Is Toptal the Real Deal?
Toptal pitches itself as a global network of world-class talent – yep, it’s pretty confident. Of the 100,000 or so people who apply each year to join Toptal as freelancers, apparently only 3% make the cut.
You can only hire developers, designers, finance experts, project managers, and product managers. That’s it; that’s the offering. Now I don’t need to tell you that’s a pretty limited number of job titles. Sure, there are many different types of designers out there, but where are the strategists or the HR consultants? And hey, where are the writers?
While Toptal claims to be the best in the world, it doesn’t come cheap. When a company says it’s got THE best freelancers, I can understand why you’d be skeptical – I was, too.
So I decided to take Toptal for a spin. I checked out its customer support, its pricing, and the features it wants you to pay for, so you won’t spend a dime without knowing what you’re getting into.
If you’re on a budget, or if you’re looking for someone who’s not a designer or developer, don’t scroll any further. Toptal isn’t going to be the fit right for you. Instead, I used to not recommend Fiverr because you weren’t always guaranteed quality work. But when you hire a freelancer through Fiverr Pro you are guaranteed top-quality work. And on Fiverr, you can find everyone from podcast editors to astrologists for those one-time gigs. Toptal wants you to develop long-term relationships with your freelancers, so if you just need someone for an ad hoc project, Fiverr is the solution.