Toptal alternatives for hiring remote developers

All facts about other companies come from their own websites, checked on Oct 26, 2026. Links are next to each fact. Terms change, so check before you sign.

A shorter comparison of Toptal and Arca.ph is on the Toptal alternative page.

How does Toptal work?

Toptal is a network of independent contractors (freelancers). According to its own pages:

• Subscription: "a flat monthly subscription fee of $79" if you proceed with talent matching. You can cancel at any time (toptal.com/faq).
• Billing: Toptal says you can work with talent "hourly, part-, or full-time for a fixed price on a weekly basis" (toptal.com/pricing), and it typically invoices twice a month on Net 10 terms (toptal.com/faq). It doesn't publish hourly rates.
• Trial: each engagement starts with a trial period of up to two weeks; if you're not satisfied, you're not billed (toptal.com/faq).
• Screening: Toptal says it screens for English, personality, domain knowledge and professionalism, with technical challenges and a test project (toptal.com/faq).
• Where: "experts in over 100 countries" (toptal.com/faq).
• Full-time: asked whether you can bring a Toptal worker in full-time, Toptal answers "For the most part, yes," with an arrangement worked out case by case (toptal.com/faq).

Toptal is often the better choice when you need one experienced freelancer quickly for a defined project, you want a trial before paying, and you're happy to pay through the platform for as long as the engagement runs.

What are the best Toptal alternatives?

1. Arc (arc.dev)

Model: freelance hourly hiring, plus full-time placement with a one-time fee.

• Full-time hires: "20% of the annual salary" (arc.dev/pricing). Arc's terms say the fee is 20% of the candidate's first year's full-time annual compensation, payable if the candidate starts working with you within one year of Arc's most recent communication about them (arc.dev/terms, section 4.2).
• Freelance hires: "$15 - $110+, pay per hour," with "a risk-free trial period of up to two weeks" (arc.dev/pricing).
• Replacement: for hires, "during the first 3 months, our team will match you with another talent free of charge if you are dissatisfied" (arc.dev/how-arc-works).
• Vetting: profile screening, a communication assessment, and a technical interview or pair-programming session (arc.dev/how-arc-works).

Good fit if: you want both freelance and full-time options from one provider, with a published fee.

2. Lemon.io

Model: pre-vetted developers matched to you, billed on prepaid hours.

• Minimum: 160 project hours: "one month full-time (40 hours a week) or two months part-time" (lemon.io, FAQ).
• Billing: no upfront recruitment or setup fees, but a "prepaid subscription model," so you pay for the developer's hours ahead of time (lemon.io, FAQ).
• Engagement: "Hire in-house or on contract" (lemon.io).
• Vetting: Lemon.io says every candidate is interviewed by a senior engineer before you meet them (lemon.io).

Good fit if: you want a matched contract developer fast and are comfortable prepaying hours.

3. Andela

Model: enterprise-focused AI engineering talent, delivery and training.

• What it offers: Andela describes itself as providing "the human compute layer behind modern AI systems": training models, deploying "AI-native engineers", and upskilling the teams that build them (andela.com).
• Ways to engage: its contact form offers staff augmentation, managed services (an end-to-end solution), training, or a combination (andela.com/pricing).
• Pricing: not published; you book a discovery call (andela.com/pricing).

Good fit if: you're a larger company running an AI programme and want a partner for teams, delivery and training.

4. Gun.io

Model: managed engineering capacity with delivery oversight.

• What it offers: sourcing, vetting, contracts and onboarding, plus "delivery oversight" that tracks code quality and progress (gun.io).
• Admin: Gun.io says it handles "payroll, compliance, and contracts" across 100+ countries (gun.io).
• Pricing: not published on its site; gun.io/pricing redirects to the homepage.

Good fit if: you want a provider to own contracts, payments and delivery management, not just introductions.

5. Arca.ph

Model: a self-serve marketplace of vetted remote software engineers from around the world. On the marketplace, you pay one fee, only if you hire.

• Free to look: every developer fills out the same profile: resume and work history, the tools they've worked with, the monthly pay they're asking for, their English level in their own words, the hours they can work, screening answers, a personality test and a written transcript of a video interview with an AI interviewer (arca.ph/how-it-works).
• Proof, if you want it: tests a real person watches: a coding test with no AI, a 2-hour build where AI is allowed, a live pair-programming session (the Fire Drill), an English test, a thinking-skills test and a typing test. Tests are optional and cost extra (arca.ph/proctored-tests).
• Introductions: Arca.ph contacts a developer only when you ask, and introduces you only if the developer says yes.
• Fee: on the marketplace, one fee of 15% of first-year pay, paid once, and only if you hire someone Arca.ph introduced within 1 year of the introduction. For example, a developer paid $3,000 a month earns $36,000 a year, so the fee is $5,400, once. That example is not a quote (arca.ph/pricing).
• Free replacement: if the hire doesn't work out, Arca.ph finds you a replacement for free within 3 months (arca.ph/pricing).
• After the hire: you arrange payroll and contracts with the developer yourself.
• Your own AI assistant: you can read every profile, or use an AI assistant you already have, like ChatGPT, Claude, or Grok, to search and sort them. You can connect that assistant to Arca.ph (arca.ph/how-it-works).

Good fit if: you're hiring a developer long-term, you want to see candidates' details and test results yourself, and you'd rather pay once than pay an ongoing margin.

Not the best fit if: you need a short freelance project, want a provider to manage the work, or want someone else to handle payroll and contracts after the hire.

Which Toptal alternative should I choose?

• A freelancer for a short project: Toptal, Arc (freelance) or Lemon.io.
• A full-time hire with a one-time fee: Arc (full-time) or Arca.ph.
• To see candidate data and test results yourself: Arca.ph.
• Someone else to run payroll, contracts and delivery: Gun.io, or Andela for enterprise AI programmes.
• Proof a developer can code without AI help: ask any provider how they test; Arca.ph offers a coding test with no AI, watched by a real person, that you can order.

Is Arca.ph cheaper than Toptal?

It depends on how long you keep the developer. Toptal bills for as long as the engagement runs, plus a $79 monthly subscription (toptal.com/faq). On the marketplace, Arca.ph charges one fee of 15% of first-year pay if you hire, plus any tests you choose to order. For a developer paid $3,000 a month, that is $36,000 a year, so the fee is $5,400, once (arca.ph/pricing). For a long-term, full-time role, a one-time fee often costs less over time; for a few weeks of work, it usually won't. Our success fee vs hourly markup explainer shows how to work out the break-even point with your own numbers.

Get started with Arca.ph. If a freelance network is the better fit for your role, that's fine too.