Toptal

Review:

Australian employers can use Toptal to connect with the best freelance talent from anywhere in the world, although they are unable to specify a location or target Australian freelancers, should that be crucial to the project. Toptal pairs employers with the most suitable talent based the project requirements. Less than 3% of web traffic to Toptal comes from Australia, which is small compared to the U.S. (16.25%).

Pros:

• Connect with IT developers and tech industry experts in over 100 countries, mainly across the Americas and Europe.
• Candidate matching is performed by senior Toptal domain experts.
• Toptal conducts rigorous screening of applicants via skills and proficiency assessments.
• Projects are completed remotely, with options to temporarily have Toptal experts on-site.
• In most cases, employers get matched with an expert within 24 hours.
• The option to work with multiple candidates before deciding on a particular expert, is available.
• A trial period of up to two weeks is offered to employers to ensure a perfect match.

Cons:

• There are no candidate search filters.
• There is no resume database for employers to browse.
• Toptal's pricing is higher compared to other freelance job posting sites such as Fiverr and Upwork.
• Pricing is not available in Australian dollars.

Reputation:

On Trustpilot, reviews are overwhelmingly positive with a 4.6 out of 5 stars rating from 1.1K+ users. Comments mention Toptal's reactive and professional services. Sitejabber reviews also add up to a favorable Toptal consumer rating of 3.89 stars from 9 reviews.

Toptal vs. Fiverr:

Both Toptal and Fiverr help employers find talented freelancers. Toptal, however, only connects elite IT experts with employers after rigorous screening. Toptal freelancers can charge between US$60.00 to US$250.00 per hour or US$1,000.00 to US$4,000.00 per week, while Fiverr freelancers charge between A$5.00 and A$1,200.00 per job.

Toptal vs. SEEK:

While not strictly a freelance job board, SEEK can be used to advertise freelance working positions by including the word "freelance" in the job title or description. SEEK is a local Australian job board with variable pricing, compared to Toptal's US$500.00 deposit per hire and weekly or hourly rates.

Toptal vs. Upwork:

Both Toptal and Upwork connect global employers with talent, although Upwork does a better job of targeting Australian freelancers if the project requires local insight. With Toptal, employers pay a deposit of US$500.00 per hire along with freelancer rates. Upwork has free job posts and paid plans that start at US$49.99 per month.

Toptal vs. Freelancer:

Toptal and Freelancer both provide hiring platforms for employers to recruit tech talent. The key difference is that Toptal matches employers with thoroughly screened, elite IT experts, while Freelancer allows access to bidder profiles for employers to choose from. Freelancer makes it easier to target freelancers from Australia.

Toptal vs. Gun.io:

Toptal and Gun.io both match rigorously vetted tech freelancers with global employers. Toptal performs matching, while Gun.io lets employers choose from matched candidates. Costs include payment for work completed. Toptal also charges a deposit of US$500.00 per hire, while Gun.io charges project-dependent rates or 20% of the first year's salary.

Toptal vs. Arc:

Both Toptal and Arc are tech hiring platforms that connect employers with thoroughly screened elite developers. Toptal matches candidates to global employers, but Arc does a better job of targeting Australian developers. In terms of cost, both include payments to developers and they typically charge percentage-based fees related to each hire.