Cloud Employee vs. Toptal

Global Hiring, Elevated

In an environment defined by intense competition for skilled engineers and accelerating delivery timelines, CTOs and CIOs need to extend their development capacity without sacrificing quality or control. Platforms like Toptal have reshaped access to top-tier freelance and contract talent, offering an exclusive network of pre-vetted professionals across more than 100 countries.

Toptal’s model, built on rapid matching and elite selection, appeals to organisations needing flexible, high-calibre talent for defined projects. However, for product organisations focused on team integration, transparency, and retention, Cloud Employee’s embedded staff augmentation approach provides a more structured, long-term solution.

This article explores how Toptal operates, what makes its model distinctive, and how Cloud Employee expands on that framework to deliver deeper collaboration, cost clarity, and sustained engineering continuity.

Toptal in Context

Founded in 2010, Toptal is positioned as an exclusive network of the top 3% of global talent. The company offers access to developers, designers, finance and marketing experts, and project managers who work with clients across industries such as technology, finance, and consumer products.

Its promise—“Hire the Top 3% of the World’s Talent”—is supported by a rigorous screening process that evaluates applicants’ technical and communication skills. According to Toptal, fewer than 3% of applicants pass their evaluation each year, ensuring a curated network of professionals available for freelance, part-time, or full-time work.

Toptal’s appeal lies in its speed and flexibility. Clients can typically hire a developer within 48 hours, supported by an account manager who helps identify the right match. Every engagement begins with a no-risk trial period, allowing clients to assess fit before committing. Toptal has solutions for a range of talent, including developers, marketing and design talent, project management, sales, and more. 

How Toptal Works (Business Model)

Toptal operates primarily across three engagement types:

1. Freelance and Contract Developers
   Clients can hire developers on hourly, part-time, or full-time contracts for specific project needs. This is ideal for teams requiring flexible access to senior expertise without a long-term employment commitment.
2. Cross-Functional Teams
   For more complex projects, Toptal assembles teams that include developers, designers, and product managers. These teams work under the client’s direction but can also access Toptal’s internal delivery management support if required.
3. Managed Delivery
   Toptal’s Managed Delivery offering provides full project oversight, integrating talent from across its network to deliver defined outcomes, from cloud migration to AI implementation.

This tiered structure gives clients multiple pathways to scale talent quickly, whether augmenting a team temporarily or outsourcing a full project.

Toptal’s Developer Offering

Toptal’s Developer Network remains its core service line. Through its matching process, companies can access engineers skilled in key technologies such as JavaScript, Python, Java, React, and Node.js, among others.

• Hiring Speed: Matches typically occur within 48 hours.
• Engagement Flexibility: Hire hourly, part-time, or full-time.
• Trial Period: Each engagement starts with a two-week, no-risk trial.
• Support: Dedicated “talent matchers” guide the process.

This model serves startups and enterprises alike, particularly those needing short-term or project-based technical support with limited lead time.

Cloud Employee’s Approach: Embedded, Transparent, and Scalable

While Toptal focuses on elite freelance access and managed projects, Cloud Employee was built for businesses that prioritise access to high quality engineers, long-term integration, transparency, and control. Like Toptal, talent is accessible fast, with many Cloud Employee engineers being onboarded within 1-2 weeks from the start of an engagement. 

Cloud Employee’s model (staff augmentation) is a flexible workforce framework that allows businesses to extend their capacity with top-class professionals, without the delays, costs, and risks of traditional hiring. Instead of engaging freelancers, companies partner with Cloud Employee to access dedicated, full-time engineers who work as part of their own team.

These vetted professionals (by a CTO-led process including pair programming) are fully embedded, using your tools, processes, and stand-ups daily, while Cloud Employee manages L&D, HR, payroll, compliance, benefits, and retention.

Why it matters:
This approach gives leaders full control of their engineering direction while removing operational overhead and ensuring long-term consistency across projects.

Transparent, All-Inclusive Pricing

One of Cloud Employee’s most distinctive attributes is its clear, predictable pricing.

• LATAM engineers: around $6,000/month
• Philippines engineers: around $4,500/month

These rates cover everything, salary, HR management, benefits, compliance, office infrastructure, and ongoing developer support, ensuring no hidden fees or surprise markups.

Toptal’s pricing, by contrast, varies depending on engagement type, seniority, and region. While the company does not publish standardised rates, clients are provided with tailored quotes through a consultation.

For CTOs managing global budgets, Cloud Employee’s published rates provide a clear view of cost efficiency and scalability across regions.

Dual-Region Advantage: Philippines and LATAM

Where Toptal’s talent base spans more than 100 countries, Cloud Employee strategically focuses on two high-value regions; the Philippines and Latin America (Cloud Employee also has European operations). This dual-region presence allows companies to build hybrid teams that operate synchronously across time zones or run continuous, 24-hour development cycles.

Benefits include:

• Geographic flexibility: Hire across two established tech hubs.
• Cost efficiency: Save up to 50–75% compared to onshore hiring.
• Time zone alignment: Operate synchronously or asynchronously.

This balance of coverage and cost efficiency makes Cloud Employee a preferred option for engineering leaders looking to expand their teams quickly while maintaining operational cohesion.

Retention and Continuity

While Toptal’s model enables flexibility through short-term contracting, Cloud Employee’s strength lies in long-term retention and continuity.

Through its internal HR, engagement, and L&D programs, Cloud Employee maintains a 97%+ retention rate beyond two years. Developers are supported through professional development, mentorship, and performance reviews, ensuring alignment with client goals and career progression.

For CTOs, this translates into consistent delivery, reduced onboarding time, and stronger product ownership over time.

Shared Principles, Distinct Models

Both companies prioritise quality and rigor in vetting technical talent. Toptal’s strength is its global reach and elite selection process, ideal for teams needing rapid deployment of freelance or project-based expertise.

Cloud Employee builds on those same principles but extends them into a fully embedded, transparent partnership, where engineers are long-term members of your team, not shared resources across multiple clients.

In short:

• Toptal provides curated access to top global talent for flexible or project-based needs.
• Cloud Employee delivers vetted, long-term, dedicated engineers who scale with your business and integrate fully into your delivery structure.

Case Studies: Cloud Employee in Practice

Willo

• 10 developers hired in the Philippines without visiting.
• First two engineers sourced and onboarded in three weeks.
  Read case study →

CleanLink

• 3 engineers hired and onboarded in two weeks.
• Partnership extended over seven years.
  Read case study →

Executive Insight

We focus on transparency, retention, and long-term integration. Our goal is to help clients scale global teams that feel and perform like their own.
Seb Hall, CEO, Cloud Employee

Choosing the Right Global Hiring Partner

Toptal offers a proven path to access a wide range of elite global freelancers and short-term technical talent (including developers), excelling in speed and quality of match. It suits businesses seeking flexibility and rapid execution for specific projects.

Cloud Employee, in contrast, is focused on engineering talent, and is built for technology leaders who need transparency, stability, and embedded team continuity. With clear pricing, dual-region access, and a retention-first approach, Cloud Employee helps organisations scale confidently, combining global reach with local commitment.

For engineering teams seeking both cost efficiency and deep integration, Cloud Employee represents a strategic alternative that turns offshore access into a long-term delivery advantage.

Information is based on publicly available sources as of October 2025 and reflects Cloud Employee’s interpretation of each company’s publicly stated service model.