Toptal Pricing: Real Charges, Hidden Fees, and Total Cost
February 26, 2025•6 min read
When we were writing our Toptal Alternatives article, we took a deep dive into the platform and uncovered some eye-opening details about Toptal pricing structure. While Toptal calls itself a premium network of top-tier developers, designers, and project managers, its pricing model raises an important question — are you really getting what you pay for?
In this article, we'll show how Toptal pricing works, what you can expect to pay, and whether it's the best option for your business. If you've been considering hiring from Toptal but hesitated due to unclear costs, this guide will help you make an informed decision.
What You Should Know About Toptal Pricing
Toptal is a global platform that connects freelancers with companies, and it's obviously not free. Unlike other freelance marketplaces where you can browse talent without upfront costs, Toptal requires you to pay before you even start hiring.
Before searching for candidates, you must subscribe to Toptal for $79 per month. This fee grants you access to their talent network and is required as long as you use the platform.
Toptal tries to nullify payment by a "no-risk trial period" that allows clients to work with a freelancer for up to two weeks before making a commitment. According to the Toptal pricing model, if you're satisfied with the work and communication, you'll be billed and can continue the engagement. If not, you won't be charged for the trial period, and Toptal will match you with another freelancer or allow you to walk away.
At first glance, this sounds like a great deal — a free trial to check talent before hiring. However, there are a lot of pitfalls:
You must still pay if you choose to continue. When you decide to move forward with the freelancer, you will pay for the trial period in full.
It's not a "test project." The trial period is not free work — it's part of an actual engagement, and Toptal assumes that you will move forward unless the freelancer is completely unsuitable.
Finding a replacement takes time. If the first freelancer doesn't meet expectations, Toptal offers a replacement, which means restarting the process and delaying your project.
It's still a financial and time investment. Even if you're not billed for the trial, you're still investing time into onboarding and working with the freelancer, which can be costly if things don't work out.
Here is a Toptal client review that shows that their free trial period can be unpleasant sometimes:
Russ Taff shared a frustrating experience when he tried to cancel the "no-risk" trial after the freelancer did not meet his expectations. Instead of simply parting ways as promised, Toptal invoiced him in full for the trial period — completely contradicting the "risk-free" guarantee.
Here's what happened, according to Russ Taff's review:
He tested a designer for three days using Toptal's standard trial period.
When he canceled the trial before moving to a contract, he was fully invoiced despite Toptal's claim that trials are free if unsatisfactory.
A Toptal representative then called, leaving a voicemail that confirmed he wouldn't be charged — but at the same time, pressured him to personally pay the freelancer out of pocket because "otherwise, the developer wouldn't get paid."
After refusing to pay, Toptal banned his account, revoked his access, and denied his ability to request further talent — even though they had already paid a $500 deposit (required to enter Toptal before the subscription plan)
The client was then forced to handle the dispute through legal and financial channels to resolve the unfair charge.
This case raises serious concerns about how Toptal enforces its free trial policy. Rather than acting as a genuine "try-before-you-buy" system, some users pay for work they didn't approve or find themselves locked out of the platform for refusing to comply with questionable billing practices.
📖 Read more: The Best Toptal Alternatives - 10 Platforms Review
How Fees Are Hidden in Toptal Pricing
Toptal pricing model includes not just payment to freelancers — you must also pay a significant markup embedded into the final cost. Unlike platforms that charge a flat service fee, Toptal fees are hidden within the freelancer's hourly rate, making it difficult for clients to understand exactly where their money is going.
How Toptal Fees Work:
Freelancers set hourly rates – A developer or designer decides how much they want to earn per hour.
Toptal adds an undisclosed markup – This can be up to 50%, but clients never see the actual breakdown.
Clients only see the final price – Instead of knowing what portion of their payment goes to Toptal, clients assume they are paying directly for premium talent at the rate displayed.
For example, if a freelancer sets their rate at $50 per hour, Toptal may charge the client $100 per hour, with the extra $50 going to Toptal —without the client ever knowing.
Therefore, the Toptal pricing model creates confusion and questionable feelings among freelancers and clients alike. When freelancers see how much clients are actually paying for their work, they often feel undervalued and realize they could be charging more. This awareness inflates market rates as freelancers increase their prices simply because they know clients are willing to pay more.
On the other hand, clients assume Toptal developers are worth the premium price due to the platform's strong marketing and positioning. Without transparency, they don't realize that a significant portion of what they pay isn't going to the freelancer but to Toptal itself.
The lack of transparency between the platform, clients, and freelancers creates resentment and reduces overall satisfaction with the platform.
What Else Is Bad Besides Toptal Pricing?
