Toptal vs Upwork vs Teilur Talent: Pricing & true costs compared

Published on
Aug 12, 2024
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Maria del Mar Agudelo
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Juan David Rodríguez
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Choosing the right platform for acquiring remote tech talent is crucial for businesses aiming to integrate the best skills seamlessly into their projects. This comparison provides an objective look at Toptal vs Upwork vs Teilur Talent, focusing on key factors such as pricing transparency, talent quality, and service adaptability. This insight helps businesses make informed decisions by understanding the unique offerings of each platform.

Overview of Each Platform: Insights into Teilur Talent, Toptal, and Upwork

Teilur Talent

Teilur Talent stands out for its straightforward price plan and focus on Latin American IT talent. This technique ensures that a major portion of the payments go directly to the talent, promoting both cost-effectiveness for businesses and fair recompense for experts.

Key features and services offered:

  • Specialization in Latin American talent: Ensures a deep understanding of the regional talent pool.
  • Transparent fair pricing: Guarantees that candidates receive at least 80% of the client's investment, promoting fair compensation.
  • Team integration focus: Developers become integral parts of client teams, aligning with company goals and values.
Teilur Talent website

Toptal

Toptal offers access to a broad network of freelancers globally, focusing on flexibility and a high-quality talent pool.

Key features and services offered:

  • Global freelancer network: Provides access to freelancers across various disciplines worldwide.
  • Selective vetting process: Only the top 3% of talent is admitted, ensuring quality and expertise.
  • Flexible engagements: Supports different working arrangements with adaptable pricing.
Toptal website

Learn more about: Toptal Alternative

Upwork

Upwork is known for its vast range of pre-planned jobs and hourly engagements but lacks the pricing transparency of Teilur Talent.

Key features and services offered:

  • Broad talent pool: Offers a wide array of freelancers for different projects.
  • Project-based engagements: Clients can purchase pre-defined projects or hire freelancers by the hour.
  • Lack of transparent pricing: It charges a 10% fee on freelancer revenues, but total pricing for acquiring employees isn’t transparent.
Upwork website

Learn more about: Upwork Alternative

Pricing & Fees comparison: Toptal vs Upwork vs Teilur Talent

Understanding actual costs is critical for team expansion, and transparent pricing allows for informed decision-making. Here, we compare Toptal, Upwork, and Teilur Talent's price and fees.

Feature Comparison
Feature Teilur Talent Toptal Upwork
Pricing and fees Transparent pricing strategy with no minimums; over 80% of payments go to talent. See prices clearly using our calculator below. $90 to $170+/hr, includes fees, flexible Net 10 billing. Fees vary, typically 10% on revenues, not fully disclosed.
Talent Quality and vetting process Customized selection with AI, ensuring cultural fit and specific skills. Stringent process, admits only top-tier professionals globally. Broad candidate pool, relies on client ratings/reviews.
Global reach and accessibility Specializes in Latin American talent, nearshore advantages for the US. Global reach, diverse project needs. Global reach, diverse talent across regions and time zones.

Pricing and Fees:

  • Teilur Talent: Structures pricing on a per-candidate basis, ensuring transparency and fairness, with detailed pricing based on the last accepted offer by candidates.
  • Toptal: Offers talent at rates ranging from $90 to $170+/hr, inclusive of Toptal's fees, providing flexibility with Net 10 billing terms.
  • Upwork: Fees vary with project length and type, typically adding a 10% fee on freelancer or agency revenues, with pricing details often not fully disclosed.

Talent quality and vetting process

  • Teilur Talent: Focuses on a customized selection process using AI technologies, ensuring candidates meet specific interview requirements and fit culturally with the hiring company.
  • Toptal: Maintains a stringent vetting process, admitting only top-tier professionals to meet diverse project demands globally.
  • Upwork: Offers a broad pool of candidates with variable vetting processes, depending more on client ratings and reviews than a standardized selection method.

Global reach and accessibility

  • Teilur Talent: Specializes in Latin American tech talent, providing nearshore benefits for American companies.
  • Toptal and Upwork: Both platforms boast a global reach, offering talent from various regions and time zones to cater to a wide range of project requirements.

Our thoughts on the pricing structure of Toptal 

While it's not possible for us to find details about how much of what a client pays ultimately goes to a candidate, we believe clients looking for transparent and straightforward pricing may want to look at other alternatives.

Our opinion is that if they are charging a client more than $12,000 monthly for a developer, they should at the very least be giving $9,600 to the candidate, but it's likely that it's even less than that.

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What Hiring Managers Should Ask Before Choosing a Talent Partner

Before partnering with any talent provider — whether Toptal, Teilur, or others — hiring managers should consider asking the following key questions:

  • What percentage of the fee actually goes to the talent?

