Toptal pricing is mostly unpublished. Toptal's FAQ states a $79 monthly subscription and a trial of up to two weeks, and that's the whole public price list. The rest of your bill is an hourly rate you get on a sales call. As arithmetic on an assumed $110/hour rate, one full-time engineer for three months comes to $53,037 deposit not included (workings below). The $110 is our assumption, not a Toptal quote.
What Toptal says it charges
Everything in this table comes from toptal.com's own FAQ, "why Toptal" page, developer page and Toptal Extended page, fetched on 30 October 2026.
| Item | What toptal.com states |
|---|---|
| Hourly rate | No figures. The developer page says it "depends on various factors", including talent location, the complexity and size of the project, and seniority |
| Billing | Work with Toptalers hourly, part-time or full-time "for a fixed price on a weekly basis. No hidden fees." Invoices typically go out twice a month, Net 10, payable by card, ACH, wire or PayPal |
| Subscription | "A flat monthly subscription fee of $79," applied if you proceed with talent matching. You can cancel any time |
| Trial | "A trial period of up to two weeks." You aren't billed if you're not completely satisfied. Up to three people per position |
| Recruiting fee | "$0" in the comparison table on the why page |
| Termination cost | "None" in the same table |
| Refund | If Toptal can't provide talent, you can request a refund on cancellation |
| Toptal Extended | Some engagements include a team trial of up to five days; the page's comparison table lists no commitment required and no upfront fees |
Toptal also claims that fewer than 3% of 200,000+ yearly applicants make the cut, a 98% trial-to-hire rate, a match in under 24 hours on average and a hire in about 48 hours. Those are Toptal's numbers about itself, not audited figures, and none of them is a price.
What Toptal does not publish
The FAQ and the developer page are silent on the items that decide your real cost.
Rates come first: no range, no floor, no seniority bands. Margin is next. Toptal doesn't say how much of the rate the engineer receives. The pages we read also state no weekly hours or minimum engagement length, and no deposit (more on that below).
Then there's conversion. The FAQ says moving a hire in-house is possible "for the most part", with terms worked out with you, and gives no fee figure. Last, the subscription: the FAQ says it applies if you proceed with talent matching and can be cancelled any time, but it doesn't say what ends the obligation in practice.
Each of those is a question for the sales call, and each answer should come back in writing.
Where toptal.com and common claims differ
Other pricing posts, including an earlier HighCircl article, repeat three claims that toptal.com's own pages don't back, or word differently.
The first is a $500 refundable deposit credited to your first invoice. Neither toptal.com/faq nor the developer page mentions a deposit. It may apply to some clients, and HighCircl's comparison data lists it, but it isn't stated on the pages we read, so treat it as something to confirm. If one applies, it's credited back against the first invoice, so it doesn't change the worked total below.
The second is when the $79 runs. Third-party posts say it continues "while a search is open" or "after a project ends". Toptal's FAQ says it's a flat monthly fee that applies if you proceed with talent matching, and that you can cancel any time. We use Toptal's wording. Ask what cancelling looks like mid-engagement.
The third isn't a contradiction, just a gap worth seeing. The why page says "no hidden fees" and lists a "$0" recruiting fee. Toptal doesn't disclose its margin, and in HighCircl's comparison data it's blended into the hourly rate. Margin not disclosed isn't the same as a hidden fee, but it does mean you can't see what you're paying for.
How much one Toptal engineer costs: a worked example
Here's our own arithmetic, with every component shown. The hourly rates are assumptions, because Toptal publishes none. We've seen quotes in the $60-200/hr range, and that range is HighCircl's comparison data, not a toptal.com statement. Senior specialists can run higher.
Assumptions: one full-time engineer, 40 hours a week for 4 weeks (160 hours a month), 3 months, the $79 subscription charged each month.
At $110/hr:
- Labour per month: 110 x 160 = $17,600
- Labour over 3 months: 17,600 x 3 = $52,800
- Subscription: 79 x 3 = $237
- Total: 52,800 + 237 = $53,037
A deposit, if one applies, is credited back against your first invoice, so the three-month total stays $53,037 and only the cash timing moves.
