are rooted in software development and design, which means the platform tends to shine most in technical fields. Although Toptal has expanded to include management consultants and marketing experts, the talent pool remains significantly larger for engineering and design.
If you’re hiring freelancers for marketing roles, you might find fewer qualified candidates than you would for, say, a full-stack developer role.
2. Slow or imprecise matching for marketing roles
Because Toptal’s system and screening process are built heavily around technical roles, matching for marketing professionals can sometimes be slow or less precise.
Marketing skill sets are broad, covering everything from SEO to analytics to brand strategy. Toptal’s structure isn’t always optimized to capture these nuances, which can result in a less streamlined process.
If you need a specific type of marketer fast (for example, an expert in influencer campaigns), you might spend extra time ensuring the candidate truly has the expertise you need.
3. Hard to evaluate strategic marketing ability
It’s one thing to test coding chops; it’s another to gauge marketing strategy. Even though Toptal does vet for knowledge and communication skills, assessing a marketer’s capacity for big-picture thinking is trickier.
High-level marketing expertise involves market research, positioning, and creative vision—skills that are harder to quantify in a quick screening. This gap sometimes puts the onus on you to dig deeper into a freelancer’s portfolio, case studies, and references to confirm their real strategic depth.
4. Founders often end up managing talent themselves
If you’re at the helm of a fast-growing startup, you’re likely time-strapped already. While Toptal will help you find a capable freelancer, you may not get the level of account management or ongoing oversight that a traditional agency might provide.
This can leave you acting as project manager or creative director, which is fine for some companies, but a strain if you prefer a more hands-off approach. If you need someone to handle strategy and execution without much guidance, you’ll want to vet your marketer’s ability to self-manage and lead initiatives independently.
Read: The Blueprint for Building an Effective Demand Generation Team Structure
Toptal Alternative: Hire Talent with MarketerHire
If you’re specifically trying to build a marketing team, MarketerHire may be a better fit than a dev-heavy marketplace like TopTal.
MarketerHire specializes in matching businesses with marketers who already know how to drive growth, whether it’s boosting your SEO rankings, optimizing paid ads, or refining your brand voice.
Here’s what we offer:
- Rigorous vetting process
Like Toptal, MarketerHire invests heavily in screening applicants to ensure only the most capable professionals make the cut. Our five-step process accepts less than 1% of all applicants:
- Recruit top performers. We actively seek out proven marketing pros, posting job descriptions in niche communities, monitoring forums, and soliciting referrals.
- Experience and work samples. We thoroughly review each marketer’s work history, client feedback, and portfolio to confirm real-world results and best-practice expertise.
- Video interview. MarketerHire conducts a one-on-one interview process with the candidate to assess communication skills, critical thinking, and overall professionalism.
- Test projects. For certain roles, candidates must complete a test project (1–3 weeks) to demonstrate real-world competence and reliability.
- Ongoing quality checks. We keep tabs on performance and communication every two weeks, dropping anyone who doesn’t consistently deliver.
- Channel-specific talent
Unlike more general freelance platforms, MarketerHire’s entire focus is marketing. We draw marketing talent from top companies like Airbnb, Coca-Cola, and Uber, and cover a wide range of marketing roles, including:
- Brand, growth, and product marketers
- Content, SEO, and email specialists
- PPC experts and social media marketers
- Amazon experts and graphic designers
- Fractional CMOs for strategic leadership
- Fast matching
MarketerHire streamlines the process of finding your ideal marketer. After you outline your needs, we combine AI-driven matching with human expertise to connect you to a freelancer, often within 48 hours.
You’ll get a two-week, no-risk trial to test compatibility. In practice, 82% of companies hire the first marketer we pair them with. But if your initial match isn’t perfect, we provide a free rematch until you find the right fit for your project.
By honing in on marketing functions, MarketerHire aligns more closely with fast-scaling teams that can’t afford to filter through technical freelancers to find a true marketing specialist. Check out our roles here.
Read: 10 Best Toptal Alternatives to Hire Marketers in 2025
Case study: Changing the Narrative
MarketerHire has helped over 5,000 companies hire top-tier marketing professionals. One of them is Changing the Narrative. At the time, Aubrey Bergauer, the founder, was struggling to optimize the company’s landing pages, email content, social media, and the sales funnel.
Realizing these marketing tasks were crucial but not her core focus as CEO, she decided to explore external help. Facing a tight timeline and a specific budget, Aubrey approached MarketerHire with a clear three-month project scope—migrating email platforms and establishing a new newsletter, followed by a sales email sequence for a program launch.
Our account manager, Mike, assured her we could meet her budget and introduced her to Jami, an email marketer with a theater background. Intrigued, Aubrey conducted an interview process and recalls, “She gave me every right answer I wanted—literally every right answer. I was way more impressed than I thought I would be.”
After bringing Jami on board to support the launch, Aubrey realized she needed more specialized analytics expertise. She returned to MarketerHire and was matched with Alec within days. He tackled technical limitations by implementing advanced tracking, integrations, and Google Analytics upgrades, giving the team vital insights into what worked and what didn’t.
The results exceeded expectations, with Aubrey’s launch beating revenue targets by 28%. She credits Jami’s knack for authentic email copy and Alec’s analytics prowess for the successful outcome. “Jami and Alec integrated into the team very quickly,” she said. “Jami took our email copy to a place where it wasn’t so sterile, while Alec helped us track referral sources, helping drive a very successful launch.”
Read: How Changing the Narrative Exceeded Revenue Goals by 28% with MarketerHire
What Kind of Talent Are You Actually Hiring?
Toptal is one of the most prolific talent marketplaces out there. But choosing whether or not to use it depends heavily on your company's goals.
Toptal is fundamentally a dev-first, high-end marketplace, with its strongest focus on software development and design talent. If you need to build your tech team or tackle complex product development projects, Toptal’s pool of specialists can be a strong fit.
Meanwhile, MarketerHire narrows the spotlight onto marketing. It exists for fast-growth companies that need an expert who can deliver results, whether that’s driving paid acquisition, refining brand strategy, or leading a new social media campaign.
With an intensive vetting process and a quick matchmaking system, MarketerHire ensures you connect with someone with the marketing expertise you’re after.
When you’re evaluating where to invest your time and budget, start with a clear understanding of the role you need to fill. If you’re a growth-stage company looking for proven marketing talent rather than a general freelancer, MarketerHire can match you in a matter of days, with no long-term contracts or hidden guesswork.
Get started by booking a consultation with us today.