Besides hidden Toptal fees & long hiring process, they lie & manipulate the profiles it advertises to appear more impressive than they really are, according to a review from Vanessa C. on Trustpilot:
She found a freelancer profile listed as a "Verified Expert in Design," claiming she was a Senior Designer who previously worked at Walt Disney Studios. But after checking her LinkedIn profile, they discovered something shocking — she wasn't a designer at all.
What was the truth?
She worked at Walt Disney Studios, but not as a designer — she was a copywriter.
Her entire career had been in copywriting, not design, meaning Toptal had fabricated her background to make her seem like a senior-level designer.
When the reviewer called this out, Toptal quietly removed the page — but the damage was done.
This case raises serious doubts about Toptal's vetting process and transparency. If freelancer profiles are being changed or exaggerated, it creates doubts about how much of their talent network is truly top-tier.
Brand name-dropping of companies like Google and Walt Disney may be used as a marketing tactic rather than a true reflection of experience. For clients, trusting Toptal at face value can be risky, and verifying freelancer expertise independently is crucial before hiring.
Toptal Cost: Hiring a Full-Time Frontend Developer
As our company specializes in frontend development services, let's see the Toptal cost for a full-time hire of frontend developer specialists at 40 hours per week. According to comments on Quora and our research, developers' rates on Toptal start at $35 and can reach up to $150 per hour, depending on what the developer knows, how he can self-promote, and where he lives.
As Toptal adds its fees and increases costs for clients, the minimal hourly rate can be counted as 60$ per hour. Therefore, for a standard 40-hour workweek, this translates to:
Lower End: $60/hour × 40 hours/week = $2,400/week
Upper End: $150/hour × 40 hours/week = $6,000/week
Annually, this equates to approximately $124,800 to $312,000.
And that's for one specialist! These numbers can be unreal for startups or small businesses operating within tight budgets. Moreover, with $124,800 to $312,000, you can easily launch and complete a high-quality, fully managed development project with a development agency like The Frontend Company (TFC) — and you'd get far more value than hiring through Toptal.
With Toptal, you're paying that amount for just one frontend developer. But with a development agency, that budget can cover an entire dedicated team, including:
Senior Frontend Developers (React, Next.js, Vue.js, Angular)
UI/UX Designers
Project Managers
QA Engineers
Backend Developers (if needed) (For complex APIs, databases, or integrations)
Rather than relying on a single Toptal freelancer who may leave the project or lack support, an agency provides a team with structure, accountability, and long-term reliability.
$124,800 – $312,000 can cover:
A high-performance web application (React, Next.js, or Vue.js)
A full-fledged SaaS product or internal tool
A custom eCommerce platform with complex features
A long-term partnership for ongoing maintenance & upgrades
Therefore, Toptal cost is high for what you get, and you are still responsible for project management, product direction, and hiring additional roles. With a development agency, the entire process is streamlined and managed for you.
📔 Note: Why pay Toptal's hidden fees when you can invest the same budget in a fully managed, high-quality project with a development company?
Comparing Toptal vs. a Development Agency for the Same Budget
Here is the table where we compared Toptal Freelancer vs Developement Agency:
Factor | Toptal (Freelancer Only) | The Frontend Company (Development Agency) |
|---|---|---|
What You Get | One Freelancer | Full team (developers, designers, PMs, QA) |
Project Management | Handled by client | Manager by agency with structured processes |
Scalability | Limited to one freelancer | Easily scale team up/down as needed |
Support & Maintenance | You must find ongoing help | Long-term support and team continuity |
Value for Money | Expensive per developer | Transparent pricing for full development |
Conclusion
Despite our harsh criticism, Toptal remains a widely used platform that has helped hundreds of businesses find talent. But, honest client feedback and facts from the web show us that Toptal has its own business and pricing model, which can be unpleasant for companies hiring frontend developers.
Beyond hidden fees, high costs, and a lack of pricing transparency, there's a bigger issue with freelance platforms in general — they don't offer real partnerships that development companies can do.
Freelancers work on multiple projects, have no long-term commitment, and can leave at any time. On the other hand, development companies build their work on professional partnerships, reliability, and structured project execution.
The problem isn't just Toptal — it's the entire freelance marketplace model, which often tries to solve your problems by throwing more money at them. That's why long-term projects, SaaS platforms, applications, or modernization efforts should be handled by a development agency, not by freelancers who may not be there when you need them most.
💡 Book a free consultation with the TFC manager, and we will provide all information about our pricing, services, and experts, as transparency and openness are our core values.
FAQ
Alex Vasylenko is the founder of The Frontend Company, DBC and several other successful startups. A dynamic tech entrepreneur, he began his career as a frontend developer at Deloitte and Scandinavia's largest banking company. In 2023, Alex was honored as one of 'Top 10 Emerging Entrepreneurs' by USA Today.
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