  • Are replacement or satisfaction guarantees included in the contract?

  • How are regional salary benchmarks determined?

  • Is there full transparency in how rates are broken down?

  • What is the long-term cost difference between hiring directly and through a platform?
    ‍

These questions can help businesses make informed decisions and ensure that pricing aligns with both market realities and ethical compensation practices.

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Toptal vs Teilur Talent Comparison
Concept Toptal Teilur Talent
Transparency Pricing details are not publicly disclosed. Clients see a blended hourly rate that includes both Toptal’s fee and the freelancer’s pay. Fully transparent rate breakdown. Clients see exactly how much goes to the talent and how much is retained by Teilur as a service fee.
Commission / Markup Estimated at up to ~50% based on third-party reports and client testimonials. The exact markup percentage is not officially stated. Capped at 20%, ensuring that at least 80% of the client’s payment goes directly to the developer.
Monthly Subscription Fee $79/month, non-optional, grants access to Toptal’s vetted talent network. (Source: Toptal website). No subscription fees. Clients only pay when hiring or engaging talent.
Initial Deposit $500 refundable deposit required to begin a talent search. No upfront deposit required to start the matching process.
Trial Policy Two-week no-risk trial. Clients are billed only if satisfied with the match. N/A (direct matching) – Teilur focuses on pre-vetted, long-term placements with transparent trial terms discussed case by case.
Pricing Range (Developers) $60–$200+ per hour depending on experience and project complexity (includes platform markup). $6,000–$7,000/month for senior LATAM developers, equivalent to ~$35–$45/hour — transparent, with no hidden markups.
Payment Structure Bi-monthly invoices; payment terms like Net 10. Includes blended rate. Monthly invoices with clear cost breakdown (talent pay + Teilur fee).
Toptal vs Teilur Talent Comparison
Concept Toptal Teilur Talent
Business Model Global freelance marketplace connecting clients with vetted professionals in software, design, and finance. LATAM-focused recruitment company connecting businesses with full-time remote developers and tech professionals.
Selectivity Claim Claims to accept less than 3% of applicants, based on its internal screening process. Works only with pre-vetted, bilingual professionals in LATAM, selected for technical and communication skills.
Recruitment Process Multi-stage: timed skills test → English interview → real-world project → live screen evaluation. Direct evaluation of experience, portfolio, and communication ability. Matches candidates by vertical (QA, Software, Cybersecurity, Data & BI) and company culture.
Trial or Test Period Offers a two-week trial, refundable if client isn’t satisfied. No fixed trial period — focuses on long-term retention and transparent onboarding.
Contract Type Typically weekly contracts (20 or 40 hours) with limited flexibility for short-term projects. Flexible monthly agreements, allowing scalability per project scope and company needs.
Transparency Pricing details not publicly disclosed. Clients see a blended hourly rate including Toptal’s markup. Fully transparent pricing model. Clients see how much goes to the developer and how much is Teilur’s service fee.
Commission / Markup Estimated around 40–50%, based on user reports and external reviews. Capped at 20%. At least 80% of client payment goes directly to the developer.
Initial Deposit Requires a $500 refundable deposit to start the search process. No upfront deposit required.
Client Support Account managers available during hiring and engagement. Support quality varies by project. Personalized support from start to finish, ensuring alignment for both client and talent.
Developer Pay Transparency Developers are contractually restricted from disclosing their actual pay rates. Developers know their full compensation and see transparent rate breakdowns.
Geographic Focus Global, with talent from Eastern Europe, Asia, and LATAM. Exclusive to Latin America, optimizing time-zone alignment and cultural fit.
Turnover Rate Not publicly disclosed. Reported below 15%, reflecting strong retention and satisfaction.
Best For Large enterprises or teams needing globally distributed freelance specialists. U.S. and international companies seeking transparent, long-term partnerships with vetted LATAM developers.

Introduction

Overview of Each Platform: Toptal vs Upwork vs Teilur Talent 

Pricing & fees Comparison: Toptal vs Upwork vs Teilur Talent

Conclusion: Toptal vs Upwork vs Teilur Talent, who wins?

Need help with cost expectations?

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These are our recommended salaries, but clients are free to set their own rates.

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Client Reviews

Teilur Talent
Teilur Talent Reviews

We are incredibly pleased with Teilur Talent as our talent partner. Their expertise has allowed us to recruit qualified candidates from abroad, making the hiring process smooth and efficient - highly recommended for any company looking to expand their talent pool!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Carolina Penuela

Justo

"Great for recruiting"
What do you like best about Teilur Talent? Recruiting tool for connecting talent in South and Central America to job postings in the USA.
What problems is Teilur solving and how is that benefiting you? Vetted candidates that we are able to use in our agency.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Teilur Talent helped me land a high-paying role, and everything has been great so far. If you ever have the opportunity to work with them, do so. I highly recommend it!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Eddie Santiago

Review collected by and hosted on Trustpilot.

