Is Terminal.io legit?: Reviews, Pricing and Alternatives
TL;DR
- Terminal.io is a platform that helps companies hire top software developers at rates about 40% less than local hires.
- Terminal.io’s pricing is custom and not publicly disclosed, so you’ll need to contact them for a quote.
- While Terminal.io provides detailed candidate profiles and HR/administrative support, their hiring process takes about a month.
- Top alternatives to Terminal.io include ReactSquad, Andela, and Toptal.
There are many opinions on what it takes to build a great product. Like deeply understanding your customer, using certain product planning frameworks, or changing your management style. But building an amazing product often comes down to having top-notch engineers.
Experienced developers can deliver incredible results, but it takes forever and can cost a small fortune to hire them. That’s where Terminal.io steps in – they claim to connect you with skilled developers at more affordable rates.
This article will cover Terminal.io’s pricing, hiring & vetting process, pros & cons, and reviews. We’ll also share some popular Terminal.io alternatives. By the end, you’ll know if Terminal.io is legit for hiring software developers in 2024.
What is Terminal.io?
Terminal.io is a global talent platform that helps companies find and hire top software developers. Their rates are about 40% less than local talent, making it cheaper for startups to scale their engineering teams with remote developers.
How to hire software developers on Terminal.io
There are two main ways to hire full-time or contract developers on Terminal.io:
- Hire + Employ: Let Terminal handle the payroll, benefits, and legal employment for your global hires. They’ll be the Employer of Record (EOR).
- Hire Direct: Manage employment through your own company or Employer of Record.
You’ll find the vetted developers Terminal’s Talent Hub. Each candidate’s profile shows their skills, portfolio, salary expectations, and interview clips. Terminal.io also lets you browse and hire talent by skills (e.g., C++, AngularJS, Ruby, etc.) or roles (e.g., mobile developers, QA engineers, full stack developers, etc.)
Through the Talent Hub platform, you can review the candidates, schedule interviews, and share feedback with Terminal’s team. Hiring usually takes about 30 days for contract hires, and 45 days for full-time hires.
Terminal.io’s vetting process
Terminal.io screens each candidate before presenting them to you. First, their talent experts review the candidate’s experience and background. Next, they interview each candidate to assess their English proficiency, domain knowledge, communication skills, and personal qualities.
They also discuss the candidate’s salary expectations and how they compare to the top 10% of their peers. Only the most exceptional candidates make it through this vetting process.
Terminal.io’s pricing
Terminal.io doesn’t have a standard rate card. They offer a few different pricing options, but the cost isn’t specified on the website.
Here are the main Terminal.io pricing options:
- Hire Direct: You pay a flat fee per developer you hire.
- Hire + Employ: You pay a flat fee per hire, plus a monthly fee for Terminal.io to handle HR, payroll, and other employment tasks.
- Contract Pricing: You pay a monthly fee based on the contractor’s rate.
You’ll need to contact a Terminal representative to get an estimate.
Pros and cons of Terminal.io
Pros:
- They thoroughly vet candidates to make sure they have the right hard and soft skills to succeed
- The detailed candidate profiles help clients choose the right developers quickly
- Terminal.io handles all HR and administrative work for remote teams
Cons:
- Terminal’s hiring is limited to Latin America, Canada, and Europe
- It can take up to a month to hire a contract developer, and 45 days for a full-time developer
Terminal.io reviews and ratings
If you’re still wondering if Terminal.io is legit, here are some real reviews and ratings from clients. They’re mostly positive, with the lowest rating on G2 being 3.5 stars.
Terminal.io alternatives
ReactSquad
ReactSquad is a platform that helps startups hire skilled remote React developers. Their developers deliver high-quality work, are very responsive, and can meet tight deadlines. ReactSquad also acts as the employer, handling all administrative tasks.
Pros:
- Startup-friendly rates (starting from $75/hr).
- Senior developers (5+ years of experience)
- Quick matching and hiring process (less than 48 hours)
- Developers available in US and EU time zones
- One week free trial
Cons:
- ReactSquad may not be the best fit if your project needs a different technology from ReactJS
Andela
Andela connects startups with top software engineers, mostly from Africa. Their goal is to help companies find great talent while supporting African economies.
Pros:
- AI talent matching engine that makes hiring faster
- Dedicated account managers for clients
- Clients can easily scale their engineering teams
Cons:
- Since many of their developers are based in Africa, communication might be a bit slow because of time zone overlap
- They can be expensive, with monthly costs ranging from $6,000 to $14,000
Toptal
Toptal is a freelance platform that connects businesses with the top 3% of software developers worldwide. Its strict vetting ensures clients are matched with skilled developers who can meet their expectations.
Pros:
- The vetting process ensures clients work with only the best
- No-risk, 2-week free trial to properly gauge the developer’s abilities and work ethic
Cons:
- More expensive than other alternatives
- The hiring process can take weeks to complete
Terminal.io vs top 2 alternatives for hiring remote developers in 2024
| Criteria | Terminal.io | ReactSquad | Toptal |
| Price | Custom | $75 per hour | $60-$150 per hour or $1,000 to $2,400 per week for part-time devs$2,000 to $4,800 per week for full-time devs |
| Any upfront fees? | Unclear | No | $500 deposit |
| Time-to-hire | < 30 days for contract hiresAbout 45 days for full-time hires | 48 hours | 48 hours |
| Free trial? | 14-day trial for contractors | 7 days | 14 days |
| Tech stack | Angular, AWS, Django, Flutter, Linux, Node.js, Objective C, MongoDB, Ruby on Rails, TypeScript, Vue.js, etc. | React, Node.js, Next.js, Remix, TailwindCSS, Redux, JavaScript, TypeScript. | JavaScript, Python, Node.js, CSS, AngularJS, PHP, C#, Kotlin, Django, AWS, Azure, etc. |
| Star feature | Provides HR and remote team support | Focus on React developers and projects | Access to top 3% of talent |
Review Summary
Here’s the summary of our Terminal.io review.
| Criteria | Details |
| What is Terminal.io? | Terminal.io is a global talent platform that helps companies hire and manage pre-vetted remote software developers. |
| Hiring Process | Terminal.io has a talent hub platform where clients can review candidates and work with talent experts to hire the right fit. |
| Developer Vetting | They review candidates’ background, conduct interviews to assess skills, and only present the top 7% of candidates to clients. |
| Pricing | The pricing depends on your needs. You’ll need to contact a Terminal.io representative to get a quote. |
| Pros | Comprehensive skills assessmentTransparent profiles with video interview clips HR and administrative services |
| Cons | Hiring is limited to LatAm, Canada, Europe regionsIt can take up to a month to hire a developer |
Conclusion
Terminal.io stands out with their HR / EOR services. So, if you’d rather not deal with the hiring technicalities, Terminal.io might be a great option for your startup.
Another hassle-free option is ReactSquad. Like Terminal, ReactSquad handles the hiring process from start to finish. You only need to choose the developer you want to work with.
ReactSquad offers startup-friendly pricing at $75 per hour and a 7-day free trial. It is most suitable for projects that rely on the React framework.
Book a consultation today and get a free ReactSquad trial.
