Lemon.io vs Toptal: What is The Best Site for Hiring Remote Developers?

TL;DR

• The best platforms to hire remote developers include job boards, freelance marketplaces, and developer agencies.
• Lemon.io provides startups with vetted developers from Eastern Europe. 
• Toptal connects the top 3% of freelance talent startups to companies worldwide.
• You can hire talent from Toptal faster than from Lemon. However, Toptal’s hourly rates are higher than average. 
• ReactSquad is the best site for hiring expert freelance developers at affordable rates.

Toptal and Lemon are two of the most popular platforms for hiring remote developers. But which is better for startups? Should you consider a third option? This guide will help you decide if Toptal, Lemon, or another alternative is better bang for your buck. 

Why should you hire remote developers?

In today’s digital age, remote hiring is a strategic move many startups are making. More than 67% of employees in the tech industry work primarily remotely.

This trend isn’t reserved for small startups alone. Big tech companies are also hiring more remote developers. Microsoft’s careers page shows at least 100 jobs hiring fully remote or hybrid workers. Meta has a director of remote work who is in charge of hiring and managing remote workers. 

And recently, Annie Dean, head of Team Anywhere at Atlassian, wrote on LinkedIn about the growth of remote hires at the company,

“We have access to a broader pool of diverse talent. After implementing Team Anywhere, the percentage of our remote hires (2+ hours from an office) jumped from 14% to 54%. We see no evidence of decreased productivity. Preliminary research shows that our most productive teams are actually those distributed across ~4 time zones.”

Even developers themselves prioritize companies that allow them to work remotely. A Jamstack survey showed that the #1 reason developers left for new jobs was because of remote opportunities.

So the real question isn’t if you should hire remote devs, but how. 

How to hire remote developers

The wrong choice can be costly for startups looking to hire remote developers. These simple steps will guide you:

1. Define your project needs: State the type of project, needed tech stack, and other requirements.
2. Set your developer expectations: Decide what you expect of the developer. Will they work full-time or part-time? What soft skills should they have? What time zones do you prefer? etc. 
3. Decide your hiring budget: Set a reasonable budget. Most hourly rates are between $50 and $200+, depending on expertise, technology, and location. 
4. Search the right places: The right platforms get you better results. More on this further below. 
5. Shortlist and interview candidates: Vet for soft skills, technical skills, and culture fit.
6. Make your offer to your preferred candidate.

If you want a deep dive into how to hire a remote software developer, check out this guide. 

Best platforms for hiring remote developers 

• Job Boards: Indeed, Monster, and ZipRecruiter list remote jobs that attract developers worldwide.
• Freelance Marketplaces: Upwork, Fiverr, and PeoplePerHour host various freelancers, including marketers, graphic designers, and software engineers.
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn lets you network and source for developers by word-of-mouth. It also has a job board where you can advertise your remote job and attract developers. 
• Developer Marketplaces: These are specialized marketplace platforms specifically designed for hiring tech talent, such as developers and data scientists. Toptal is one example.
• Vetted Developer Agencies: Developer agencies provide startups with staff augmentation and outsourcing services. They have vetted experts who are highly skilled in different tech stacks. Examples include Lemon.io and ReactSquad.

What is Lemon.io?

Lemon.io is a Ukrainian staff augmentation agency that provides vetted freelance developers in Ukraine to startups in the USA. Lemon.io handpicks qualified talent who fit your project needs to give you your money’s worth.  

We wrote an in-depth review of Lemon.io. Check it out here.

What is Toptal?

Toptal is a global network of tech experts skilled in various fields. It claims to connect the top 3% of freelance talent to companies worldwide. Most of its developers are based in Europe and the Americas. 

Check out our top 10 alternatives to Toptal.

Lemon.io vs Toptal compared

Let’s see how these two platforms match up against each other.

Ease of use & accessibility

We jumped on G2 for clients’ perspectives on the ease of use of both platforms. This is how they compared:

One client shared how challenging it was navigating Lemon’s platform:

Quality of talent pool

Lemon.io hires developers with at least 5 years of experience in various programming languages. Toptal is notorious for its strict vetting process, which allows it to recruit the top 3% of developers to its talent pool. 

In both companies, you’ll get access to quality talent. 

Price

Lemon’s rates range between $55 and $95 an hour. But you must commit to a minimum of 160 hours for your project. That technically means you will be paying at least $8,800.00. There is also an initial payment of one month/week of work, depending on your billing cycle.

Toptal’s highly skilled developers command premium rates. The average hourly rate for their developers is $120. The most experienced developers charge $200+. Toptal also requires a one-time initial deposit of $500. If you decide not to move forward, your deposit will be refunded.

Customer Support

We explored review sites to get firsthand info on Lemon.io and Toptal’s customer support.

Lemon.io

Toptal

Hiring Process

It takes up to 2 weeks to start working with a developer from Lemon.io Here’s their step-by-step hiring process:

1. Make first contact by filling out a request form on their website. 
2. A sales rep will reach out to discuss your project needs. 
3. Lemon.io will match you with developers from their database with the skills you need. 
4. You can interview the developers to see if they’re a culture fit for your team. 
5. Once you are ready to start working with a candidate you must make a ‘security’ deposit and commit to at least 160 hours of work before your project can begin. 

Toptal’s hiring process is quick and takes about 48 hours to get started with a developer: 

1. Complete a form with basic details of your requirements. 
2. An expert will reach out to understand your project and technical needs.
3. Toptal provides you with the right talent for your project. 
4. Start working with your new developer on a one-week free trial.

Vetting Process

Lemon’s fast vetting process allows them to pre-check as many new candidates as possible. This might raise eyebrows about the quality of their talent pool though. Here’s the process:

1. A candidate applies at Lemon.io.
2. Lemon’s recruiting team vets the engineer’s resume and LinkedIn profile. Candidates with less than 5 years of experience in the tech stack are rejected. Only 5-10% of the candidates are accepted, 
3. Successful candidates are screened for English language level and other soft skills.
4. Candidates who pass the previous round are tested for their hard skills with a live coding test. 
5. Successful candidates are registered into Lemon.io’s talent pool and are ready for hire.

Toptal on the other hand has one of the strictest vetting processes:

1. Language and personality test: Candidates undergo an English language and communication interview evaluation. Toptal also assesses personality traits and looks for passionate and focused candidates.
2. Skill review: Applicants are tested on technical knowledge and problem-solving abilities.
3. Live screening: Toptal expert screeners provide live exercises and vet them on experience, communication ability, and creativity
4. Test Projects: Candidates who make it to this round are assigned a test project to assess them in real-world scenarios.
5. Successful candidates are added to the talent pool.

What is the best site for hiring remote developers? 

We’ve looked at two good options: Lemon.io and Toptal. Lemon.io has affordable hourly rates, but its user experience isn’t as intuitive, and hiring takes a long time. Toptal connects with super-talented developers, but its rates can blow a hole through your pocket. 

The option that gives you the best of both worlds is ReactSquad. Here are a few reasons why:

• Pre-vetted developers: Check out their vetting process on the website. 
• Focus on React: ReactJS is the #1 front-end framework. Builtwith’s data shows that 48 million websites are currently using React. This survey also shows that 65% of startups prefer building with React.
• Easy integration with your team. You can get a developer shipping code within a week. 
• Cost-effective & transparent pricing. ReactSquad’s pricing is on their website, which starts at $75/hour.
• Highly skilled developers with 5+ years of experience.

Book a consultation and get a free ReactSquad trial today.