Toptal vs Upwork vs Fiverr vs Webential — Where Can You Find Best Developers?

Far before the pandemic, tech enterprises have been amongst the first to integrate remote work and hire remote developers on a permanent basis. There are no doubts regarding the productivity, success, and collaboration of remote work. In fact, 83% of employers say the shift to remote work has been successful for their company.

Introduction to Toptal, Upwork, Fiverr, and Webential

For the success of any technical project, you need qualified resources who can work that extra mile to deliver the best. Even if you have the budget to hire, you may not be able to decide where to hire.

We are simplifying this process for you by comparing the top platforms side-by-side. In a nutshell, this can help you choose the best platform for all your project needs.

Today, we are going to compare some of the best platforms – Toptal, Upwork, Fiverr, and Webential based on certain important criterias to consider while hiring developers. In this blog, we will look at different platforms, their costs, trial period, if or not they vet the developers, and their billings to help you make informed decisions.

Toptal

Toptal was founded in 2010 and is an exclusive network of top freelance software developers, designers, product managers, finance experts, and project managers in the world. It claims to provide the top 3% of the freelance talent in the world.

Upwork

Upwork was established in 2015. It extensively connects professionals and agencies to businesses looking for specialized talent.

Fiverr

Fiverr and Fiverr Pro were founded in 2010 and 2017 respectively. It helps to find the perfect freelance service and verified trusted talent that could suit any business.

Webential

Webential was founded in 2010 with a vision to help businesses innovate, transform, and grow. It is a digital talent provider agency that helps brands fill the talent gap with pre-vetted resources.

Platform Pricing

The first thing most enterprises look at before hiring developers is the price range. Whether it will fit according to the budget of the enterprise or not is a concern for many. And if you are budget sensitive, being unknown about the approximate developer charges or the extra platform fees can be a real dealbreaker. 

Toptal, Upwork, Fiverr, and Webential offer a wide range of budget for individuals and companies. Projects can be done for as cheap as $10 if you have the right knowledge about these platforms. 

Always keep one thing in mind, some platforms charge processing fees or service fees, and therefore plan your budget accordingly. Let’s have a look at the pricing plans of these reputed platforms:

Toptal

Toptal prices vary according to the specialization of the freelancer, their location, and your requirements i.e. whether you need them for hourly, part-time or full-time projects. Hourly prices range from $60 to $250 per hour. The part-time prices range from $1,000 to $4,000 per week whereas the full-time prices range from $2,000 to $8,000 per week. 

Also, you need to pay an initial deposit of $500 that will be applied to your first invoice after you hire someone. If you don’t want to move forward, your deposit will be refunded in full.

Upwork

On Upwork’s platform, the developer’s quoted prices may vary depending upon the scope of the project because of the bidding system. You can post a project for free and developers present you with the bids. 

But there is a 3% processing fee for using the Upwork platform. Plan your budget while adding that extra 3% on top of your developer’s rates so you don’t exceed your budget after hiring a developer.

Fiverr

Unlike Toptal, where you are matched with a developer or Upwork where developers bid for your project, on Fiverr you can simply choose a developer based on the services they can offer according to your requirements. Here, the developer set their own rates starting at just  $5. You can find a large range of developers and have the flexibility to choose the best according to your budget and requirements.

Here also, you have to pay additional fees based on the cost of the service. There is a service cost of $2 for purchases up to $40. This service fee goes up to 5% for purchases above $40.

Webential

Webential prices may vary based upon the requirements – part-time and full-time. Part-time prices start from $1,500/month where dedicated resources work for 4 hours/day and 5 days/week. Full-time prices start from $3,000/month where dedicated resources work for 8 hours/day and 5 days/week. Unlike Upwork and Fiverr, you don’t have to spend time waiting for the bids or searching for the developer. Webential will render a dedicated developer that would best fit your project scope and budget within a short time. 

The best about Webential – you don’t have to pay those extra service fees or processing fees to hire developers.

Are the Developers Vetted on these Platforms?

Vetting is the most important factor before hiring any developer. An enterprise wants to ensure that the developer they are hiring will render the quality and standard they are paying for. Or else the enterprise will lose time, efforts, as well as, money. 

If you are new to the tech world, consider getting extra help to determine whether the candidate is qualified or not before hiring them. You need qualified, experienced, and knowledgeable candidates who can deliver results beyond expectations. Choosing a platform that has a strict vetting process that can help you select qualified developers within no time.

Toptal

Toptal has a five-step vetting process for developers. The vetting process includes 

1. Language and personality vetting to evaluate the English language and communication skills of the applicant.
2.  In-depth skill review to analyze the technical knowledge and problem-solving ability of the applicant.
3. Live screening where the Toptal screeners render specific live exercises to know more about the applicant’s knowledge.
4. Test projects are assigned with real-life scenarios allowing candidates to demonstrate their strength.
5. Continued excellence to maintain a track record of excellence while working with the client.

After passing all tests of the vetting process, Toptal will match candidates with the clients.

Upwork

Unlike Toptal, Upwork doesn’t follow any formal vetting process. It allows the prospective employers to see the developer’s track record or verified work, history, and reviews. But there is no particular vetting process, an applicant has to go through in order to be on the Upwork platform.

In terms of matching developers with the enterprise or client, the client can themself choose the best developers based on the bidding process.