The same maths at two other assumed rates:
| Assumed rate | Labour per month | Labour over 3 months | Plus $79 x 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| $80/hr | $12,800 | $38,400 | $38,637 |
| $110/hr | $17,600 | $52,800 | $53,037 |
| $150/hr | $24,000 | $72,000 | $72,237 |
Two things stand out. The subscription is under 1% of the total at every rate, so the $79 isn't what you're negotiating. And a $70/hour spread between the low and high case moves the three-month bill by $33,600.
For a baseline on what a whole team costs outside a blended-rate network, see the cost of a full engineering team in Europe.
How to read a Toptal quote
Ask for these seven things in writing before the first hour is billed.
- The hourly rate, and what it includes. Does it cover payroll costs, tools and any account management?
- The weekly hour minimum, if there is one.
- How the trial works: the length, who bills the trial hours, and what happens to the up-to-three candidates you can try.
- When the $79 subscription starts and what stops it.
- The conversion fee if you want to hire the engineer directly, as a number rather than "worked out with you".
- The notice period if you end the engagement. The why page says termination cost is "None"; confirm that applies to your contract.
- The margin split between the engineer's pay and Toptal's share. They may decline to give it. If so, you know what you're comparing.
Item 7 is the one to compare across vendors. How markups work in staff augmentation explains why a blended rate and a transparent margin can't be compared without it.
What this means for your hiring budget
Budget a Toptal seat as rate x hours x months + $79 x months, and treat margin and conversion fee as open until they're written down. The example above gives you a range to hold a quote against: if the number lands well outside $38,000-72,000 for three months, ask which assumption differs.
In our judgment, the conversion clause is the line to price before the first hour. If you hire contractors planning to keep the good ones, a vague "worked out with you" can turn into the largest single cost on the engagement. A blended rate hides the margin, so you may not be able to tell whether the premium pays for vetting or for the brand. A transparent-margin model lets you see that split and cap it. If you'd rather check Toptal against another network on the same questions, Toptal and Andela side by side runs the same checklist across both.
Hiring through HighCircl as an alternative to a blended rate
HighCircl places senior engineers from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania and Spain at €45-105/hr ($50-115/hr). Our margin is 20%, capped and shown on top of what the engineer earns. There's no subscription, no recruitment fee and no minimum hours. A deposit of one month's estimated cost is applied to your first invoice, and a permanent-hire buyout is 18% of annual gross, disclosed from the start. You get a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates in 72 hours. See HighCircl's senior engineers.
FAQ
How much does Toptal cost?
Toptal doesn't publish an hourly rate. Its site states a $79 monthly subscription and says the rate depends on talent location, the complexity and size of the project, and seniority. Rates we've seen quoted run $60-200/hr (HighCircl's comparison data). On our arithmetic above, one full-time engineer for three months comes to $38,637 at an assumed $80/hr and $72,237 at an assumed $150/hr.
Do you have to pay for Toptal?
Yes, but not upfront. The FAQ says a flat $79 monthly subscription applies if you proceed with talent matching, and you can cancel any time. There's a trial of up to two weeks, and you aren't billed for it if you're not completely satisfied. After that, you're invoiced for the engineer's hours, typically twice a month on Net 10 terms.
Is there a Toptal deposit?
Toptal's FAQ and developer page don't state one. A $500 refundable deposit appears in HighCircl's comparison data and in third-party posts, so ask your Toptal contact whether one applies to you. If one applies, it's credited back against your first invoice, so the three-month total in the worked example stays the same and only the cash timing moves.
Does Toptal charge a fee to hire a freelancer full-time?
Toptal doesn't publish a figure. Its FAQ says moving a hire in-house is possible "for the most part", with terms worked out with you. Get the number in writing before you start, not when you want to convert.
Is Toptal worth the price?
That's a judgment call. Toptal's vetting is a real product, and fewer than 3% of applicants pass by its own count. If you need that filter and can absorb a blended rate you can't see inside, it can be. If you want to see where the money goes, or you're after a lower bill, cheaper Toptal alternatives with published fees is the place to look.