I have heard of Teilur Talent, and I think it is a very innovative and socially responsible company. I also think it has a very positive culture and cares about its employees and customers.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Daniel Oviedo

Review collected by and hosted on Trustpilot.

My experience with Teilur Talent has been overwhelmingly positive from the start. Transparency and clear communication were standout features throughout my journey with the company. Highly recommended!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

João Ortiz

Review collected by and hosted on Trustpilot.

I believe in Teilur Talent's mission! It has been a pleasant experience for a Latin American, and everything that is promised is delivered!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mateo Silva

Review collected by and hosted on Trustpilot.

Right arrow
Madhulika Sharma
Dotdash

Teilur Talent featured in...

"Argentina offers highly competitive labor costs compared to other nearshoring destinations. With a strong focus on software and IT services, Argentina's tech talent pool is growing, and the country is already a resource for tech giants like Google."

Teilur Talent featured in...

"Brazil offers an attractive combination of cost-effectiveness and high-quality talent. With reportedly more than 500,000 software developers and an impressive annual growth rate, Brazil boasts the largest tech talent pool in LATAM."

Teilur Talent featured in...

"Teilur Talent recognized as the top IT Recruiting & Staffing firm in Latin America, Teilur Talent has made valuable contributions towards making the IT workspace more efficient and streamlined."

Teilur Talent featured in...

"Teilur Talent is the world’s first talent development network connecting U.S. tech startups and remote developers from Latin America!"

At Teilur, Inc, we are committed to accuracy and fairness in all our content. Our discussions and comparisons, particularly those concerning other businesses in the recruitment industry, are grounded in the best interpretations made by our dedicated staff, based on publicly available information. We hold a deep respect for the unique qualities of each organization within our field and strive to offer valuable insights rooted in our core beliefs about the recruitment industry's workings. If you encounter any factual inaccuracies in our content, we encourage you to reach out to us at content-research@teilurtalent.com with the specific URL in question. Your feedback is invaluable, and we are committed to reviewing and addressing your concerns.

Got questions? We've got answers.

1

How is Teilur Talent different from other tech recruiting companies in LATAM?

At Teilur Talent, we take a mission-focused approach to recruiting, ensuring that our candidates are aligned with your company's vision and goals. Unlike other tech recruiting companies in LATAM, who may focus solely on technical skills, we prioritize the cultural fit and dedication of our team members to your company. For this reason, we do not support project contractor or freelancer roles. Instead, we focus on fully devoted team members who will help you achieve long-term success.

2

How does Teilur Talent attract and retain the best talent compared to other companies?

At Teilur Talent, we offer our candidates competitive salaries that are 2x to 3x higher than what tech companies would pay locally. This allows us to attract top talent and retain highly motivated and loyal team members. Additionally, we focus on finding candidates whose values align with the purpose, vision, and mission of our clients. This approach ensures that our engineers and tech talent are not just coding and completing task rather, they become part of a greater purpose, which gives them meaning and helps us attract and retain the best talent.

3

What are the typical tech roles that Teilur Talent recruits for?

At Teilur Talent, we specialize in recruiting for a wide range of tech roles that are typically in high demand. These include positions such as DevOps engineers, AI Developers, QA analysts and engineers, back-end and front-end developers, data scientists, product managers, business developers, and technical sales positions. Essentially, we recruit for most roles that are needed in B2B and B2C tech-focused businesses.

4

What are Teilur Talent's fees and pricing structure?

At Teilur Talent, we believe in transparency. We charge a flat rate fee of 20% of what the client pays. This way, our clients know exactly what they are paying for and how much the candidate gets. As an example: If a client hires a software engineer for $60,000 per year ($5,000 per month), Teilur's monthly fee would be $1,000 (20% of $5,000). We don't believe in hidden fees or unwanted surprises, so we disclose all costs upfront to both candidates hired and companies. When exploring other alternatives, make sure they are transparent about their pricing. We believe this is paramount for the benefit of all parties involved in this new era of remote work.

5

What is the candidate screening process at Teilur Talent, and how do you ensure a good fit for my company?

At Teilur Talent, we take candidate screening very seriously. We use a multi-layered approach to find the best candidates for our clients, starting with screening thousands of candidates from our internal and proprietary networks. We leverage AI technology to assess whether a candidate matches the technical skills required for a given job opening. We also perform additional personal evaluations to ensure that the candidate has the soft skills, culture fit, and English language skills required to excel in their new role. Our rigorous screening process ensures that only the best candidates make it through to our clients, saving them time and helping them find the best talent for their teams.

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