Fiverr

Just like Upwork, there is no formal vetting process for regular Fiverr transactions. However, if you want to hire a developer from Fiverr Pro, there is a vetting process. It vets developers based on personal info and identity verification, experience and past work records, certification and qualifications, online and social presence, language proficiency, behavioral, and customer-centric approach, and much more. Fiverr Pro also provides various filters based on local sellers, online providers, etc.

The employers can simply decide the best-suited developer for their requirements and scope of work based upon the reviews.

Webential

Like Toptal, Webential follows a strict vetting process for developers. Every applicant goes through this vetting process so that qualified resources are rendered to the clients. Webential follows a 6-step vetting process that includes:

1. Profile Screening to review each developer’s full background while evaluating skills and experience.
2. Preliminary Coding Tests to analyze developer’s programming skills and efficiency with technical assessment.
3. Video Interviews where Webential’s experts communicate with each applicant to analyze their communication skills, personality, and English fluency.
4. Technical Interview where a senior developer of the same field extensively evaluates the applicant’s technical skills and logic.
5. Final Review where an independent team reviews each stage of the applicant’s vetting process to ensure consistency.
6. Ongoing Review to regularly evaluate each developer’s ongoing projects for ensuring that each developer maintains quality standards of Webential.

After the developer passes the vetting process, Webential’s professional will match the potential developer with the client who can best fit the requirement and budget of the project.

The Pros and Cons of these Platforms

Toptal

Pros

• Toptal conducts a rigorous screening process to render the best developers to the client. Their experts check and analyse all the technical expertise of the applicant. 
• It enables firms to find top candidates within 1-3 weeks. Hence, the enterprises don’t have to indulge themselves in the recruitment process and can concentrate more on work.
• It claims to provide the top 3% talent in the world. Toptal matches developers with your requirements. 
• You need to pay an initial $500 deposit but if you don’t want to continue, it’s refundable.

Cons

• The greatest disadvantage of hiring from Toptal is the cost. As it promises to provide the finest developers in the world, they also charge more for their services.
• The highly experienced developers that you find on Toptal are better suited for large-scale projects. Hence, small companies may find it difficult to hire developers as per their needs.
• Toptal follows a stern screening process and thus employers have fewer options to choose from.

Upwork

Pros

• Upwork provides a large pool of talent to choose from as compared to Toptal.
• The business and enterprise package renders consolidated billing, on-boarding, and contracting services as well.
• It offers a plethora of online payment options so you can pay developers with ease.
• Upwork allows developers to bid for projects. This enables employers to hire great developers at cheaper rates.
• To ensure the safety of transactions, it freezes the money before the task is being completed.
• Startups and low-budget project employers can easily find developers on Upwork.

Cons

• Due to the lack of a profound vetting process, employers have to do a lot of trial and error before finding the best developer for their project.
• Upwork has a revenue cap for the freelancers and thus talented developers drive away from the platform as they don’t get adequate amounts as per their talent.
• The free/basic version of Upwork renders limited features. Good features of the platform are only available in paid versions i.e. Upwork plus, enterprise, and business plans. 

Fiverr

Pros

• The foremost and biggest advantage of Fiverr is that the pricing of all the services starts as low as $5.
• It offers a plethora of options to hire developers ranging from beginners to experts while comparing their ratings and gigs.
• Fiverr renders immaculate customer support whenever required.
• In case of any malicious activities performed by developers or employers, Fiverr reports these activities and marks negative reviews. This can save employers from falling prey to any unfair norms.

Cons

• Due to the lack of a formal vetting process, employers may find it difficult to hire qualified developers that can match their project expectations.
• Fraud resources could be existing on the platform.
• Sometimes, developers may charge higher prices while only rendering sub-standard services. Enterprises may face higher costs and the quality of the work done is not up-to-the-mark.

Webential

Pros

• Just like Toptal, Webential follows a strict vetting process for each applicant. Thus, employers can get qualified pre-vetted developers with appropriate skills to match their business requirements. 
• Unlike Toptal, Upwork, and Fiverr, Webential doesn’t charge any initial fees or extra processing fees, or service fees from the employers to hire developers.
• The experts at Webential matches best-fitted developers to the employers based on their budget and work of scope. Thus, the employer is free from the race of searching best developers.
• Of all the mentioned platforms, only Toptal and Webential follow a strict & profound vetting process. Webential offers skilled and experienced developers at much cheaper prices as compared to Toptal.
• Webential also renders appreciable customer service to overcome any hindrance.

Cons

• It is difficult to find the cons of Webential because it is an all-in-one package that renders pre-vetted developers at an affordable price. Their experts match developers for your exact requirements. Be it a huge project or a small one, it’s a steal deal.

Which Platform is the Best?

The requirements of every enterprise and their project are different. Something that works for a particular enterprise may not work for others. Even something that works for a particular project may not be as successful for your future projects. 

If you are limited on your budget and require developers for small projects, Fiverr and Upwork could be a good choice. However, if you have a considerable budget and want developers for large projects that require specialized expertise, Toptal could be a great choice.

Moreover, if you are edgy about your needs and requirements for the project and want to hire developers at an affordable price range, you should go for a Digital Talent Provider Agency. Webential can be the best choice for such requirements. The in-depth market knowledge and experience of a leading tech enterprise will offer better and comprehensive developers for your needs. By opting for such an agency, you can have access to reliable, affordable, pre-vetted, and dedicated developers that will solely work on your project.